culture-of-vietnamese-ethnic-minorities-english

Slide 1 THÁI NGUYÊN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION Assoc Professor NGUYỄN HẰNG PHƯƠNG Faculty of Vietnamese Email hangphuong dhsptn@gmail com Tel 0915 363 229 CULTURE OF VIETNAMESE ETHNIC MINORITIES T[.]

THÁI NGUYÊN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

Assoc Professor NGUYỄN HẰNG PHƯƠNG

Faculty of Vietnamese Email: hangphuong.dhsptn@gmail.com

Tel: 0915.363.229

CULTURE OF VIETNAMESE ETHNIC MINORITIES

TH ÁI NGUYÊN, 2013

CHAPTER 2 CUSTOMS (WEDDING &

FUNERAL)

CHAPTER 1

CUISINE

CHAPTER1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Basic terms (khái niệm cơ bản)

- Culture = system of physical and mental values  mankind >< nature & society

-Nation (dân tộc) = a community which includes many ethnic groups, each with its own language, lifestyle, and cultural heritage

-Ethnic (tộc người) = a smaller community within a nation, which has its own language and customs

However, in many cases, it is possible to use the word ‘dân tộc’ (nation) to refer to an ethnic group

1 2 Some main characteristics (Một số đặc điểm cơ bản)

1.2.2 Distribution (Tính chất cư trú)

1.2.2.1 Co-habitation forms cultural regions (Cư trú xen kẽ)

- The ethnic minorities often inhabit together with others in an area (province, district)

E.g: There is even 20 ethnic groups within a district

- In each area, there is 1 or 2 groups with higher development level, which play the main role in establishing a cultural region Ethnic minorities mostly live in 5 regions

- Within a region, there are sub-regions In each sub-region, there is a centered ethnic group which might be the centered ethnic group of the whole region or another one

6 cultural regions:

1 The Northwest (Thái, Mường)

2 The Northeast (Vi t Băc: Tày, Nùng)ê

3 The North Delta (Việt)

4 The Central (Trung B : Việt, Chăm)ô

5 The Central Highland (Tây Nguyên: Mon-Khmer Groups)

6 The South Delta (Việt, Chăm, Hoa and native groups such as Khmer, Mạ, Xtiêng, Chơro, Mnông )

 Việt (Kinh): deltas Ethnic minorities: other areas

1.2.2.2 Effect of co-habitation (Hệ quả của cư trú xen kẽ)

- Advantages (Thuận lợi):

+ Share each other’s techniques and good customs strengthen the union

+ Form multi-cultural areas for cultural tourism

-Disadvantages (Khó khăn):

Social management: Disagreements between different ethnic groups, which origin from the differences in religions and customs

1.2.3 Specific territorial distribution (Vị trí cư trú cụ thể)

-Most ethnic minorities live in border parts and other area which are very important in terms of the nation’s economy, politics, defense and environment

- 3 minority groups: the deltas (Kinh, Hoa, Chăm)

- 50 other groups: the midland and the mountainous areas

* Importance of the distribution of ethnic minorities (vai trò địa bàn cư trú)

- Kinh tế: the ethnic minorities live in the border part, coastal area and forest, which are very important to foreign trade, agriculture and mine industry

-Politics and Defense: It’s important to maintain the peace and development in the border parts  most Vietnamese feudal dynasties have their own policies to strengthen the relationship to ethnic minority leaders:

+ wedding+ office and title+ Viet (Kinh) officials

- Environment: Ethnic minorities live in forest area/coastal area  important  forest/coastal environment protection

1.2.4 Time of inhabitation (Về thời gian sinh tụ ở Việt Nam)

- Native groups: Việt (Kinh), Mường, Tày, Chăm

- Early time A.D – 19th century: Hoa

-7th – 13th century: Lự, Thái, Nùng

-…

Though ethnic minorities came to VN at different times, they has been maintaining a tradition of co-operating in national building and defense

1.2.5 Cultural characteristics (Về văn hóa)

Culture = tangible culture heritage + intangible culture heritage

-Economy: self-sufficient economy (agriculture: cassava/corn/rice cultivation)

-Administration: village (làng/bản/buôn) is the basic unit; some others (Thái, Mường) apply a larger administrative system (mường: mường > village) -Religion: mostly polytheism

CHAPTER 2:

CUSTOMS OF VIETNAMESE

ETHNIC MINORITIES

2.1 Introduction (Khái quát về phong tục) : customs = diversified

* Economy:

- hunting + gathering + cultivation (rice/corn/cassava + veg.)

