Cultural changes in marriage and funeral customs of San Diu people in Phu Binh District, Thai Nguyen Province = Những biến đổi văn hóa trong phong tục cưới xin 16202420150227

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY,HA NOI INSTITUTE OF VIETNAMESE STUDIES AND DEVELOPMENT SCIENCES DUONG THUY LINH CULTURAL CHANGES IN MARIAGE AND FUNERAL CUSTOMS OF SAN DIU PEOPLE IN PHU BI

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY,HA NOI INSTITUTE OF VIETNAMESE STUDIES AND DEVELOPMENT SCIENCES

DUONG THUY LINH

CULTURAL CHANGES IN MARIAGE AND FUNERAL CUSTOMS OF SAN DIU PEOPLE

IN PHU BINH DISTRICT, THAI NGUYEN PROVINCE

MASTER THESIS Major: VIETNAMESE STUDIES

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY,HA NOI INSTITUTE OF VIETNAMESE STUDIES AND DEVELOPMENT SCIENCES

DUONG THUY LINH

CULTURAL CHANGES IN MARIAGE AND FUNERAL CUSTOMS OF SAN DIU PEOPLE

IN PHU BINH DISTRICT, THAI NGUYEN PROVINCE

Master thesis, major: VIETNAMESE STUDIES

Code: 60 31 60

Supervisors: Duong Thuy Linh Associate.Prof.Dr Hoang Luong

Hanoi - 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1

LIST OF TABLES 5

INTRODUCTION 6

1 Reasons for choosing this issue 6

2 Background information on this issue 8

3 Purposes, objects and scope of the research 11

3.1 Purposes of the research 11

3.2 Objects and scopes of the research 11

4 Theoretical bases and research methods 12

5 Contribution of the thesis 13

6 Layout of the thesis 13

CONTENTS 14

Chapter 1: GENERAL GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION OF PHU BINH DISTRICT – THAI NGUYEN PRIVINCE AND THE SAN DIU ETHNIC GROUP 14

1.1 Geographic location and natural conditions 14

1.1.1 Geographic location 14

1.1.2 Natural conditions 15

1.2 Social and economic situation 17

1.3 San Diu People in Phu Binh District - Thai Nguyen Province 21

1.3.1 The people’s name, historical origin and population 21

1.3.2 Social organization 25

1.3.3 Livelihood culture 28

1.3.4 Material culture 29

1.3.5 Spiritual culture 32

Sub - conclusion for chapter 1 35

Chapter 2: TRADITION AND CHANGE IN MARRIAGE CUSTOMS OF SAN DIU

PEOPLE IN PHU BINH DISTRICT, THAI NGUYEN PROVINCE 36

2.1 The concept of marriage 36

2.2.The ritual of marriage 44

2.3 Changes in marriage customs 65

Sub- conclusion of Chapter 2 75

Chapter 3: TRADITION AND CHANGE IN FUNERAL CUSTOMS OF SAN DIU PEOPLE IN PHU BINH DISTRICT, THAI NGUYEN PROVINCE 77

3.1 The concept of human agency, worldview 77

3.2 The ritual of the funeral 80

3.3 Changes in funeral customs 93

Sub - conclusion of chapter 3 97

Chapter 4: CULTURAL VALUES IN MARRIAGE AND FUNERAL CUSTOMS OF SAN DIU PEOPLE IN PHU BINH DISTRICT 98

THAI NGUYEN PROVINCE 98

4.1 The cultural value of traditional marriage customs 98

4.2 The cultural value of traditional funeral customs 102

4.3 Some causes of changes and solution to preserve and promote the values of marriage and funeral customs of the San Diu people in Phu Binh district, Thai Nguyen 107

4.3.1 Causes of changes 107

4.3.2 A number of suggestions and proposals to preserve and promote the values of marriage and funeral customs of the San Diu people in Phu Binh district, Thai Nguyen 111

Sub-conclusion of Chapter 4 118

CONCLUSION 119

REFERENCES 123

INTRODUCTION

1 Reasons for choosing this issue Vietnamese culture is the culture of “diversity in unity " It is the convergence of cultural values of the 54 ethnic groups living in the territory of Vietnam During their history and development, each group has created typical traditional cultural values for themselves Each ethnic group has their own cultural values; and through history these cultural values become their cultural identities, contributing to the multi-nuanced culture of Vietnam

Cultural identity is one out of three criteria to determine the ethnic structure in Vietnam So, the existence of each group is attached with their cultural characters The loss of the cultural values of a nation will gradually lead

to the disappearance of that nation Particularly, in the context of current integration, the issue of national cultures is paid more and more attention An urgent need is that to integrate does not mean to dissolve the culture We integrate with the international trends, but still reserve our traditional national values National values are our cultural characters Vietnam cultural characters are the cultural values of every ethnic group living on the territory of Vietnam,

in particular the Kinh people and 53 ethnic minorities The research and studies

on Vietnamese characters can not be separated from studying the cultural characters of each of the 54 peoples in Vietnam

Our Party and Government also attach great importance to conserving and promoting cultural values of ethnic groups In 1991, in the "Platform for national construction in the period of transition to socialism" the Party has stated

to respect for the interests of cultural traditions, languages, customs and beliefs

of the peoples, and at the same time, to reserve and promote moral, ethic, aesthetic values and the cultural and artistic heritages of every people

In the huge family of Vietnam’s ethnic groups, San Diu people, also known as Son Dzao people (Dzao people in the mountains), mainly live in the provinces of Quang Ninh, Hai Duong, Bac Giang, Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang , Yen Bai, etc Having immigrated to Vietnam and settled in Thai Nguyen for just about 3 centuries, but they still reserve their available cultural values, together with other groups’ cultures they have absorbed simultaneously, to create their own tradition cultural characters

It is affirmed that life cycle rites are the profound expression for ethnic culture characters, especially spiritual, psychological life and customs of each group Besides, these are exceptional cultures well reserved and hardly changed for a long time, because they themselves contain meaningful humane values, which is ground for prosperity of every group’s culture Every San Diu person, from birth till death, goes though their group’s life cycle rites, which helps building their cultural values Studying their life cycle rites is a must if we want

to study their cultural values

The major milestones in each person’s life are marked by following rituals: marriage, giving birth and funeral, which are the turning points of his (her) life They enable development inside each person in accordance with natural laws and under impact of social ones The issue of studying San Diu people’s cultures in general and the issue of explaining the changes in life cycle rites in particular remain unsolved

Thinking of that we decided to choose to do research on this issue

“Cultural changes in marriage and funeral customs of San Diu people in Phu Binh District, Thai Nguyen Province” with which we aims to show significant

changes in marriage and funeral customs of the local San Diu People, firstly to contribute to the study of cultural characters of ethnic minorities in Vietnam, and finally to make ground for the study of Vietnamese cultural characters

We hope that this research upon completion will help understanding more

of San Diu People’s culture, as well as cultures of all the ethnic groups in Vietnam; and basing on that to propose suitable policies about preserving and promoting cultural values of marriage and funeral customs, two of the life cycle rites of San Diu People in Phu Binh District, Thai Nguyen Province in particular and San Diu People all around the country in general

2 Background information on this issue

In the last few years, the trend to study and research on traditional ethnic cultures has become more and more popular Although the ethnic minorities only cover about 13% total population, each of them owns unique culture and customs, which creates the national diversified-but-unified culture, the progressive and well reserved culture of Vietnam

The San Diu ethnic group in Vietnam is also an interesting issue which has been attracting many ethnologists and writers There has been many deep researches done on their culture published into books or writing on magazines

The book Nguoi San Diu o Viet Nam written by Ma Khanh Bang,

published in 1983, is an overview picture of life of San Diu people in Vietnam The author has researched and presented a general overview of the San Diu people: the name, foundation and development history, as well as the social organization, material and spiritual cultures, and their tradition customs which make up their own cultural values He concludes that San Diu group is a minority who continuously absorbs other groups’ cultures, but still keeps in mind that they are a people

Writer Diep Trung Binh, in Phong Tuc va Nghi Le Chu Ky Doi Nguoi cua

Nguoi San Diu o Viet Nam (2005), describes in details most customs of San Diu

People during their life cycle from birth to death Besides, he also shows his

opinions about their cultural values and changes in these values shown in their life cycle rites

In Tri Thuc Dan Gian trong Chu Ky Doi Nguoi San Diu o Viet Nam,

published by National Culture Press in 2011, Diep Trung Binh also mentions cultural values of the San Diu people through their folk knowledge in giving birth, raising children, growing up, marriage and funeral

He also collects, studies and translates San Diu people’s folk songs in their everyday life and corresponding singing in weddings All is published in

the book Dan Ca San Diu by National Culture Press in 1987

The book “Cac Dan Toc It Nguoi o Viet Nam (Cac Tinh Phia Bac)”also

gives a general overview of the San Diu people in Vietnam The authors briefly describe history of the people and the living cultures, including material cultures

in their houses, costumes, food, and spiritual cultures in their rituals like marriage and funeral, etc

“Dan Toc San Diu o Bac Giang”, written by Ngo Van Tru and Nguyen

Xuan Can (main editor), by National Culture Press, Hanoi, 2003, is a full picture

of San Diu people in Bac Giang, presenting in details from history, name, living territory, etc., to traditional economic activities, food, traditional costumes, rituals and customs related to life cycle

The author Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, in his book “Van Hoa Truyen Thong

San Diu o Tuyen Quang”, published in 2011, also gives the most general

overview of the history of this people, as well as their residence and cultural identities in Tuyen Quang Province

These above mentioned researches provide a useful theoretical ground and comparative object for me to objectively study the cultural changes of the San Diu minority in Phu Binh through their customs of marriage and funeral

Dr Nguyen Thi Que Loan has deeply studied the eating habits of the

people, and reflected the result in her doctorial thesis “Tap Quan An Uong cua

Nguoi San Diu o Thai Nguyen” This thesis discusses in details about the

traditional sources of their foods, their traditional methods of preparing foods and drinks, as well as changes of these customs when the people exchange and learn from other groups

Related to the above issue, Dr Nguyen Thi Que Loan also wrote a post on

the Ethnology Magazine, “Bien Doi Trong Tap Quan An Uong cua Nguoi San

Diu Tinh Thai Nguyen”

Researcher Le Minh Chinh had a study on San Diu People in Thai

Nguyen majoring in medical aspect called “Thuc Trang Thieu Mau o Phu Nu

San Diu Trong Thoi Ky Mang Thai tai Huyen Dong Hy Tinh Thai Nguyen va Hieu Qua cua Bien Phap Can Thiep”

Dam Thi Uyen and Nguyen Thi Hai wrote “Tin Nguong Cu Tru Cua

Nguoi San Diu o Thai Nguyen” on the Nation and Times Magazine, number 89,

2006 The post mentioned their social organization and spiritual views in their

residing customs

Also on the Nation and Times Magazine, number 87, 2006 there was a post by Nguyen Thi Mai, titled “Le Hoi Cau Mua cua Nguoi San Diu”, showing

us about the people’s spiritual viewpoints in season and weather

The ethnologist Chu Thai Son wrote the book “Dan Toc San Diu”, published by Kim Dong Press in 2011, to supply for the programme “Books

supplied by the States for the children in remote or mountainous area” It briefly introduce San Diu minority group in Vietnam in aspects of history, working and living habits, traditional customs, mental life and present living conditions

