Ethnics 8

The San Chay
The San Chay tribe is relatively large with approxinamtely 150,000 people. Linguistically they belong to the Tay-Thai group of languages. You will find them spread across three provinces namely; Bac Thai, Tuyen Quang and Ha Bac, there are also small pockets of them in other provinces but this is where the main concentartion is to be found. Like all Ethnic groups they have a variety of names; the Yen Bai, the Hon Ban, the Mon Cao Lan and the Cao Lan are the most common. It will come as no surprise that they practice ancestor worship with touches of Buddhism especially the Vietnamese type. They grow rice and many other crops, but rice is the most dominant crop.
Their houses are built in the form of a buffalo and each house contains an altar for ancestor worship. Their dress is similar to that of the Kinh and the Tay. It is a patriarchal community and each family line has a whole regime that has to be followed and which is peculiar to that family line. The wife doesn't move into the husband's parent's house until she has had the first child. In the San Chay culture it is always the young man's family who is responsible for all the matrimonial organisation. The San Chay are steeped in folklore and custom, and their song, story and dance is of the finest that can be found, they use a lot of percussion instruments in their music.

The San Diu
This tribe is also fairly large with just under 100,000 members. They are also spread like the San Chay all over the country but especially in the provinces of Hai Hung, Vinh Phu, Tuyen Quang and Quang Ninh. Linguistically, they belong to the language group of the Han. No surprises when I say that they do have other names depending on where they are; the San Deo, the Trai and the Man Quan Coc are just a few examples. Typical farmers who work in submerged fields and burnt lands, they breed fish and work in forestry as well as making their own bricks. The women are betel chewers, and are skilled in embroidery. The houses are not stilted but are on ground level. It is a patriarchal community and the sons inherit. Parents have the last word when it comes to choosing a partner for their children. When someone dies they are buried temporarily for a period of three years, then the body is exhumed and laid to rest in its final burial place. Many ceremonies dealing with farming are held annually. They are skilled musicians and have a collection of playful past-times.

The Lai Chau
This tribe are not very large, in fact, they only have about 500 to 600 people and are to be found in just one province and that's Lai Chau. They are also known as the Cu De Xy. Linguistically they belong to the language group of Tibeto-Burman. They are farmers who live on rice production and use burnt land to grow crops, though they are now using submerged fields more and more. Like the San Diu they do not live in stilted houses, but buildings that are level with the ground. The women decorate their dress, especially the upper half, with silver and coins. Earlier, both sexes used to colour their teeth, red for the men and black for the women, but nowadays this is no longer the case. The eldest man in each family line has most esteem and must make some important decisions regarding worship and in casting judgements etc. The Si La sorcerers are second only to the eldest man in the family line.
At weddings, the groom's parents must hand over presents to the brides parents before the ceremony is allowed to proceed. Coffins are made of hollowed out tree trunks and the length of time for mourning is fixed at three years. Genies, ancestors and many spirits fill the daily life of these people and they still have a tough life in which they suffer from infant mortality at a high rate and other diseases which have taken their toll.

The Tay
Most Tai are Buddhists of the Theravada school. In the villages of many Tai groups, the pagoda is both the social and the religious centre. Most young men spend a period of time as monks. Along with the Buddhist tradition there exist pre-Buddhist animistic beliefs; shrines are dedicated to spirits important in day-to-day affairs. These animistic beliefs tend to be strongest among those people farthest from the traditional centres of Dai Buddhism.
You couldn't call the Tay a tribe anymore with over 1,000,000 members, it is the largest of all the Ethnic groups in Vietnam. Liguistically, of course, they belong to the Tay-Thai language group. The group has many names such as the Tho, the Ngan, the Phen, the Thu Lao and the Pa Di. They are spread out over four different provinces including Cao Bang and Lang Son. The Tay have always been farmers, they grow a variety of crops including sweet potato and rice. They are not settled as high as some of the other Ethnic groups, in fact, most of them are on the lower slopes of the mountains and hills. Their houses are stilted or level with the ground. The Tay dress is normally dyed with indigo , the women's dress falls to just below the knee It is a patriarchal community. Men and women seem to find compatible partners, because there is little divorce. Like most Ethnics, the ancestors of the Tay are revered, and the altar is normally a centrepiece in the house. There are many rules when visiting a Tay house, and the Tay have a huge amount of strange rules which one should observe when visiting a Tay house or village. They are also steeped in folklore with collections of songs and poems and even songs for couples which they sing alternately. The Tay are highly sociable and friendly.
Their descendents are the people who speak some form of Tai, and their most common activity is the cultivation of rice, dry rice in the highlands and wet in the valleys. The usual Tai household consists of a husband, wife (or wives), and unmarried children. The status of women is high. None of the Tai people has a caste system. The basic structure of their villages is similar, with communal leadership being provided by an elected village headman, together with the Buddhist monks and elders. Dai cultural identity has remained strongest among the Shan of Myanmar, the Thai of Thailand, and the Lao.

