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Preserving Vietnamese Culture and Language in Southern Louisiana: Altars as Symbols of Identity By Emma Tomingas-Hatch Maintaining Community as Newcomers: The Importance of Language and Religion
Altars in Businesses This same prayer ritual is observed for all Vietnamese Buddhist altars, including the smaller ones that people keep in their businesses. In her nail salon, Dynasty Nails, Julie Nguyen and her family have a small Buddhist altar on a shelf near the waiting area in the front of the store. It consists of a medium sized "Lucky Buddha" statue and a small bowl filled with sand to hold incense. The lucky or happy Buddha is a common image of Buddha. Every morning before the Nguyen's open the nail salon, they light the incense and offer hot tea to the Buddha on the altar. As an offering, they will place on the altar whatever they have available that day. The offerings are cleaned up whenever Julie or her daughter can find a spare minute throughout the business day. Prayers are said at the altar in the same fashion. Whenever any of the employees has time, they will say a prayer and, depending on how the day is going, their prayers will be about different things such as health, profit, safety, etc.
Next - Catholic Home Altars / Conclusion Emma Tomingas-Hatch, an independent researcher in Lafayette, Louisiana, received her Masters degree in Folklore from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. This article was prepared as part of the New Populations Project in 2009. For more essays on the Vietnamese in Louisiana, see Offerings to Kings and Buddha: Vietnamese Ritual Activities at Chua Bo De: The Vietnamese Buddhist Community in New Orleans Area and Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, in the New Orleans Vietnamese Community. |
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