Photo: “Votive workshop” operates at full capacity on the day of wandering souls

VietNamNet Bridge – Song Ho commune in Thuan Thanh district of Bac Ninh province is the largest votive product production base in the country. A week before the full moon day of the 7th month on lunar calendar – the day of wandering souls – the village had to work all night.

Known as the hometown of Dong Ho folk paintings, for more than a decade Song Ho Commune has been also known as the largest “votive workshop” in Vietnam. Villages said that their products are sold well all year round, particularly in the 7th month of the lunar calendar because this is the month for wandering souls. From Song Ho, votive products are transported to all provinces in Vietnam and even to China and Laos.

This truck carries hundreds of bags containing votive clothes and paper-made television sets, houses, vehicles and other items to Hanoi.

In Song Ho, each household specializes in producing one to two kinds of votive goods. Ms. Thuy makes votive clothing, hats and shoes. Thuy said she did not have time to comb her hair for two days and she did not sleep many night to produce votive products for the 7th month of lunar calendar. Thuy said her family has never had a vacation.

Thuy's family can make about 2,000-3,000 sets of clothes, while the order is up to 5,000-7,000 sets/day.

She said the clothes for the dead also changed every year, based on the fashion of the living. This year customers only order clothes in dark colors like black, dark purple, and dark green.

The wholesale price is VND9,000 per set but in Hanoi, the retail price is VND20,000-VND30,000 per set.

Thuy's family earns VND2 billion ($100,000) of revenue per month. Her children also work to help their mother.

Mr. Nguyen Huy Hung and his wife Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thong have produced votive products for over 10 years. They now own one of the largest votive workshops in the village. Thong said her parents previously produced votive hats and shoes so they earned little profit. The couple currently use modern machines to make villas to earn high profit.

A large villa is retailed at VND35,000-VND40,000 but the wholesale price is only VND10,000-VND27,000/unit.These days the family sells over 10 trucks of votive villas.

Thoa Hau workshop only produces high-class votive products, such as dragon boats and costumes for hau dong (ritual of spirit mediumship), which are priced from tens to hundreds of US dollars per product. There are a few workshops like this in the village.

Ms. Duong Thi Cuong, a worker for Thoa Hau enterprise, said the wholesale price for a dragon boat is from VND60,000 ($3) to VND2 million ($100), depending on the size and the complexity.

This workshop can make about 10-20 dragon boats each day.

In the last two weeks, this workshop sold one to two trucks of dragon boats a day.

This workshop specializes in making dummies, selling several thousands of dummies a day.

The wholesale price for a dummy is VND10,000 and up to VND50,000 at shops.

ATM cards, phone cards, World Cup T-shirts for the dead

Paper items such as villas, cars, iPad and planes for the dead are no longer strange. This year new items as ATM cards, simcards, World Cup T-shirts are available for Ram Thang Bay, the day for wondering souls.

Luxury motorcycles and cars, villas for the dead on Hang Ma Street, Hanoi.

Products for the dead are also updated with the living world. If last year they had iPhone 4, iPad 2, and iPad 3, this year they have iPad 4, iPad mini and iPhone 5S. This package is priced at VND30,000 ($1.5), including an iPad 4, an iPhone 5, speakers, and a simcard.

If the highest value of phone cards in the living world is VND500,000 ($25), it is up to VND1 million ($50) for the dead.

The dead are also offered with ATM cards, which are sold together with US dollars and gold.

A package for a dead man consists of a Nike pair of shoes, a watch, a gold chain, a cell phone, a leather wallet, a cigarette pack, a lighter, an ATM card and a phone card, priced from VND30,000 to VND60,000 ($1.5-$3).

The most expensive products are villas - VND150.000 to VND300,000 ($7-15) - and cars - VND100,000/car. However, the purchasing power of votive products this year falls sharply, according to votive traders on Hang Ma Street.