Some cultivates in terraced fields (Mông, Pu Péo, Phù Lá….)Some: wet fields (Chăm, Hoa, Tày…)

- Some traditional crafts: pottery (Chăm, Khơ me, Hoa), textile weaving (Khơ me, Tà ôi ), bamboo weaving (Thái, Cống, La Chí, La Hủ )

- Goods transportation: human/boat/horse carry goods to trade Popular: human-carrying

* Lifestyle (Về sinh hoạt - ăn, ở, mặc)

* Social relationships (Về quan hệ xã hội)

-Most ethnic minorities use village as the basic administrative unit, in which the leader is a respectful elder

-In some ethnic community: gap between rich & poor

-Some ethnic minorities: maternal society (Chu - ru, Cơ – ho, Ê – đê, Gia – rai, Khơ – me, Ba – na, Khơ - mú ) Some in the transition from maternal society  paternal one (Chơ – ro, Giẻ Triêng )

* Rites of passage (wedding, childbirth, funeral): following parts

2.2 Marriage (Hôn nhân)

Purpose: tight the relationships between couples, families and clans

2.2.1 Giới thiệu khái quát

- Decide: parents, head of the clan

- Depending in the system (paternal/maternal)  the bride/bridegroom’s family organize and pay for the wedding Maternal society: bridegroom  live with the bride’s family Some: respectively live with bride’s family and bridegroom’s one.

- Most ethnic minorities forbid cousins to get married Some allow (Bru Vân Kiều, Tà – ôi,

Cơ – tu, Gia – rai, Ê – đê)

- Most: couples are free to marry their lovers Some groups create ‘wife/husbad kidnapping’ to allow couples overcome social/financial obstacles

- Wedding procedure: engagement ceremony, wedding, report ceremony (visit bride’s parents)

2.2.2 Some wedding styles

2.2.2.1 Wedding ceremony of the Tay (Đám cưới của người Tày)

- Ceremonies: Greeting, engagement, New Year gift giving, wedding time selection, wedding day, taking the bride, accompanying the bride to

bridegroom’s house

- Cost: paid by bridegroom’s family  show gratefulness to bride’s parents

- Meals:

+ 4 - 5 p.m: for elders+ 7 - 8 p.m: young people (couple’s friends) Everyone stays after the meals to talk/drink/play games/sing all night

- Taking the bride:

+ Party: quan lang (male matchmaker), pả mẻ (female matchmaker), bridegroom, 2 best men, a young girl and some young, unmarried people who carry the presents

+ Presents: 100 green cakes, 400 white cakes, 2 big white cakes (traditional cakes), 1 roast pig, 2 chicken, wine, trầu cau, 2 fishes, some pork innards, a bag of seeds, some sugar, a red bag, a wet-dry cloth  bride’s parents

- Receiving ceremony (Đón tiếp):

+ Greeting: bride-sided female matchmaker greets the party, bridegroom-sided male matchmaker greets back

+ Obstacle game: hanging rope/ laying the groom or leave a cat

at the door  bridegroom-sided male matchmaker needs to sing politely and cleverly to win over

+ Present receiving  Bow at the ancestor’s altar Wine offering

 People give wishes to couple  dinner together

Chăng dây trong đám cưới của người Tày (Hanging rope in wedding of the Tay)

Búi tóc ngược trong lễ Tằng khẩu (đám cưới người Thái)

Upside down hair bunning in wedding of the Thai

Mâm cỗ cưới của người Bru Vân Kiều

Wedding meal in wedding of the Bru Van Kieu

2.2.3 Funeral (Phong tục tang ma của đồng bào dân tộc thiểu số)

* Introduction (Giới thiệu chung)

- An important rite of passage to Vietnamese ethnic minorities  shows the love and respect towards the death

Some typical funerals

(a) Dry funeral of the H’mong (Đám ma khô của người Mông)

- Held 13 days after the fresh funeral (burying the death) The Mông people believe that the death only recognizes that he/she was dead already after 13 days No annual anniversary for the death in Mông culture

 dry funeral is the last ceremony to say goodbye to the death  important

- Careful preparation: : food + funeral facilities + announcement

+ The death’s family gathers relatives to drink and choose the time for the dry funeral

+ Invites the previous funeral band (priest, music band, coffin carriers)

-Dry funeral:

+ Family members bow to the funeral band and offer them wine

+ Fake figure of the death wears the death’s clothes

+ Priest does ceremony to deliver the death’s spirit to the other world officially separate the livings and the death

 Meanings of dry funeral

(Ý nghĩa đám ma khô của người Mông/Tày/Nùng):

- Explain about the salvation of the spirit in the other world  belief: universe = world of the living + world of the death

- Piety of the children to parents + sharing of the families member and villagers to the death’s family  strengthen the relationship within community

Đám ma khô của người Tày Cao Bằng Dry funeral of the Tay in Cao Bang

(b) Grave-leaving ceremony of some ethnic minorities in the Central Highland

(Lễ bỏ mả của một số dân tộc miền Trung Tây Nguyên)

* Temporary tomb: a simple hut for the death The death’s head is turned towards the sun’s rising Family members have to clean the hut and offer meals to the death regularly  Believe: the death’s spirit is still around the family members

* Grave-leaving ceremony: rid of the temporary hut build a new, long-life tomb 

Meanings:

- Sadness: last time to say goodbye to the death

- Joy: the livings pay full responsibility to the death The death is no longer around to haunt the family.

