Rhetoric Race and Religion
The smells of rice balls and beef stew waft through the house — and if you pay attention, the faint smell of incense. It’s the gio for my grandfather, the Vietnamese celebration of his death anniversary.
My grandmother is bustling in her kitchen, readying my grandfather’s favorite dishes. We place the food in front of his altar, beside the incense bowl filled with uncooked rice and ashes.
“Have you done lay yet?” my mom asks me.
I hadn’t. Lay is a gesture of worship that we perform to our ancestors at the beginning ofgio, so they can have a taste of the food before we do.
I light a piece of incense and wave it a couple of times so the flame will die down. I clasp my hands together in front of my face, close my eyes and attempt to pray.
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