As Tet nears, families all over Vietnam are rushing to decorate their homes and check-off the last few items on their spring cleaning list, such as curtains, glassware, and most importantly, brass homeware.
The altar is an indispensable part of many Vietnamese families, who place paramount importance on the familial link between existing household members and deceased ones. On these home spiritual platforms, families set brass censers, fresh fruit, incense burners and photo frames of ancestors.
These brass items might be ubiquitous in many local families, but few are aware that right in Saigon, there’s a village where artisans churn out loads of intricate altar brassware, or lư đồng, on a daily basis.
The An Hoi brassware village has been a part of the metropolis since the end of the 19th century. However, most Saigoneers are unaware of its existence due to its location in a peripheral part of town in Go Vap District.
Saigoneer recently paid a visit to An Hoi to learn about the art of making ceremonial brassware, have a look below:
