nghi lễ gia đình của người mảng ở việt nam bản tóm tắt tiếng anh

Socio-economic life of Mang people in Viet Nam has seen changes,especially since Doi Moi in 1986 that was followed by changes in theirtraditional rituals and has both positive and advers

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

THE THESIS WAS COMPLETED AT GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

VIET NAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

-*** -SUPERVISORS

1 Assoc Prof Bùi Văn Đạo

2 Assoc Prof Nguyễn Văn Minh

Judge 1: Assoc Prof Lâm Bá Nam

Judge 2: Assoc Prof Nguyễn Duy Bính

Judge 3: Assoc Prof Nguyễn Ngọc Thanh

The dissertation will be presented to a PhD committee at Graduate Academy of Social Sciences at: 2014

Readers can look up this Dissertation at:

- National Library

- Library of Graduate Academy of Social Sciences

- Library of Institute of Social Sciences of Central Highlands

LIST OF PUBLISHED WORKS RELATING TO THE DISSERTATION

TOPIC BY PHD STUDENT

1 Nguyễn Văn Thắng (2013), "Rituals of birth delivery and baby rearing of Mang

people in Viet Nam", Journal of Ethnography, No 3, pp 25-35, Hà Nội.

2 Nguyễn Văn Thắng (2013), "Local knowledge of Mang people in Viet Nam",

Vietnam Social Sciences Review, No 6, pp 93-100, Hà Nội.

3 Nguyễn Văn Thắng (2013), "Agricultural rituals of Mang people in Viet Nam",

Journal of Social Sciences of Central Highlands, No 2, pp 62-71, Hà Nội.

4 Nguyễn Văn Thắng (2012), "Funerals of Mang people in Lai Chau province",

Journal of Ethnograpy, No 4, pp 11-19, Hà Nội.

5 Nguyễn Văn Thắng (2012), "Weddings of Mang people in Viet Nam", Journal of Social Sciences of Central Highlands, No 2, pp 60-71, Hà Nội.

6 Nguyễn Văn Thắng (2012), "Livelihood of Mang people in Viet Nam and

sustainabble development of a race", Journal of Sustainable Development Studies, No 3,

pp 29-38, Hà Nội.

7 Nguyễn Văn Thắng (2012), "Local knowledge of Mang people in Viet Nam in

health check-up and treatment", Journal of Forklores, No 3, pp 55-60, Hà Nội.

1 Background

Mang people in Viet Nam is an ethnic minority group According tothe 2009 Population and Housing Census, Mang group has a population of3,700 people and locate in 14 provinces and cities in the country: DienBien, Son La, Dak Lak, Dong Nai Most of Mang people are living in LaiChau province with 3,631 people, accounting for 98.13% of total ethnicminority groups Mang people often live in the disadvantaged and remoteareas Many villages of Mang people are located along the Viet Nam –China borderline In the last years, there have been some works andstudies on Mang people but a comprehensive study on family rituals ofMang people is absent

Family rituals include the rituals and practices on birth giving, childrearing, wedding, funeral, health treatment and check-up, occupation,peace-seeking worship This is the longstanding cutural values of a raceand important factor of spiritual culture reflecting their morals andoutlook on life Family rituals of Mang people in Viet Nam are changing

to adapt to new contexts and environment Thus, researching familyrituals is to point out basic aspects of Mang culture in Viet Nam

Socio-economic life of Mang people in Viet Nam has seen changes,especially since Doi Moi in 1986 that was followed by changes in theirtraditional rituals and has both positive and adversed impact on their lives.Therefore, researching family rituals of Mang people in this context pointsout traditional cultural values and its changes that helps identify the trend

of changes and find out appropriate solutions to reserve and develop goodcultural values

Under the influence of globalisation, although State and Party haspaid due attention to reserving and developing ethnic cultural values toserve the industrialisation and modernisation, the rapidly ongoingacculturation has brought about opportunities for the ethnic minoritygroups to access and integrate into the global economy and culture Thisalso brings about challenges in the development, especially inharmonising the development and reservation of ethnic minority groups’culture

Given such theoretical and practical issues, a study on Family rituals

of Mang people in Viet Nam is not only of scientific significance but alsocontributes to maintaining and developing traditional culture of Mang to be

in line with the existing socio-economic development context shaped byDoi Moi and integration The study is also to provide scientific foundationfor state management bodies in their making policies and developing socio-economic development solutions to reserve and developing ethnic culturalvalues according to the direction of “building and developing a progressiveand intensively traditional Vietnam culture” stated at the National Congress5th of the VIIIth Party.

2 Objectives of the dissertation

First, present clearly and systematically family rituals of Mang

people in Viet Nam

Second, contribute to examining the values of Mang family rituals

in Viet Nam and its changes in existing context, analysing influencingfactors to the changes

Third, provide a reference on Mang people in Viet Nam, scientific

foundation for comparative research on ethnic minority groups sharingsame language in Viet Nam

Fourth, provide scientific foundation for state management bodies

in designing appropriate policies on reserving and developing culturalvalues of Mang ethnic minority group

3 Subjects, scope, and study site

3.1 The subject of the dissertation is Mang ethnic minority group.The dissertation scrutinises the system of family rituals and its changes

in existing context

3.2 The scope of the dissertation is family rituals of Mang ethnicminority group in Viet Nam However, because the scope is wide andrelates to various aspects of ethnic people’s lives, the dissertation focuses

on some specific rituals: life cycle rituals, occupational rituals, seeking worship, God and ancestor worship, check-up and treatment.The dissertation also examines the changes and roles of rituals in the newcontext Traditional rituals of Mang families are the rituals prior to 1986.Since Doi Moi, the market mechanism has strongly impact on lives ofMang people in Viet Nam, including family rituals

peace-3.3 The study site is in Lai Chau province, including 5 communes

in 2 districts: Pa Ve Su, Bum Nua, Vang San communes of Muong Tedistrict and Chan Nua, Nam Ban communes of Sin Ho district Thesecommunes are home of many Mang people in Viet Nam and reserveintensively culture of the ethnicity and ensure the representativeness of the

sites where are influenced by market mechanism at different levels Inaddition, the study compares with Mang people in other localities so thatthe study results are better comprehensive.

4 Reference source

Besides the results of published works and related secondary data,the dissertation is based on the primary data collected by the author since2005

5 Contribution of the dissertation

First, the dissertation is the first work providing comprehensive

and systematic information on family rituals of Mang people in VietNam;

Second, point out the values of family rituals of Mang people and

the changes of their rituals in current context;

Third, through synthesis and analysis, the dissertation points out

the similarities and differences of Mang cultural values in comparativewith other ethnic minority groups;

Fourth, the dissertation provides scientific foundation and suggest

recommendations and solutions for making policies on socio-economicdevelopment and maintenance and development of Mang cultural values

in current context of Viet Nam

6 Structure of dissertation

In addition to the Introduction, Conclusion, Reference and Index,the dissertation composes of 5 chapters:

Chapter 1: Literature review, theoretical background,

methodologies and study site

Chapter 2: Life cycle rituals in traditional society

Chapter 3: Occupational rituals, ancestors and Gods’ worship

and festivals in traditional society

Chapter 4: Changes in family rituals since 1986

Chapter 5: Results and discussion

Chapter 1 LITERATURE REVIEW, THEORETICAL BACKGROUND,

METHODOLOGIES AND STUDY SITE 1.1 LITERATURE REVIEW

There are very few research in Viet Nam and abroad on Mang people, hence, the number of related studies and published works are very limited and unsystematically The materials on Mang people can be found mainly in regional and area studies, assessment reports or brief papers In this literature review, the author has tried to gather all materials and publications on Mang people, focusing on directly related works on family rituals for the study purpose

There are some works introducing briefly on social, cultural, economic, historical characters and the origin of Mang people in Viet Nam as follows: The races with Southern Asian origin in Northern Vietnam by Vuong Hoan Tuyen (1963); The races with Southern Asian origin in Northwestern Vietnam by Dang Nghiem Van (1972); Races of Southern Asian language system in Northwestern Vietnam by Dang Nghiem Van, Nguyen Truc Binh, Nguyen Van Huy and Thanh Thien (1972); Ethnic minority groups in Vietnam (northern provinces) by Institute of Ethnology (1979); Historical origin of races in northern border provinces in Viet Nam by Nguyen Chi

Huyen, Hoang Hoa Toan, Luong Van Bao (2000); Lai Chau and ethnic minority groups in Lai Chau edited by Hanh Lien (2007).

