5 ETHNIC MINORITIES IN VIETNAM

The 5 smallest ethnic groups in Vietnam is a topic that not only shows cultural diversity but also reflects the unique values and customs of these communities. In the overall picture of ethnic groups in Vietnam, there are some ethnic groups with tiny numbers of members, leading to them often being forgotten in the flow of social development. These ethnic groups not only contribute to enriching the national culture but also contain many historical stories, legends, and valuable heritages. Let's explore the smallest ethnic groups in Vietnam through the article below.



1/ O Du ethnic group (Tay Hat)

Population: 376 people (General Statistics Office 2009).

Place of residence
The O Du ethnic group is one of the smallest ethnic groups in Vietnam, living mainly in Nghe An province. The number of O Du people is only a few hundred, and they have a unique culture that needs to be preserved.

Costumes
Nowadays, both men and women dress in the style of the Thai and Vietnamese people in the region. There are very few traditional costumes left.

Language
Belongs to the Mon-Khmer language group (South Asian language family). Most O Du people use the Khmu and Thai languages as daily communication tools. Regarding education, right at the resettlement site, preschool, and primary school students study at a spacious school in the center of the village. Many O Du language classes are opened by elders, attracting a large number of young people to participate.

Economic characteristics
The life of the O Du people mainly depends on agriculture, animal husbandry, and some traditional handicrafts. They grow rice and fruit trees, but due to difficult living conditions, life is often in need.
Raising buffaloes, cows, pigs, chickens, and goats is quite developed. Buffaloes and cows are used for pulling and plowing, and pigs and chickens are used in weddings, religious ceremonies, and funerals... Weaving household items from bamboo and rattan, partly for consumption and partly for exchange.

Customs and habits
Eating: The O Du people used to eat sticky rice, but now they also eat rice. When the harvest is bad, they eat brown roots, yams, cassava, and corn instead of rice. They like to drink alcohol and smoke tobacco.
Housing: In the past, the traditional house, a stilt house, had to be built facing the mountain (built vertically), usually thatched, with plank or woven bamboo walls. Now this type of house no longer exists. They live on stilts like the Thai people. Means of transportation: Backpacks are the most common means of transportation.
Marriage: The O Du people live in small families, and in marriage, they have the custom of living with the son-in-law. Wedding gifts must include dried rat meat and salted fish. After a while, the son-in-law will bring his wife and children to his house. Funerals: In the past, the dead were just buried in a mat.


2/ Brau ethnic group

Population: more than 500 people (Statistics 2019)


Place of residence
The Brau people belong to the Mon-Khmer language group (Austroasiatic language family), residing mainly in Dak Me village, Po Y commune, Ngoc Hoi district, Kon Tum province.

Costumes
The Brau people are not very elaborate, men used to wear loincloths, and women wrapped themselves in skirts. The skirts are artistically processed at the top and bottom with pieces of fabric of different colors with simple horizontal black stripes running across. Women have the custom of stretching their ears to wear golden bamboo rings or ivory earrings. Jewelry includes necklaces and bracelets made of copper, silver, or aluminum.

Language
Belongs to the Mon-Khmer language group (South Asian language family).

Economic characteristics
In the past, the livelihood of the Brau people was farming, growing sticky rice, rice, corn, and cassava. In the villages where the Brau people live, there is a blacksmith to repair agricultural tools. Many men know how to weave. The Brau people often exchange forest products for dresses or fabrics from neighboring ethnic groups.
The Brau mainly grow rice, corn, and cassava in the fields. Hunting and gathering also play an important role in life. In the village, there is a blacksmith to repair farming tools.

Customs and habits
Eating: The Brau eat rice and bamboo rice, like to drink rice wine, and smoke tobacco with pipes.
Housing: The Brau live in small stilt houses. The houses are arranged in a circle and face a common house in the middle. This house is the communal living space of the village.
Marriage: The wedding ceremony is held at the bride's house, with the groom's family paying for it. After the marriage, the husband and wife's family live together for 4-5 years, followed by a period of rotation between the husband and wife. Funeral: According to burial customs, the coffin is buried half submerged, and half above ground, and a mausoleum is built for the burial. The surrounding area of the mausoleum is decorated with wooden masks.
Festivals: The New Rice Celebration is the biggest festival. There is also a festival to celebrate the new Rong house.


3/ Ro Mam ethnic group (Ro-mam Ale)

Population: more than 600 people (2019 statistics)

Place of residence
Historically, in the early 20th century, the Ro Mam population was still relatively large, scattered in 12 villages mixed with the Gia-rai people in Kon Tum province. After many events, now there is only one village with a small population in the border area between Vietnam and Cambodia, in Sa Thay district, Kon Tum province. Clothing Men wear long loincloths.
The front flaps reach the knees, and the back flaps reach the shins. Women wrap skirts. People are usually shirtless, sometimes women wear short-sleeved shirts, the loincloth, and skirts are made of plain fabric. 