The above mentioned works reflect a long history of studying San Diu people’s culture in Vietnam in general and in each area in detailed However,

researching on culture of San Diu group in Phu Binh - Thai Nguyen in general and studying the cultural changes in their marriage and funeral customs in particular are still mostly left unattended Thus, the above mentioned works will help me a lot in my studying and clarifying the cultural changes in the marriage and funeral customs of San Diu group in Phu Binh - Thai Nguyen

3 Purposes, objects and scope of the research 3.1 Purposes of the research

This thesis “Cultural changes in marriage and funeral customs of San

Diu people in Phu Binh District, Thai Nguyen Province” aims to research and

learn how the cultural values of San Diu group in Phu Binh District, Thai Nguyen Province are reflected in some life cycle rites, basing on which to propose suitable policies about preserving and promoting traditional cultural values of San Diu ethnic group in Vietnam in general, and in the researched area

in particular

- Marriage customs and funeral rituals are related to people’s viewpoints

on their spirit, universe and life Thus, researching on changes of these fields is

an approach to San Diu people’s viewpoints on marriage and funeral

- Researching on changes in marriage and funeral customs in their life cycle rites plays an important role in building the local cultural life Thanks to this, some proposals to promote good cultural values and to remove existing bad rituals from their spiritual life

3.2 Objects and scopes of the research

- Objects of the research are major changes in marriage and funeral customs of San Diu ethnic minority in Phu Binh District, Thai Nguyen Province, and the causes of these changes The research bases on the comparison of the present customs with the ones in the past, through which the cultural values in

their rituals and their relationship, among family members and among the public are clearly exposed

- Scopes of the research:

In term of space: The research is done in Phu Binh District, Thai Nguyen Province, with a focus on the two communes Ban Dat and Tan Khanh, where there is the highest density of San Diu ethnic people

In term of time: The research on cultural characteristics of San Diu ethnic group in Phu Binh District, Thai Nguyen Province from the past to present in the comparative approach

4 Theoretical bases and research methods

This thesis also inherits the research achievements, theoretical bases and methodology of the local ethnologists

- Research methods

The most important method is ethnographic fieldwork survey, in which direct interviews with individuals and groups are made, and, at the same time, observing, writing, video and sound recordings are realized in the two mentioned communes (Tan Khanh and Ban Dat) of Phu Binh District Besides,

other used methods are document studying, interdisciplinary method combining ethnology, cultural study, history, sociology, comparison, contrast, etc

- Material resource

In order to complete this thesis, we have gathered information from different sources: survey, ethnographic field trips; talking with ethnologists; studying documents, articles, and other press about the San Diu group, their life cycle rites and other groups’ in Vietnam

5 Contribution of the thesis

- To contribute to the source of field trip survey, through which we clearly see the changes in marriage and funeral customs of San Diu ethnic group in Phu Binh District, Thai Nguyen Province from the past to present

- To make a systematic research in details on the two important existing customs in life cycle rites of San Diu ethnic group in Phu Binh District, Thai Nguyen Province, and the changes in each field through time

- To help studying and preserving good traditional cultural values of San Diu ethnic group in Vietnam in general and in Phu Binh District, Thai Nguyen Province in particular

- The research result will help building a scientific basis for cultural, educational and social policies, in which an essential is preserving the good traditional cultural values, and discontinuing the pessimistic and costly rituals which limit the development of people’s awareness and society This is importantly related to building a new cultural living style in the public in the period of national industrialization and modernization

6 Layout of the thesis Besides the Introduction and Conclusion, the thesis includes three chapters:

Chapter 1: General geographic information of Phu Binh district - Thai

Chapter 2: Tradition and change in marriage customs of San Diu people in Phu Binh district, Thai Nguyen province

Chapter 3: Tradition and change in funeral customs of San Diu people in Phu Binh district, Thai Nguyen province

Chapter 4: Cutural values in in marriage and funeral customs of San Diu people in Phu Binh district, Thai Nguyen province

CONTENTS Chapter 1: GENERAL GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION OF PHU BINH DISTRICT – THAI NGUYEN PRIVINCE AND THE SAN DIU ETHNIC

GROUP 1.1 Geographic location and natural conditions

1.1.1 Geographic location

In Ly Dynasty, the nowadays Phu Binh District was called Tu Nong District, Thai Nguyen Territory (Chau Thai Nguyen) In Minh Dynasty it was in Thai Nguyen District (Phu Thai Nguyen) In Le Dynasty, it was in Thai Nguyen Province (Thai Nguyen thua tuyen), which was then renamed into Ninh Soc (Ninh Soc thua tuyen)

At the beginning of the 20th century, the French governor general in Indochina renamed it into Phu Binh District (phu Phu Binh)

At the time right before the August 1945 Revolutionary, Phu Binh District (phu Phu Binh) consisting 9 towns, 47 communes, 7 villages and 1 ward, was one of the 7 districts (phu, huyen, chau) of Thai Nguyen Province

March 25th, 1948, the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam issued the Decree 148/SL about removing the terms “phu”, “chau”, “quan” from provincial administrative naming, and using the only term “huyen” for the division which is larger than a commune and smaller than a province From that

time on, it has been officially called Phu Binh District1 (huyen Phu Binh) [21, p 6]

Today Phu Binh District consists of 21 administrative divisions including

20 communes and 1 town (Tan Khanh, Ha Chau, Tan Hoa, Dong Lien, Luong Phu, Duong Thanh, Tan Thanh, Bao Ly, Nha Long, Tan Kim, Dao Xa, Tan Duc, Xuan Phuong, Thanh Ninh, Kha Son, Uc Ky, Ban Dat, Diem Thuy, Nga My, Thuong Dinh and Huong Son Town) which are divided into 315 villages and 4 community groups Phu Binh District has 7 communes recognized as mountainous ones

Phu Binh District was in between the northern latitudes 21023' and 21035', eastern longitudes 105051' and 106002'

It borders Dong Hy District to the North and Northwest, Pho Yen District and Thai Nguyen City to the Southwest and West, Yen The District (Bac Giang Province) to the East, and Hiep Hoa District (Bac Giang) to the South

Phu Binh District is the farthest southern point of Thai Nguyen Province

It is not far from Thai Nguyen City (28 kilometers from district center to city center), Gang Thep industrial zone, Hanoi Capital, and conveniently located on the national traffic roads, so it is very easy and quick for its market economy and the social and economic exchanges with these centers to develop, which is an important ground advantage for Phu Binh District to move forward rapidly and firmly in the time of industrialization and modernization in this 21st century

10m is in Duong Thanh Commune The highest peak is on Bop Pass at 250m high above sea level

In general its topographic features include being comparatively flat with some low and slightly sloping downward-bow-shaped hills of 100 meters high at most The area with sloping degree lower than 80 is majority (67.56% total area), which is an advantage for developing agriculture, especially growing food crops

- Climate and hydrology: Locating under the Tropic of Cancer, Phu Binh District owns the monsoon tropical climate (Phu Binh District is in the hot area

of the province) Besides, as its location is in the Northeast Vietnam, it features the typical climate of this area where the monsoon can easily be caught

+ The annual average temperature is 23.10C - 24.40C; the difference between the hottest and the coldest months is 13.70C

+ The annual average rainfall is 2000-5000 mm; the highest rainfall is on August and the lowest in January

+ The annual total time of sunlight is about 1206-1570 hours

+ The annual average humidity is 81-82%

+ Winds: in Summer Southeast breeze is prevailing; but in Winter with the Northeast monsoon, the weather is cold and dry, causing great troubles for people’s working

The fact that Phu Binh District is in warm climate area is an advantage for agriculture, forestry, and local residents’ life It enables the development of a stable diverse ecosystem in general, and agriculture and forestry in particular

- River system: Phu Binh District has the rich water supply of two rivers and three small streams

The Cau River, a river in the system of Thai Binh rivers, derives in Cho Don District - Bac Kan Province It runs through several districts such as Bach Thong, Phu Luong, Vo Nhai, then runs in northwest - southeast direction to Thai Nguyen City, Phu Binh District, Pho Yen District and Bac Giang Province Its part in Phu Binh District is 29 kilometers long, starting from Thac Huong Dam (Dong Lien Commune), running through 9 other communes and finally entering Pho Yen District in Cha Commune The average width of the river is 120 meter This river is a quite convenient waterway and a rich source of water for farming

The Dao River (also known as Mang River) which derives from Thac Huong Dam (Dong Lien Commune) runs through nine communes with the total length of 31 kilometers before entering Bac Giang Province and joining the Thuong River This river is an important part of the huge irrigation system supplying water for 1800 hectares of farms in Phu Binh District and thousands

of farms in Hiep Hoa, Tan Yen and Yen The Districts - Bac Giang Province

Phu Binh District also has three main small streams deriving from northeast area running through Ban Dat, Dao Xa, Tan Khanh, Tan Kim and Tan Thanh Communes and falling into the Cau River

Such river system has made it much easier to develop farming in Phu Binh District

1.2 Social and economic situation

* Economy:

Local residents in Phu Binh District mainly live on agriculture The farming land area is 13,845.93 hectares of which 10,085.14 hectares is used for annual plants, 2,296.55 hectares for gardens, 1,060.43 hectares for perennial trees [32, p.1, 2] With such a potential and hard-working people with rich producing experience, Phu Binh District has the right conditions for agricultural development In addition to food crops, vegetables, Phu Binh District also has

400.8 hectares of water surface for aquaculture Although agriculture still faces much troubles, and depends on the nature, Phu Binh District has been considered to be a granary, a rich labor force and a rich natural resource of Thai Nguyen Province

Besides agriculture, in Phu Binh District there are many handicrafts, especially pottery making in Lang Ta Village, and rattan knitting in many villages in Diem Thuy, Thuong Dinh communes, etc

Because its location and transportation are convenient for exchange of goods, especially for supplying foods for markets of Thai Nguyen, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh and Hanoi, so commerce plays an important role in the local economy Phu Binh District has some big markets near main roads such as Don Market, Cau Market, Tan Duc Market, Hanh Market, etc., which are the exchanging points for nearby regions Huong Son Town is more and more widen and crowded, attracted a large number of residents coming to open their businesses

Phu Binh people and Cell of Communist Party have well performed the reforms initiated and led by Vietnam Communist Party (1986) through the Party Congresses (from the Ninth Congress (1986) to the Fourteenth Congress (2005-2010)) and obtained great achievements in every fields and gradually made right use of local potentials In 2011, although Phu Binh District people and government faced the same difficult challenges as other parts of the country, they have gained significant results in realizing socio-economic development tasks, such as:

Economic growth rate (GDP) in the area is estimated at 11.5%

Per capita income is estimated at 13 million dongs/person/ year

Production of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries in 2011 increased by 3.9% (especially farming production increased by 5.2% (thanks to the two successful rice crops, the most productive crops ever before, other crops quite

stable and favorable) Total grain output of the whole year was 75,877 tons, an increase of 3.7% over 2010

Total state budget revenue in the area was estimated at 48.5 billion dongs The production value of industry and small-scale industry (at constant price of 1994) was estimated at 75 billion dongs

Meat finisher output was 17,000 tons, increasing 6.25% over 2010

The district forest area was 351 hectares, an increase of 56.5% over 2010 The production value per 1 hectare of farming land (present price) was estimated at 67 million dongs, increasing 9 million over the plan

Forest coverage rate reached 25%

* Society:

According to the preliminary population census of Phu Binh District, as

on April 1st, 2009 its total population is 133,322 people in 34,963 households, of which the rural population is 125,887 people, and urban population is 7435 people The average population density is 556 people per square kilometer, coming second after Thai Nguyen City

Besides land and natural resources, the potential in labor force of Phu Binh District is noteworthy

In 2011, Phu Binh District has created new jobs for 3,100 employees, equally 103% of plan targets, of which 130 people are sent to work abroad under predefined period, equally 108.3% of the plan of the year; District vocational training center provided training and associated training for over 702 people, equally 140% of the plan, 96.8% of which have been employed immediately after being trained

The crude birth rate has been reduced to 0.3‰ (estimated) which is 0.1‰ lower than planned

The poor household rate has been reduced to 5.07% (estimated) which is 2,07% lower than planned

Material and spiritual life of the local people of all groups has been significantly improved; many social policies to support ethnic minorities, the poor and disadvantaged areas have been seriously implemented The policies of the Party and State have been realized comprehensively, timely and effectively

The district has 21 kindergartens, 21 primary schools and 21 secondary schools, 03 high schools, 01 continuing education center, 01 career consulting center, 01 vocational training center; all communes or town have their own community learning centers So far the district has completely removed illiteracy, completed popular secondary school education and has had 25 schools having achieved the National Standard The schools and their facilities have been solidly built

Health care for people: District Hospital continues to be invested in infrastructure and facilities; 100 percents of commune health centers have doctors with their facilities, medical instruments being enhanced; population and family planning propaganda co-operators and village physicians are available in most of the villages and town’s population groups Therefore, basic health care needs have been met

The percentage of malnourished children under 5 years old has been reduced to 21.4%

The percentage of rural households using hygienic water is 75%

Social security and the local army training have been well organized, met 100% of the targets

Infrastructures: the traffic system has received great interest and investment; the project of renovating and upgrading Highway 37 has been completed; many inter-communal roads have been invested to widen and asphalt

such as Cau May - Tan Kim - Tan Khach Road, Cau May- Dong Lien Road, Uc Son - Tan Thanh - Hop Tien Road, and many others are under plans to be built

in the short coming time Facilities for schools, classes, hospitals, and clinics have been being well invested All villages have been provided with national electricity to use in daily life and production These are favorable conditions to evoke potentials and strengths, to boost the economy of the mountainous areas with large ethnic minorities

Road system of Phu Binh District is relatively dense Highway 37 from Thai Nguyen City runs through the entire length of the district to Bac Giang National Highway 38 from Diem Thuy via Ha Chau and Kha Son to Nha Nam (Bac Giang) In addition to the two main highways, Phu Binh also has 120 kilometers of inter-communal, 198 kilometers of inter-village roads, enabling car drive in every village in the district

Social security situation: the political security and social safety in the district is always stable; all ethnic minorities in the district absolutely believe in the leadership of the Party and local authorities The communes of Tan Khanh, Tan Hoa, Tan Kim, Ban Dat and Dong Lien have done good work in keeping security in the border areas over the years

1.3 San Diu People in Phu Binh District - Thai Nguyen Province

1.3.1 The people’s name, historical origin and population

In Vietnam San Diu people is a minority group with small population, living mainly in the North: about 40,000 people, living on some low hills of the Quang Ninh, Hung Yen, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc, Bac Kan, Thai Nguyen, Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, and Thanh Hoa [31, p 396]

San Diu people call themselves “San Deo Nhin”, Sino-Vietnamese transcription is “Son Dzao Nhan” which means Dzao People on the hills Other peoples call San Diu people with different names basing on their dressing style,

their house style, etc., such as: Man Quan Coc or Trai Coc (people with short pans), Man Vay Xe (people with slit skirts), Trai Dat, etc

Not until Mar 1960 the name San Diu was officially recognized by the National Department of Statistics From that time on, the name San Diu has been officially used in all administrative documents Nowadays, the name San Diu is popularly used around the country

The origin of San Diu people has not been revealed, as there is no historical evidence about that; and all we have is by guess

Although their origin has not been determined, San Diu people are always aware of being a people with the name San Diu they called themselves No one remembers how they migrated to Vietnam; only the pain and frightening are left

in their mind However, they still clearly remember when they joined the Vietnamese peoples to live here

In his book “ San Diu people in Vietnam”, Ma Khanh Bang wrote: “After

entering Vietnam, San Diu people crossed over Hoang Chuc Cao Son Mountain

to Ha Coi, Tien Yen before spreading to many other places Some of them went along the coastline to Dam Ha, Mong Cai, Hoanh Bo, Mao Khe, Dong Trieu and a small number went to Chi Linh (Hai Duong), whereas most of them followed the Yen Tu Range to Luc Nam, Luc Ngan, Lang Giang, Yen The (Bac Giang), and then from there moved to Vinh Yen, Phuc Yen (Vinh Phuc), Tuyen Quang (Ha Tuyen), Thai Nguyen (Bac Thai) So, San Diu people have been residing on the large midland from the left bank of Red River to the East of the Northern Vietnam Besides a number of residents gathering in some communes

of the former Bac Giang Province, the majority live in the Northeast and Southeast sides of Tam Dao Range in nowadays Vinh Phu, Ha Tuyen and Bac Thai provinces”[16, p 22]

In Phu Binh District there are many peoples residing together such as: Chinese, Nung, San Chay, Dzao, H’mong, etc The population of Phu Binh District - Thai Nguyen Province was 134,150 people according to statistic of the 01/04/2009 census, in which San Diu people’s population was 3115, accounting for 2.3% of the district population

Table 1.1: Phu Binh District’s population by ethnicity, gender, urban and

rural area

Total % Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female

Dat and Tan Khanh, which, respectively, count for 81 percents and 11.7 percents

of their total population of the district Despite the scattered distribution in several communes of the district, their culture is identical Thus, our real research has been carried out in reality in these two communes where there are most San Diu people of the district in order to generalize the cultural identities available in the two ceremonies of marriage and funeral, and comparing with traditional customs

to find the changes and reasons for those changes in today customs

Table 1.2: San Diu people’s population in Phu Binh District - Thai Nguyen

Number of households (household)

Total population (person)

San Diu population (person)

Firstly, its back should lie on a hill or high ridge and its front should be flat and airy With San Diu people, besides natural reasons, their selection of location is also affected by Chinese geomancy Living in the midland, lying back on the hills and looking over the valley, they can cultivate both wet land and dry land, as well as take advantage of natural resources provided by forests Furthermore, according to feng shui, at least each village or house needs a stand

to lean on In better case, there are two “hands” on sides, and a “block” on the far front (all are hills or ridges), that location is the best and the people living there can thrive well

Secondly, it should be near natural water sources (rivers, streams, creeks, ponds), which is convenient for their living and farming In the past, San Diu

people did not have wells, so rivers, streams, creeks and ponds were also water sources for daily living activities of their community For playing such an important role, water sources are strictly protected by conventions created by the community In addition, due to the influence of feng shui and folk beliefs, people often make them holy or put them in mysterious legends

San Diu people’s villages are a kind of rural community mainly basing on neighborhood relationships Each village resides together many different extended families (clans) They are organizations of traditional families: blood relations are paternal; children are named after their father’s family name Consequently, the relations among extended family’s members are very close; together with relations among the community, solidarity in the villages is a

must They often say “Slan Déo loỏng si” to mean that there are not many San

Diu people, so they must unify and help one another In their villages, houses are organized in a collective-but-separate way; each house has its own territory with clearly defined boundaries In the past, there are about 50 clans in a village

of San Diu people, but today they are much more crowded, up to 100 clans per village

Extended family relationship:

Extended family matters are considered to be very important to San Diu people In Phu Binh - Thai Nguyen, there are many clans living in a village: Hoang, Vi, An, To, Truong, Duong, Do, Ha, Luu, Pham, Viem, Dao, Ly, Tran, Ninh, Tu, Le, Diep, Ta, etc

Each clan has their own system of middle names They believe that in the past every clan lived in the same area, and worshiped the same ancient Father Due to historical changes, they moved to different places When they met, they could recognize their relatives if they had the same family and middle names Basing on their middle names they would know their relative relations

However, name titles depend on date of birth: the older man will be the older brother

While the role of patriarchs is often highly important with some ethnic groups, it is not with San Diu people However, sometimes they are invited to preside over the rites of a wedding or a funeral; and just occasionally they are invited to witness property divisions for children [16, p 82]

In marriage, San Diu people attach special important to the principle of blood-unrelated marriage; people of the same extended family are not allowed to get married to each other Hence, the matters of extended family are always carefully taught to children by their parents

Family relationship

San Diu people had changed to mode of small families of paternity before the August Revolution, but their clan spirit is still strongly present Although the patriarch does not have any power over the clan, he is still invited to preside over the funeral ceremonies In a family, the father or the husband has the right

to decide on everything The eldest son is nearly as highly respected as the father Only sons are inherited their parents’ properties There are very strict taboos between a father and his daughter-in-law, and between a brother and his sister-in-law A woman must not directly take her baby to her father-in-law or brother-in-law, but she must place the child in the bed before they take it Fathers and brothers-in-law must not get in their daughter-in-law’s room, even when she is not in Women’s position is low and they are not inherited properties from their parents Only when the family does not have a son, and her husband stays in her house, then she will inherit their parents’ properties

San Diu people are monogamous However, because men are appreciated whereas women are despised, a husband often marries an extra-wife if he does not have a son

1.3.3 Livelihood culture

It is possible to say that San Diu people, like other peoples in Phu Binh District, Thai Nguyen Province, have made the right use of the nature and exploit it to earn their living and develop their community With the topography, climate, soil, weather, hydrology, etc of a midland area, their daily livelihood activities not only benefit with many advantages but also get many challenges

In such circumstances, with their traditional livelihood customs, they have created a stable living although not all families are well fed After hundreds of years, San Diu people have withdrawn lots of experience in working, which is reflected in their annual production cycle, and built up an economy typical of the midland area in general but still boldly marked with their traditional customs

Farming: like other peoples, farming is the main source of food for daily

meals and for household animals, as well as materials for some other industries like textile, fabric dyeing, etc San Diu people plant many similar types of trees

to other nearby peoples, appropriate for growing and cultivating on different types of soil, and for different seasons, such as: Rice (vo), crop plants: corn (mac), sweet potato (hong dzi), taro (xi hu), white cassava (pac moc suy), red cassava (hong moc suy); vegetables: gourd, pumpkin, cabbage, squash, egg-plant (khe), onion (song), garlic (ton), etc.; ingredient trees: sugar cane, tea, cotton, anil, rattan, bamboo, palm, etc.; fruit trees: longan, jackfruit, orange, tangerine, etc

Phu Binh District of Thai Nguyen Province is in the midlands with relatively stable topography in terms of geologic formation However, through the long history of exploitation, this area’s natural green cover, especially forests, has been seriously destroyed, which caused soil to be eroded, only rocks left with no trees San Diu people have made full use of mixed and extra crops Their practice of alternative and mixed crops is a valuable treasure of knowledge

on their soil solution Farming tools of San Diu people are various and abundant,

including ard or early plow (lai coc/lay) which is firm and light, suitable for terrace sloppy fields Harrows including single, double and board ones They have many types of hoes, rakes at various sizes to be used for different purposes The board rake is much more efficient than hoes in making ridges They use V-shaped cutters (vo lem) or other sickles to harvest rice Besides, they also have wheel-less plows, shovels, produce knives, wheel-less ox-carts, bailers, etc

Livestock raising:

Their livestock raising is well developed now In the past, they mainly raising for the needs of pulling force and food in weddings, funerals, ceremonies, etc Nowadays, it is partly for the purpose of selling goods The proportion of income from livestock out of their total income is significantly increasing In order to accomplish that purpose, the old tradition of keeping animals out freely and for a long time has been replaced by new methods of planned raising, keeping animals in sheds, feeding full, and applying necessary measures of disease prevention

Family craftworks:

San Diu ethnic people have traditional handicrafts of spinning, weaving, indigo making, forging, paper making, basketry, furniture, etc These hand-made products are mainly used for their daily living and working activities, just sometimes for selling or exchanging with other goods in the area, etc

1.3.4 Material culture

Cuisine: San Diu people’s cuisine is mainly based on the “plant

civilization” Everyday they have rice, boiled and stirred fried vegetables, and soup for meals Whereas other peoples often mainly have rice, San Diu people also have porridge for their meals, which is one of their traditional customs They often eat rice and porridge together, so everyday they cook watery

porridge which they consider to be a refreshing drink Sometimes they also invite guests - neighbors or strangers - to drink watery porridge

During festivals, or feasts with the participation of their community, there are plenty of delicious dishes made from chicken, pork, cakes, etc They often slaughter many pigs in these cases If they can not eat all, the rest will be salted, which is an efficient method of preserving food for long On the annual Thanh Minh Day (Grave-visiting Day), San Diu people must pray to their ancestors with black glutinous rice To make this type of rice, they have to crush the leaves of “lau sau” trees (which is popular in the area), and take its water to soak the glutinous rice before cooking it Black glutinous rice is made from a special type of rice which is very supple and aromatic, mixed with the special taste of

“lau sau” leaves On Tet holidays, they also make animal-shaped cakes such as chicken-shaped (cay cong tap) or duck-shaped (ap cong cap) ones These cakes are made from glutinous rice, covered with wild pineapple leaves Peng cake is the only one made for funerals

San Diu people also have customs of eating betel, popular with both men and women

They often take the most delicious food to the elderly and the children; the children often eat chicken legs but not chicken feet for fear of bad writing, etc

In some families there is still such a strict regulation that daughter-in-law must not sit and eat lunch on the same tray with father-in-law and older brother-in-law, or even just sit on a par with these people When they have guests, women and children have to eat on a lower separate tray

Costumes: The traditional costumes of the women consist of a black scarf,

a long shirt (single or double If is double, then it is always a white one beneath and a little longer indigo one outside), a red traditional bra, a white or pink or

light blue waist belt Their skirts which are indigo and longer than their knees are made from separate pieces of cloth with the same belt Each piece overlaps the others about 10-15 centimeters (4-piece skirt) or each piece has three or four folds merging with each other (two-piece skirt) When they are wearing such a skirt with a piece in the front and the other at the back, it makes a two slit along the outer sides of their legs A four-piece skirt will have two pieces at the front and two at the back Wearing this type of skirt always requires women to be thoughtful while they are working or communicating Their group name “Man Vay Xe” (people with slit skirts) derived from this outstanding outfit character

People of different ages wear their shirts differently Old women often wear long shirt with the left flap crossed over the right, which is contrary to the young Besides, the young females wear red or purple waist belts decorated with colorful patterns Women with baby often wear shorter shirt without buttons but strings to tie up Men do not wear much jewelry, just some bronze or silver rings, or a necklace occasionally Women have earrings, bracelets, necklaces, rings, belly chains, etc Another special accessory of women is the betel bag (loi thoi) in shape of a grapefruit segment It is carefully sewn and embroidered Each detail shows the ingenuity and carefulness of San Diu women It is embroidered with colorful threads, and inserted with four to eight strings made

of colorful threads The long string threaded with a copper coin chain is tied at the end, and can be squeezed over the shoulder backwards to keep the betel bag Besides this betel bag, we cannot ignore the areca cutting knife with its meticulously carved wooden bag which is always attached to their waist belt during holidays and festivals Their betel bag is an accessory to make them more graceful

Today the vast majority of San Diu people wear modern outfits like Vietnamese people The traditional costumes are just worn on their holidays or festivals

Accommodation: traditionally, San Diu people used to build houses with

thatched roofs and earthen walls, very few windows, so being low and humid There are two types of earthen houses: houses with stilts and thin earthen walls, and houses with thick earthen walls

Their houses now have brick walls and tile roofs like those of Vietnamese people in their neighborhood

1.3.5 Spiritual culture

Religion and beliefs:

San Diu people concept that there are three worlds: the upper world is of ancestors and gods, the middle world is of human beings, and the lower world is the hell In the upper world (Heaven), gods govern the two lower worlds In the middle world (earth), there are challenges for people, and in the lower world (hell), people, or more exactly human spirits, receive goodness or punishments for their behaviors on earth When nature is out of men’s control, and some phenomena are unexplainable, their belief in devils and gods has a strong effect

on their spiritual life With that belief, people have customs of worshiping to calm their souls Worshiping customs are now popular needs of San Diu people with many unique rites

Firstly, it is their customs of worshiping their ancestors Normally, each family has an altar to worship their ancestors placed right at the center of their house, close to the back wall San Diu people do not have death ceremonies, but everytime there is an important event such as having a baby, building a new house, wedding or funeral, etc., they do not forget to tell their ancestors Together with worshiping their ancestors, they also pay attention to worshiping the Gods of the kitchen and the God of land

Because of the contact with Vietnamese and Chinese cultures, San Diu people cannot avoid the influence of the religions like Buddhism, Confucianism,

and Taoism However, the effects of these three religions are not much shown in material aspects with worshiping places and systems of believers, but mainly in spiritual life with popular beliefs