In-depth works on Mang people in Viet Nam include: Thanh Thien and brief introduction of Mang people in Lai Chau (1972); Ngo Duc Thinh and Community relationship in “Muy” organisation of Mang people prior to Liberation (1972); Dissolution process of extended families of Mang people currently (1974); Mang fairy tales by Mac Dinh Di, Chau Hong Thuy, Ly A San (1985); Vi Van An introduces mouth tattoos practice of Mang people in his work of Those who keep the practice of chin tattoos (1999); Mang people in Nam Ban by Tran Minh Thu and Lo Ngoc Bien; Ngoc Hai with several works, including: Cultural identity of Mang ethnicity (2003), Mang folklores and fairy tales (2004) and Some customs of Mang ethnicity (2006); Local knowledge of Mang ethnic minority group in Sin Ho district of Lai Chau province in caring for pregnant women and newborn babies by Pham Manh Duong (2006); Marriage of Mang people in Lai Chau by Nguyen Van Nam (2006); Mang people in Chan Nua of Sin Ho district, Lai Chau province by Hoang Son (2007); Nguyen Van Thang and Customs and belief of Mang people in Nam Ban commune, Sin Ho district, Lai Chau province (2007); The customs of giving a name to Mang people in Nam Ban (2007); Livelihoods of Mang people in Viet Nam and the sustainable development of a race (2012); Wedding of Mang people in Viet Nam (2012), Funerals of Mang people in Lai Chau (2012), Local knowledge of Mang people

in Viet Nam in check-up and health treatment (2012), Rituals of giving birth and child rearing of Mang people in Viet Nam (2013), Local knowledge of Mang people in Viet Nam (2013), Agricultural rituals of Mang people in Viet Nam (2013).

Some authors study on the language of Mang people, including: Nguyen Thi Loan and Some traites of Mang language in Northwestern Viet Nam (1976), Ta Van

Thong and Exclusion of Mang language (1997), Nguyen Huu Loi, Nguyen Huu Hoanh and Ta Van Thong and The position of Mang language in Mon-Khmer languages (1998), Nguyen Van Loi, Nguyen Huu Hoanh and Ta Van Thong with Mang language (2008).

It is found out that the published works have more or less mentioned Mang people in Lai Chau but not Mang people in other provinces in the country In addition, the rituals of Mang people have yet to become the subject of studies, thus, a systematic and comprehensive study on this topic has been absent It is necessary to have in-depth and comprehensive research on the rituals from the perspective of ethnology and anthropology to contribute to the overall picture of Mang people’s culture in Viet Nam.

It is to maintain and develop cultural values of this ethnic minority group in current context Despite of that, previous works are valuable references for this dissertation in addition to the primary data collected by the author to delineate a relatively complete picture on family rituals of Mang people in Viet Nam

1.2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGIES

1.2.1 Basic concepts

The dissertation uses several concepts, including: rituals, family, family ritual, practice, customs, taboos as the research tools The concepts are divided into categories and presented according to the practical process The purpose is to provide the overall knowledge of family rituals of Mang people in Viet Nam

1.2.2 Theoretical ground

The dissertation applies the approaches of Marxism, Ho Chi Minh thoughts, and viewpoints of Viet Nam state and Communist Party on ethnicity and culture The author uses two theories of functionism and acculturation as theoretical ground for analyses

1.2.3 Methodologies

Ethnography is the main method of this study, including observation,

participation observation, in-depth interview, focus groups to collect information from the research subject In addition, expert consultation, statistics, comparison, analysis, photography are used.