The Ta Oi
This tribe has just 26,000 people, which is not a great amount in comparison. Liguistically they belong to the Mon-Khmer language group. Like many Ethnic groups they have many names; the Pa Co, the Ba Hy, the Toi Oi and the Ba Ghy. They are farmers who slash-and-burn, nowaday they are growing in submerged fields more and more. They are not only skilled farmers, they are also very good in breeding fish. Their dress consists of a skirt and a shirt for the ladies and loincloths for the men. They are fond of many types of ornaments and glass beads and teeth filing and tatoos are no longer favoured by the young. If you enter a Ta Oi village the first thing you'll notice is the 'rong'which is the communal house in the centre of the village. The Ta Oi have what they call ""Spirit Houses" they worship here during festival time. A room of each house hold one family and the houses are fairly long ones, though houses are getting shorter. Family lines are very important to the Ta OI, and it is a typical patriarchal community. Young people are free to choose their partners, matchmakers are called in to help in getting the wedding underway. The bride then becomes a member of the groom's family. Animism is dominant in this culture and genies are also venerated. There are ceremonies for the dead and they are rich in folklore.

The Thai
The Thai are a major group with abut 1m peoplein the provinces of Lai Chau, Nghe An and Hoa Binh amongst others. The language is, of course, Tay Thai and they have a lot of names such as the Tay Khao, the Tay Thanh, the Hang Tong and the Pu Thay. There are at least six groups and six distinct languages. The largest of these groups is the Black Thai, who are more than 500,000 people strong. The White Thai total about 200,000, the Phu Thai 150,000, and the Red Tai more than 100,000. Several smaller groups include the Tai Hang Tong and Tai Man Thanh. Each group still sees itself as different from the rest, and has different customs, histories and languages. Despite their name, it should be noted that none of the Thai groups in Vietnam are the same as the Thai people of Thailand. People belonging to the same ethnic groups as the Thai in Vietnam are also found in Laos, Thailand, China.The Black Thai primarily live along the Red and Black rivers in northern Vietnam. The Red Thai live along the Red River further south. The White Thai live in communities alongside the Black Thai, and in many areas have learned to speak Black Thai. The Black Thai originated in southern China, but gradually migrated into Southeast Asia due to oppression by the Chinese.
Irrigation is the Thai's major skills outside of rice growing, they are highly skilled at all types of water irrigation. They also keep animals and are skilled at ceramics. Their dress is black and they live in villages with up to 50 houses which are stilted. It's a patriarchal society, though they live in the bride's house until the first born. Death is a farewell till in the next life and not a scene of great sorrow. They are a literate folk and have been for a long time, they are also rich in folklore with tales and songs of glorious days.

The Tho
This tribe is also fairly large with over 50,000 members. Linguistically they belong to the Mon-Khmer group of languages. They have many names such as; the Keo,the Mon, the Cuoi, the Ho and the Tay Poong among others. They are good at growing rice and they also grow hemp. They grow a lot of hemp which is used in bags and even fishing nets.They are skilled in hun itng and eat a lot of meat. They eat from the forests of Vietnam when the stock is low and the harvest time is still a while away or if it fails altogether. The Tho believe they own their land collectively and so they work together in sewing and planting the land. There is a custom in this community which has the young people sleeping next to each other and looking for a partner in this fashion. The man has to work for his future in-laws before the wedding. Funerals are complex with many rituals, like many Ethnics, the coffin is hollowed from a tree trunk. People are buried alongside the nearest stream. Genies and spirits are worshipped, all ancestors are worshipped as well as the first person who founded the village. 'Going to the field' is a major celebration each year, They have many celebrations for their crops and in the name of their crops and their religion can sometimes be very practical.

The Xo Dang
The Xo Dang tribe are a reasonable-sized tribe with 97,000 people, they can be found in the province of Kon Tum, and in the mountainous regions around this province. Liguistically they belong to the language group of the Mon-Khmer. This tribe have many names such as; the Ca-Dong, the To-Dra, the Ha-Lang, the Bri La and the Con Lan to name just some of the names given them in different areas. They believe that all living things have a spirit and like many animists their ceremonies are for the Genies of the field or the genie of the rice. The To Dra are reknowned for their forging skills and are also livestock breeders with a good variety of animals. The Xo Dang villages all have a 'rong' or communal house and the chief of the village is held in high esteem. The houses are long with sometimes many families in the same long house, though everyone is free to set up house for themselves. They do not use family names only first names with an a, or a y, as prefix to indicate sex. They use to go in for teeth filing but this is fading out altogether. There is never a permanent move to one of the families houses after marriage and couples usually rotate residence in both houses. Buffalo offerings, in which the buffalo is knifed is still very popular. The tribe are fond of folklore and have a collection of songs and stories. They also practice martial arts, painting, and sculpture. Architecture seems to be a hobby of the Xo Dang who can build the most intricate inter-connecting building without the use of one nail.