- Time: 3-7 days + 1 month of preparation

- New house grave (the Banar): two low roofs, no walls Top: decorated with bird, animal and man figures

- Tomb statues (man, monkey, buffalo, bird…): wooden Rough but lively  Highlanders believe the death’s spirit will possess the statues

 statues become slaves of the death in the other world  every feeling of mankind (sadness, grief, happiness, worry) is expressed in the statues’ faces There are some sexual statues  highlander worship penis  wish for fertility

Tượng nhà mồ ở Tây Nguyên Tomb statues in the Central Highland

CHAPTER 3

CUISINE CULTURE OF VIETNAMESE

ETHNIC MINORITIES

3.1 Introduction

-Use ingredients which are available in nature  clean, fresh and nutritious

-Popular dishes : roast/steamed glutinous rice, glutinous rice cakes, roast/smoked meat & fish.

- Spices and sauces : hạt dổi, mắc khén, húng rừng, mắc mật, mắc kham chẩm chéo, nước nhút (from forest and garden).

- Wine: popular and important drink  use in ceremonies, treat visitors Ingredients: corn/cassava/rice + ferment from forest leaves

 Delicateness and flexibility in cuisine + thorough life stance

3.2 Typical cuisine

3.2.1 Steamed sticky rice with ant’s eggs

of the Tay

* Ingredients: black ant’s egg, sticky rice,

special onion (củ kiệu), oil

* Recipe:

-Steam the rice Stir-fry onion with eggs

and spices Stir everything together and

put some fried onion on top

- Serve hot

Steamed sticky rice with ant’s eggs

3.2.2 5-colored steamed sticky rice of the Tay

* Ingredients: sticky rice, ginger leaves, turmeric powder, special red leaves (lá cơm đỏ)

* Recipe: Steep rice and grind red leaves in water  red and purple steamed rice; Rice + turmeric  yellow; red sticky rice  black 5 different colors are put together in the dish  Five Elements Theory (kim, mộc, thuỷ, hoả, thổ - 5 elements which create the universe)

 Use in sacred ceremonies

3.2.3 Khâu nhục of the Tay, Nung, Hoa

* Ingredients: belly pork, lá tầu soi (special pickled vegetables), black bean sauce,

soy sauce, garlic, húng lìu

* Recipe: Boil the pork  add spices roast Fry purple potato Mix pork fat,

aromatic mushroom, bean, egg together to make stuffing Put the pork and all the stuffing and spices together in the bowl and steam it in 5 hours

Khâu nhục

2.2.4 Roasted moss of the Thai

* Ingredients: river moss, hạt dổi, hạt mắc khén (two special spices from forest),

pepper, garlic, ginger, lemon grass, lemon leaves + pork fat

* Recipe: Moss is taken from clean river Mix moss with spices and fat Use dong

leaves to cover the mixture Put it in warm ash for a while  roast it on burning charcoal Besides the special flavor of spices, the moss taste fresh and pure

Rêu sông

3.2.5 Thắng cố of the Mông (H’mong)

* Ingredients: Bones, inner organs of horse/ox, spices

* Recipe: Put all of ingredients into the boiling deep pan Rid of the froth Serve hot

with salt Customers can have it together with homemade corn cakes When some friends join, they buy some wine to cheer up together.

3.2.6 Tube wine (rượu cần) of the Mường in Hoà Bình

* Ingredients: Sticky rice, ferment from forest leaves, pottery vase

* Recipe and serving

- Specialty of Hòa Bình The wine is made from rice and natural ferment  safe & great flavor

- Wine is put in a vase and people drink it through bamboo tubes  a wine for drinking together Tradition: drinking together + game + alternately singing

 Tube wine culture  community spirit 

3.2.7 Mountain field pigs of the Central Highlanders

* Ingredients: naturally-raised pigs , parsley, coriander, lemon grass, pepper, salt

* Recipe

- Pigs are raised naturally in mountain fields  less fat + soft + juicy.

- These pigs can be spiced and roasted in two ways: roast barbecue sticks or roast the whole pig

Heo rẫy

Măng rừng (măng lay, măng vầu)

Forest bamboo shoots

N ậm Pịa ( a sauce made from buffalo/ox/horse/goat’s inner organs)

N ước lèo thịt dê

Soup made from goat meat (the Cham group)

Lẩu lá rừng Hotpot of forest vegetables

Bánh lá ngải Cakes made from sticky rice and a vegetable

M èn mén (Steamed mash corn)

C ơm lam (Sticky rice cooked in a bamboo tube)

CONCLUSION

1 Co-operation of Vietnamese ethnic groups

- The ethnic minorities share some similarities and well co-operate.

- Each have its unique cultural characteristics  contribute to the diversity of VN culture

2 Diversity and humanity of the culture of ethnic minorities

- Their cultural characteristics origin from the Southeast Asia environment and life stance

of the inhabitants

- The diversity and humanity of the culture of ethnic minorities  nourish the soul and better the behavior of the people.

3 Preservation and application of the culture of ethnic minorities nowadays

-There are some factors in modern lifestyle which threaten the culture of ethnic minorities

 VN authorities  attention to preserve and apply those values.

- There are some customs of ethnic minorities which need to be removed/adjusted  to both reserve the good values of the culture and build up the progressive culture of the whole nation.