Language
Belongs to the Mon - Khmer language group (South Asian language family). The Ro Mam people are currently fluent in the languages of many ethnic groups, including the common language.

Economic characteristics
The Romam people live mainly on slash-and-burn farming, growing sticky rice by clearing and burning forests, making holes, and sowing seeds. Hunting and gathering still play an important role. They raise livestock, weave and weave.

Customs and habits
Eating: The custom of eating with hands still exists quite commonly at the present time. During holidays and festivals, residents drink rice wine made from rice, cassava, corn, etc.
Housing: The houses are long stilt houses, built next to each other, surrounding the communal house. The main door of every house faces the communal house and the family houses are the playgrounds. Around the village, there is a protective fence. Each roof usually has many kitchens. Each couple lives in a room with a partition, with a separate kitchen. The main room in the middle of the house is where guests are received...
Social relations: The head of the village is a village elder, the oldest person in the village, elected by the people. The traditional village is a neighboring commune. All members relate to each other on the basis of equality of obligations and rights. Social relations here still retain quite strong remnants of the matriarchal period in the period of rapid transition to patriarchy.


4/ Pu Peo ethnic group

Population: 903 people (According to the survey of 53 ethnic minorities on April 1, 2019).

Place of residence
Pu Peo people live scattered in Dong Van, Yen Minh, and Meo Vac districts of Ha Giang province. Historical origin: Pu Peo people have lived for a long time in the northernmost region of Vietnam.

Clothing
Women wear long skirts, and short shirts, buttoned on the right armpit, sometimes covered with a square scarf on their heads. The edges of the sleeves and skirts are patched, with colorful fabric edges creating colorful patterns. Men wear pants and short shirts.

Language
Pu Peo language belongs to the Ka Dai language group. Pu Peo people speak Hmong well.

Economic characteristics
Pu Peo people specialize in growing corn and beans in the fields with advanced techniques, such as plowing, fertilizing, and intercropping. Some grow rice on terraced fields. They use buffaloes and cows for traction. Some people work as tile makers and carpenters.

Customs and habits
Eating: Steamed corn flour and soup are the two main dishes of the Pu Peo people. They use spoons to slurp soup.
Housing: The Pu Peo people settled in Dong Van district, Ha Giang province. In the past, they lived in stilt houses, now they live in ground-level houses. The houses are made of rammed earth or just planks, roofed with tiles or thatched grass.
Social relations: The Pu Peo people have two parallel types of clans. One type is called by Chinese characters, read according to the local pronunciation such as Cung, Trang, Phu... and is officially used in documents. Another type of clan is older, showing the blood relationship between members of the clan, each clan usually consists of a pair such as Kacung - Kacăm, Karăm - Kachâm, Karu - Karúa, Ka bu - Ka bởng.
Marriage: The wedding has many steps. On the day of the wedding, the bridesmaids must carry the bride out of the gate to follow the groom's family home. During the ancestral worship meal, the food is placed on a tray, and the whole family and the bride and groom must eat with their hands. The re-appearance ceremony is performed many times, 3, 7, 13, and 30 days after the wedding day.


5/ Sila ethnic group
Population: more than 900 people (2019 statistics)


Place of residence
The Sila people live mainly in Lai Chau and Dien Bien.

Clothing
Women wear indigo skirts, and short shirts with buttons on the right armpit, the front of the shirt is embroidered with many silver coins, and the scarf is braided with colorful threads. The way the scarf is wrapped often indicates marital status. Men wear lame pants and buttoned shirts with two large pockets on the two front flaps and also wrap a scarf on their heads.

Language
The Sila language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman language group, the Sino-Tibetan language family. The Sila do not have their own written language.

Economic characteristics:
In the past, the Sila were nomadic, but recently they have learned to combine slash-and-burn farming with wet rice cultivation. They grow rice, and corn, hunt, gather, and raise livestock.

Customs and habits
Eating: In the past, the Sila people used to eat sticky rice, but recently they have eaten more white rice. Food is mainly provided by hunting and gathering.
Housing: The Sila live in small, secluded villages, in houses made of earth or bamboo, usually without gardens. The kitchen is located in the middle of the house.
Marriage: Boys and girls in love can have sex with each other, the boy can sleep overnight at his lover's house and the wedding customs of the Sila people are also very unique, they have two wedding ceremonies. The first time to bring the bride to her husband's house, the second time after a year. The groom's family must have wedding money to give to the bride's family before they can bring the bride to their house.


Conclusion
Learning about and preserving the culture of the five smallest ethnic groups in Vietnam is not only the task of a few individuals or organizations but also the responsibility of the whole society. The diverse cultures of these ethnic groups are a symbol of the richness and uniqueness of the country, as well as an indispensable part of the cultural picture of Vietnam. We need to act today to protect and promote these precious cultural values for future generations.

 


 



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