The market is inspired by the old traditional southern markets. On Saturday afternoon, the market with the message “Money is just a tool to serve life, materialistic things are not important” was held for the first time in HCMC and attracted thousands of people.
Thai Lan Thanh, a Caodaist, said that the market is usually held in the middle or the end of the first lunar month (Feb. 5 or 19 this year), and the sellers receive leaves as a blessing in exchange for goods.
Each person attending the market will get 7-10 sacred fig leaves. With each leaf, the customer can purchase an item. The organizers intended to hand out 7,000 leaves for 1,000 people but due to the much larger number of participants than expected, they had to get more leaves. Those who already received their leaves will get a stamp on their hand.
The market has 70 stalls that sell food, drinks and groceries. With the larger number of participants than expected, the items quickly sold out and the temple had to get more leaves.
“The market is available to everyone and not just Caodaists,” Thanh said.
Thanh An from Nha Be District said it's the first time that she heard of this market, so she asked her friend to come along. The two were surprised to see so many people there.
Nguyen Vo Chi Thanh, 22, from Tay Ninh Province, where this type of market originated from, also came to the temple.
“I think using leaves instead of money is to help people who are facing difficulties in life and it’s also a principle of Caodaism,” Thanh said.
Minh Chau (right), 21, from District 5, shows seven sacred fig leaves that she received. She still had to wait for an hour to receive the leaves despite arriving early.
“I think the market is really fun and unique,” Chau said. “I hope it will be held in Saigon next year too.”
Tu, a Saigonese, was excited when she got groceries without spending money.
“This many groceries are enough for me for the next few days,” she said, “and I don’t have to spend money at the normal market.”