1.3 STUDY SITE AND SUBJECT

1.3.1 Natural traits

Lai Chau is a border province, bordering Yunnan province of China in the north and northwestern; Dien Bien province in the West and Southwestern; Lao Cai and Yen Bai province in the East and Southeastern; Son La province in the south As of December

2012, Lai Chau has 7 districts, including Muong Te and Sin Ho districts where are homes

to Mang people Sin Ho is located in the border highlands, covering an area of 1,925

square kilometer, a population of 77,085 people, population density of 40.05 people per square kilometer Sin Ho district, 60 kilometers away from the province centre, is bounded

by Yunnan province (China) in the north, Muong Te district in the West, Tam Duong and Than Uyen districts in the East and Quynh Nhai district (Son La province) and Tua Chua district (Dien Bien province) in the South Muong Te is also a border district, around 180 kilometers away from the province centre in the northwest The district borders with Yunnan province (China) in the north, Muong Lay and Muong Nhe districts (Dien Bien province) in the south and west, Sin Ho district (Lai Chau province) in the east The district has a natural area of 3,670 square kilometers and a population of 50,490 people.

1.3.2 Mang people in Viet Nam

1.3.2.1 Overviews of race history

Mang people is also called with different names, such as, Mang, U, Xa Xam Cam, Xa Mang, Xa Ba O, Ra Mang, etc There are two groups of Mang people, including Mang Gung and Mang Le Mang people, one of Mon-Khmer language groups and South Asian origin, has been living in Lai Chau province for rather long time and considered a native group in Lai Chau province The prehistorically archaeological relics found in Nam Tum cave and Tham Khuong cave in Lai Chau indicate that humans were present in this site and it concurs with folk stories of Mang people However, there is no evidence on the exact time when the Mang people were present The literature so far is limited to the fact that Mang people live in this province

earliest or explored this land

1.3.2.2 Population and population distribution

According to the 2009 Population and Housing Census, Mang group has 3,700

people living in 14 provinces in the country (see Table 1) However, the absolute

majority of them reside in Lai Chau province, including Sin Ho district where are home

to 1,738 Mang people and Muong Te district with 1,452 people

1.3.2.3 Socio-economic and cultural characteristics

Mang people’s economic activities include: cultivation, animal raising, hunting, traditional handicraft, and commercial exchange Cultivation is the main activity and rice field in the mountains is the main production

The traditional social structure of Mang people is managed by Po Gia Before August Revolution, Mang people mainly worked as hired workers for French colonialism and Thai landlords They were disdained and considered as lower class and not allowed to participate in leadership positions higher than Tao Long Mang people

call a village a muy The head of village administers all aspects of life in the

community and under the administration of Tao Long and Thai landlords Mang people

in Viet Nam composed of six clans, including Pan, Tao, Lung, Anh, Ly and Chin.

Afterwards, Mang women marry to Thai men and there is Lo clan Patriarchial extended family was a popular pattern in tradition Today, Mang families are nuclear families with independent economy Until now, the matriarchy remains

Food is mainly from forest, including: mushroom, bamboo shoots, kinds of vegetables found in forest, and planted vegetables Fresh food such as crab, fish, wild animal meat, pork, chicken, and beef are hunted and domestically raised There are two

kinds of drink, including can wine and distilled wine Pipe tobacco is traditional

tobacco Mang people’s houses are described as follows: 1) the house aspect depends

on terrain; 2) simple structuring; 3) Rooms are allocated according to the position of family members; 4) house on stilts built with wood and covered with leaves; 5) There

is no distinction in space for kitchen, house, and there is a division of space for living for individuals Female costume is dyed black or indigo long dress, a chest-splited top; covered outside with a strip of white cloth Women’s hair is twisted into a bun and held with a band embroidered with red and blue threads Male costume includes indigo- coloured trousers with wide trouser legs and length till ankles; the belt is tied with a fabric band; the shirt is indigo or dark blue, split at chest Men have long hair and tied with a black scarf

