An anthology of Huu Ngoc's Vietnamese News Sunday columns, Sketches for a Portrait of Vietnamese Culture presents a kaleidoscopic overview of a country steeped in history, mythology and a blend of multicultural traditions. Sifting through this book or reading it cover to cover gives one a feeling of eavesdropping on a thoroughly captivating conversation. Here is an example of the different kinds of things Huu Ngoc addresses in this charming 512 -page collection.

How Many Incense Sticks Are To Be lit?

One may light, according to ritual, one, three, five or seven incense sticks-always an uneven number. Each number has its own symbolic value. The number one represents unity, the whole, the fusion of the male and the female principles. The Buddhist believer who lights a single stick seeks to release the "incense of the heart" which combines five kinds of incense. The number three suggests the mobility of the uneven number, which tends to move toward evenness, stability, equilibrium. When someone is grappling with difficulties, with something that upsets him, he offers Buddha three incense sticks. It is also customary to light three sticks at Tet and at funerals, but only one stick at ordinary rituals. Five sticks are lit only at the altar of the Holy Mother of the Forest attended by the Five Tiger Lords, to pray for their protection. On the fifth day of the seventh moon, the day of Pardon for all Wandering Souls, seven lighted sticks are planted on their behalf near banyan trees, their habitual haunts. This is a sign of Buddhist compassion. When the sticks burst into flames, this means that some kind of message is coming from the nether world.

Sketches for a Portrait of Vietnamese Culture (paper cover)