To Dong Hai

Huong uoc (village codes) can be considered a body of popular “laws” in the Vietnamese countryside shaped on the basis of the traditional customs and habits of the population. Hence, one of its important tenets is to preserve and defend the fine traditional customs and habits of the population. No wonder that the preservation of order and security and the good morals and good customs is one of the most extensively mentioned subjects in the village codes, sometimes occupying half or even two thirds of the whole code. Some village codes consider it the primordial question: “To stand guard and protect houses and the village and hamlets is the vital duty of everyone. No single person can handle this duty.”

All the codes show extreme strictness toward burglary and theft. The convention of Thien Ky village, Quynh Luu district (Hoang Mai commune, Hoang Mai canton, Dien Chau prefecture), Nghe An province, stipulated:

“When a theft is detected, the village officials shall summon the culprit and in the presence of the victim, both sides shall report and give information and the theft shall have to return all the stolen things, be fined 30 strings of coins and receive 30 canings. The theft’s parents who are still alive shall be fined eleven coins for failing to educate their children.”

Article 66 of the Contract of Quynh Doi village (Hoan Hau commune, Phu Hau canton, Quynh Luu district), Nghe An province further elaborated:

“The malefactor must realize his predicament and keep from taking wrong acts prohibited by regulations of the State. He who develops the disgraceful behaviors and bad habit of stealing, if caught by the villagers, shall be given 30 canings, a fine of a buffalo worth three strings of coins in case of light penalty, or be escorted to the mandarin in addition to have his name crossed from the village roster. Moreover, his criminal record shall be kept for six years. Past this time-limit if no offense was committed, he shall have his name in the village roster restored and his past offense obliterated as an encouragement of good deeds.”

To ensure order and safety in the village, there must be guards. Everyone must take part in the guard, save the civic dignitaries, the village notables those with the diplomas of any kind and those aged over 56 years. The rest shall take part in guard duty on a rotary basis. One guard duty often is from 6 months to one year, depending on each village, and the number of persons taking part often varies from five to ten. The guards are called tuan phu or tuan dinh. A group of tuan dinh is headed by a truong tuan. Above truong tuan is huong kiem.

Some huong uoc also specify the work of a tuan muc or truong tuan, those responsible for the security and order of a village:

“All the guard duties are entrusted to the tuan muc. For this job, it is advisable to choose men with courage, diligence and virtues. The term of office is one year. If he performs well his duty, he may be retained. If over three years, no complaint was heard about him, he may be rewarded. If he makes a blunder, he will be fined 12 strings of coins and will be replaced. From then on, he shall not be allowed to take part in the communal affairs.”

The guard duty is entrusted to the tuan phu and the truong tuan, but it is the duty of all to look after the security and order of the village:

“Whenever some confusion breaks out and the tom-tom resounds at night, the guards had to go to the scene immediately or to continue alerting others then go to the scene. Whoever shows indifference will be fined a string and a half of coins.”

“When a cry is heard everyone has to arm himself with sticks and rush to the scene. He who captures the culprit shall be rewarded 30 strings of coins. If he is heavily injured, he would be given medicament and money until the injury is healed. If unfortunately, he dies, 100 strings of coins would be provided and his children and grandchildren would be exempted from public duty for life. If a person who happened to be nearby at the time when the pillage occurred but did not sound the alert, he shall be considered an accomplice of the culprit. The victim of the pillage shall have his lost things compensated and the hamlet where the pillage occurs must pay a fine of three strings of coins.”

Through the village codes, it can be seen that how drastic is the punishment of theft in the past and the determination of the villagers to repress such a crime, that everyone is conscious that security is the basis for economic and social development.

Not only was the huong uoc strict regarding theft, it was also stringent regarding gambling, scuffle and adultery that violate the ethical norms and fine customs of the village, especially incestuous acts.

On gambling, it is prescribed in the huong uoc:

“If in the village gambling or other misdeeds occur, the persons who stand guard must enforce strict forbiddance. If bribery is detected, fines must be applied and the money shall be remitted into the public fund.

“Gambling in any form such as ‘xoc dia,’ ‘bung quay’ or ‘danh bai muoi’ and moonshining are strictly forbidden. He who disobeys and is caught by the village chief shall be fined 12 strings of coins. The gamblers shall be fined three strings of coins each. If the culprits refuse to pay, the village chief shall report to the mandarin for punishment. But this punishment by the mandarin does not absolve the culprit, the latter shall continue to be punished by the village. If the culprits refuse to pay the fines, the owner of the house shall be disfranchised for one to four years, those who joined the game will be disfranchised for from one to two years. In addition, the owner of the house will be flogged 30 canings, the participants will receive 20 canings each. Later, the culprits will be disfranchised.”

The huong uoc also sanctions severely all acts of causing disorder in the village: “At night, it is forbidden to start a fight or any disorders. A person who is caught in the act is fined one string and two coins. If the fight is started by young men they will be fettered. If the culprit is a dignitary he shall be fined and demoted. If he is an ordinary villager, he will be flogged so as to eradicate this evil. This prescription must be observed by everyone. Nobody is allowed to act contrarily to the prescription.”

The huong uoc shows extreme rigor against adultery:

“If a man or a woman is caught in an act of adultery, they will be brought to the village communal house and administered 30 canings each. They shall be forbidden to talk with anyone for one year.”

More prescriptions can be cited to show the stringent rules vis-a-vis theft, acts of causing disorder in the village, adultery... Such prescriptions are regulations recognized by the villages. They exist in parallel with the State laws to help the villages maintain security and develop in peace and stability.-