Following the animism, Mang people believe that all living being in the earth has soul Although there is not their own writing, Mang people has a relatively profound and rich folklore literature with a diversified types including fairy tale, legend, old stories, quizzes, and poem In addition, the local knowledge is much diversified in protecting and exploring natural resources

SUMMARY OF CHAPTER I

The dissertation on Family rituals of Mang people in Viet Nam is written in the

context the works and studies on this group of people are not many and unsystematic Mostly, there is small-scaled research and none is on the group rituals The previous research is mainly about the history of the group, socio-economic conditions, or describes cultural phenomena of Mang people while there is no analysis interpreting the symbols and group-and-group comparison, cultural changes under the impact of acculturation This dissertation is a valuable reference since it bridges the gaps in anthropology on family rituals of Mang people in Viet Nam

As the ground for analysing and assessing the main content of the dissertation, Chapter 1 provides basic concepts relating directly to the topic: ritual, family, family ritual, function of rituals Theories used include: acculturation theory, functionalism The methodologies are dialectical materialism and historical materialism of Marxism,

Ho Chi Minh thoughts and the viewpoints by State and Communist Party on ethnicity and culture; family rituals of Mang people are considered in its moves, changes and

dialectically related to other factors of Mang people and ethnicity Ethnology is the main method In addition, the dissertation uses other methods like expert consultation, synthesis, analysis, statistics, photography

Mang people concentrate in two districts of Muong Te and Sin Ho of Lai Chau province Therefore, these districts are the main site of the study The dissertation provides an overview of natural condition, history of race, population distribution, socio-economic and cultural tradition and changes in an effort to provide a comprehensive outlook on the site and subject of the study It should be noted that because inhabiting in an underdeveloped border area, the economy of Mang people depends heavily on subsistence cultivation of rice in high mountains The cohesion of community is based on equality and strong attachment of family members to the clans Social institutions and prestigious people in tradition remain relatively strongly influencing people’s lives in all aspects Mang people’s culture is rich and diversified manifested in their faith, rituals and folklores

Chapter 2 LIFE CYCLE RITUALS IN TRADITION 2.1 BIRTH GIVING AND CHILD REARING RITUALS

2.1.1 Viewpoints on birth giving and child rearing

The birth of a child changes social position of related individuals, such as, a man becomes a father, a woman becomes a mother, a child becomes a sister or brother Mang people believe that a family with many children is blessed and vice versus Parents raise children and children will take care of parents in their old ages Couples without a child are sometimes criticised as not blessed or punished by their ancestors or gods for their bad performance in their lives Son preference is not clear for Mang people For them, all creatures in the universe have souls Birth giving is considered not clean, therefore, Mang women often gave birth at a shack previously and now close

to their stilt house Family members are not allowed to give any utensils in home to the woman who has just given a birth During pregnancy and after giving a birth, women must keep off many things In a month before giving a birth, women are not allowed to grow plants, especially rice because it is believed the soul of rice will go and thus loss

of harvest is imminent

2.1.2 Rituals in pregnancy period

The rituals in pregnancy period are practiced when a couple fails to give birth to

a child after 2 or 3 years in marriage The couple has to consult a fortune teller to know about the reasons why they cannot give birth to a child Then, the couple has to make offerings to the god or ghost accordingly to the advice of fortune teller If during

pregnancy, the mother gets sick, the family has to worship to drive away ghost which might have caused bad things to the foetus

2.1.3 Rituals of giving birth

In tradition, when a pregnant woman signals signs of delivery, she would be moved to the shack in the rice field or under the stilts house During delivery, if the pregnant woman is difficult to give birth, the husband must seek a shaman to practice a difficult giving birth worship to protect mother’s and baby’s health

2.1.4 Rituals of taking care, protecting and rearing a child

After giving birth, the mother is not allowed to eat vegetables, pork, dog meat, fish with black skin, all fruits, salt and prohibited to cut trees, hoe land (especially in groundbreaking for building a house) in order to take good care and protect her baby During this stage, Mang people has different rituals, including ritual of keeping baby soul, ritual of naming for the baby, ritual of calling the baby’s soul, ritual of tieing thread at wrist, ritual of worshipping ghost for the sake of the baby.

