Abstract

Culture is the creation of an ethnic group. In the present context, as Vietnam is on the path of integration and development, the study of culture not only helps the reader to see the inheritance and creativity throughout history, but also to see the power of culture for today's development because “All social development must be linked to the inheritance and promotion of traditional culture and national identity. Any development away from the origin is subject to risk of deterioration. Going into the market economy, modernizing the country away from the traditional values will result in the lost of national identity, lost of oneself to become the shadow of others." (Do Muoi). In the present cultural life, in addition to the official institutions (state institutions), there are still certain influences and domination of the non-official traditional institutions – institutions associated with a community. Effective exploitation of non-official traditional institutions contributes to the well-being of cultural life in the present context is essential. Our paper presents the role of non-official traditional institutions in today’s cultural life.