2.2 RITUALS OF MARRIAGE

2.2.1 Viewpoints on marriage and principles of marriage

Mang people do not use force in marriage People are free to choose life partner and get married relatively early Girls get married at 15-18 years old and boys get married at 16-20 years old In some cases, people get married earlier than these ages Previously, boys and girls at about 14-15 years old had their mouth tattooed and this is considered a coming-of-age ritual In marriage, the role of matchmakers is very important They are on behalf of parents of bride and bridegroom to exchange ideas, make decision and practice the rituals and procedures in getting married.

Mang people in Viet Nam have patterns of marriage: getting married to a kinship member at three-generation gap; getting married to people outside the kinship; getting married to people from other ethnic groups Each pattern has principles to keep the race and the appropriateness of the ethnic culture.

2.2.2 Rituals before wedding

Pre-engagement ceremony is the first ritual of marriage When the boy and the

girl love each other and the boy informs his parents to choose a nice day and ask a matchmaker to do pre-engagement ceremony to ask for permission from the girl’s family The boy’s family chooses a good day and ask a matchmaker to bring gifts to

the girl’s family to do betrothal ceremony Two or five days after betrothal ceremony,

the boy’s matchmaker and family members take the boy to the girl’s family to start the

ceremony of living at wife’s family Previously, the period of living at wife’s family is

3-7 years Now, it is about 3 years and depends on the wife’s family If the wife’s family needs a strong person to work, the period of living at wife’s family is longer and vice versus.

2.2.3 Rituals in wedding ceremony

Mang people often select a good day after harvest time to organise a wedding (between the eleventh month to third month in lunar calendar) Rituals of wedding often take two days at least (previously three days) in each family It starts with a

ceremony of face painting that followed by a wedding ceremony at the bride’s family with several rituals including: handover of pigs; eating chicken and pork to thank matchmakers During the receiving bride ceremony, Mang people has two rituals of drinking wine to worship for luck and bride abduction and then taking the bride to the

Informing ceremony is taken place right after the delegation of bride’s family

returns to the bride parents’ home It is to inform the result of handover the bride and the behaviours of the bridegroom’s family towards the delegation Ten or fifteen days

after this ceremony, the young couple selects a good day to make the first visit bride’s family After 3-5 years of coresiding with parents, the couple does a ceremony to ask for their parents to allow them to live separately.

2.2.5 Marriage rituals in special circumstances

In the circumstances that the boy or the girl or both are orphan, marriage rituals are simpler than those presented above It is very seldom amongst Mang people that a never-married boy gets married to a widow and vice versus because of the criticism and dissatisfaction by parents According to Mang people, a marriage with a widow does not need any ritual.

2.2.6 Some prohibitions of marriage

Incest and having pregnancy prior to living at wife’s family are strictly prohibited.

2.3 HEALTH CHECK-UP AND TREATMENT

2.3.1 Some viewpoints on sickness and health

According to Mang people, because the soul does not go far and ghost does not harm people, people can be healthy Sickness occurs because the soul of a person goes far away and cannot return in time, hence, a worship is needed to call the soul return and the sick will get well.

2.3.2 Diagnosis and treatment rituals

Given the animism, when getting sick, Mang people often seek an explanation

by a shaman who often uses eggs or a knife to explain the reasons of sickness When

he/she finds out a ghost who harms the patient, he/she organises a worship to drive the

ghost away or ask for its forgiveness Some related rituals are worshipping forest ghost, domestic ghost, mental health treatment, stomach ache treatment, calling spirits

of the dead, keeping spirit, etc.

2.4 FUNERAL RITURALS

2.4.1 Some viewpoints, principles, and taboos in funerals

According to our research, Mang people has two souls: intelligent soul (nhuy y) and stupid soul (nhuy bo) Soul makes life and when the soul does not exist that means dead (thit) Mang people believe there are two kinds of death – good death (thit im) and bad death (bop thit) When a family has a funeral, family members have to go on a diet free of herbals, sour leaves, sour fruits, and they are prohibited from using soap Married children of the dead must not have sexual intercourse, do big things, work in the field and they have to go to bed early Those who attend the funeral are not allowed

to have sexual intercourse with their spouse, work in the field, do big things for their home and have to go to bed early The villagers or community must not do important things, go out overnight and people have to go to bed early.

2.4.2 Rituals in preparation for funeral

Informing of the death ritual is carried out right after the death occurs After

that, a family member withdraws a board in their door to measure the length of the dead and asks for relatives and neighbourers to go to the forest to choose a big tree to

make coffin (loang gua) There is not a cemetary for all Mang people and the grave is

often located in the west of the village After choosing a location, people set up a shack (khi trang) made with 6 poles, 6 bundles of straw grass, 15 strips of rope.

2.4.3 Main rituals of funeral

Changing new costume ritual is an important ritual in the funeral of Mang people.

Right after the death occurs, the family breaks the bamboo partition separated the place

of the dead with other spaces The dead is placed in that bamboo partition and get clothes changed Then, a series of rituals are carried out: dividing property of the dead, paying tribute to the dead, rice offering, burning candle, laying body in coffin, burning the smell

of the dead, lowering coffin into the grave, sending off the soul, driving away ghost These rituals are strictly carried out to make the good start for a new cycle of a person For Mang people, the funeral is a necessary preparation for a new start, samara and resurgence

2.4.4 Post-funeral rituals

After funeral, each Mang kinship has their own rice offering ritual, differently from kinship to kinship Lo kinship often offer rice for the dead for 7 days, others 3 days After that, a grave closing ritual is to identify whether the reason of the death is normal or harmed by a ghost.

2.4.5 Some special rituals of funeral

A funeral for a child and those who die a sudden death is different from other funerals The grave of those dead is located right at the place the death occurs and in the date of the death.

SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 2

Most rituals of the Mang people are in the life cycle rituals which represent many features and specific cultural traits of the ethnicity and give light into the differences from ethnic group to other group.

Birth giving is the start of a life cycle, including rituals of worshipping the gods for being expected; caring, protecting foetus to develop healthily and being born in the joys of family and the clan Other rituals are to protect with parents’ and family’s wishes for peace, happiness for the child However, given the backward viewpoints on giving birth, Mang people remain practice underdeveloped customs which cause mostly high mortality rate of Mang children.

Marriage of Mang people is officially recognised when the boy and girl have their mouth tattooed It is also the sign of maturity of Mang boys and girls A marriage

of Mang people has 5 steps (pre-engagement ceremony, betrothal ceremony, living at wife’s family, meeting the bride and taking her home, wedding) with several rituals at different stages These rituals do not require much expense Bridegroom’s family brings gifts to the bride’s family, including the agricultural or hunting produces Living

at wife’s family offers the boy opportunity to learn and present his important role in the future nuclear family On the other hand, it is a way to solve the shortage of labour if the bridegroom’s family has no son The long or short time of living at the wife’s family is requested at the wedding-present giving ceremony Marriage rituals offer opportunity for people to present their singing and capacity through duo songs, on one hand, bringing joys to the newlywed couple and exchange and learn from each other cultural values from generation to generation.

Funeral rituals reflect many aspects of specific cultural values of the ethnicity The contrast colour, cultural symbols, core values are subtly presented at rituals and ceremonies in which informing of the death ceremony is the start of the journey and the grave closing ceremony is the end of a life cycle Funeral rituals open a new world and life where is expected to return to start a new journey Mang people believe it is the samsara Therefore, funeral is well prepared and seriously carried out Through it, a copious and diversified worldview of Mang people is presented It describes the sentiments of the alive people towards the dead, the relationship between family, clan, neighbour and community It is also the chance where people share the grief of the dead’s family, doubling the cohesion and attachment among people, educating children and relatives of the traditional moral standards.

Amongst the rituals of life cycle, shaman and fortune tellers and matchmakers