The influences of Taoism are reflected on their acceptance of the concepts

of the universe, systems of Gods with the three worlds: Heaven, Earth and Hell

In their community there are some witches who are granted with honors and seals In their shrine they worship Heaven God, and the three other Taoism’s Gods (Thuong Thanh, Thai Thanh and Ngoc Thanh) During San Diu people’s life cycle ceremonies, especially in their funerals, the role of these witches is very important

The influences of Buddhism on their spiritual life are most clearly shown

in their praying for happiness and safety, etc They do believe in the theories of

“causes and effects” and “incarnation”, so they find it important to do goodness and moral acts; they always teach their children to act morally and humanely, so that they will have happiness in the future

Confucianism also has great effects on the rituals of San Diu people It is represented in the concepts of personal destiny They believe that each person has his own destiny which is set by Heaven: a destiny of being rich or poor, of tall or short, destiny of being good partners or not, etc

Popular arts:

Like other ethnic minorities, San Diu people’s popular arts were formed and have been being developed along their history of foundation and development of the group Popular arts are the voice of the people, are created

by the people during their working and fighting, and are kept through the generations San Diu people have a rich long-lasting source of popular arts with various forms and unique features for the group

By tradition, when the witches come to practice a ritual, they always bring along with various types of instruments: Shakyamuni Buddha Statue, bronze dragon statue, Buddhist ringed staff, authorized card, etc., and a special thing: the worshiping picture The characters presented in the pictures symbolize the figures of imagination in San Diu people’s spiritual life Besides, the worshiping pictures, they also have God paintings, Tam Dan paintings God painting is used

in a witch’s funeral A short time after the death of a witch, his family holds a praying for him, and God paintings are used in that ceremony A Tam Dan painting is also hung on the altar together with the God painting, which is believed to protect children of the witch

Music instruments include conical horns “ngoi coc” (made of ox horn or shellfish), flutes, high-pitched flat gongs, cymbals, leather drums, etc

About dancing, in the religious rituals, there are several dances such as dance with staffs (lai thet song), dance with lamps (binh tanh), street cleaning dance (hang coong chieesp senh), dance with charmed stick or ghost controlling dance (ket cay than), worshiping-and-running dance, etc

An important type of folk singing is love singing which is call “soong co”

by San Diu people This is a type of parallel singing between men and women,

like sli singing or luon singing of Tay, or Nung people

“Soong co” is an elegant form of singing, with various contents to praise the beauty of the nature, the love for hometown, country, people and love for lover, etc It tells about laborers’ diligence and bravery, criticizes bad habits, and praises people’s wishes to overcome all troubles to earn a good and happy life

The lively “soong co” is fascinating because its lyric is not pre-written, but it is created by thought at the moment of singing so that it is appropriate with the context and with the singer’s partner “Soong co” singers often use the scenic spots of their hometown, their daily working activities, and historic

events to beautify their singing and to show love and their wish to have a prosperous and happy life

There are various forms of “soong co” singing typically including happy new year singing (shin nen co), new house singing (soong chiu oc co), happy wedding singing (senh ca chiu co), parallel love singing (hi soon soong so), etc They may sing overnight, and night after night, even throughout a week

A wedding of San Diu people cannot go without “soong co”, which is to celebrate the rituals of a wedding: first introducing, describing wedding presents and welcome presents, inviting guests, congratulating brides and grooms, saying thank-you to servants, etc All these are realized by singing

Sub - conclusion for chapter 1 Phu Binh is a mountainous and midland district to the south of Thai Nguyen City, with very convenient conditions for plants and animals to live and nourish, which brings back a rich source of foods Phu Binh District is home to many ethnic groups which have their own cultural characters Consequently, mixed distribution of groups of people enables a thorough cultural exchange among them, which helps create a colorful picture of Phu Binh District’s ethnic groups

With convenient natural conditions appropriate with their psychological thinking and living habits, this place is also home to San Diu people, with most

of them living in Tan Khanh and Ban Dat Communes The people are immigrants from the north but their cultural customs are really interesting Besides traditional values, they also absorb new customs to enrich their culture, which is the result of the nowadays cultural exchange

Chapter 2: TRADITION AND CHANGE IN MARRIAGE CUSTOMS OF SAN DIU PEOPLE IN PHU BINH DISTRICT, THAI NGUYEN

PROVINCE 2.1 The concept of marriage

Marriage is a noun to refer to the formal men and women take each other

as husband and wife

According to the "Thuyet van", hon means wife, nhan means the

husband's house

According to the book "Le ky", married often pick berries in the afternoon

so called hon, the wife since the wedding in her husband's house so called nhan

Marriage is the connection of two people free to step into another as husband and wife So marriage is an important event in the life of every human

being Therefore, marriage is not just a private affair of two people getting married that is the important work of family

In Anthropology, Marriage is often understood as social attachment relationship is recognized between a man and a woman, identified cultural nature aimed at maintaining the race legally, nuclear families or new households

Marriage is a social phenomenon, at each stage of development history, the form and nature of marriage accordingly The form of marriage not only reflect the most general laws of human development but also the historical period of social and economic patterns and cultural characteristics of ethnic groups According Angghen from far human society has undergone three major

forms of marriage: "In time butt ten populations mode than, at times brutal

regimes marriage the couple, in their civilization a monogamous marriage regime"[1, p.119] Monogamous marriage occurs at the end of the matriarchal

clan commune, attached to the privatization process arising regime, based on the power of man A monogamous marriage regime is the most progressive regimes

marriage, is "the first family form is not based on the natural conditions based

on economic conditions, ie in the victory of regime of private property to public ownership regime original spontaneous"[1, p.105]

For San Diu ethnic group in the district Phu Binh, marriage is an important job Can say this is an important ritual in the life cycle is also indispensable ritual in social life of any ethnic group Marriage is both a benefit and obligation to the family Marriage is not just about creating happiness for both men and women but also the joy of family, clan and community So, the wedding can take place is the recognition of the community of the love of man and woman In short, marriage no matter where are recognized as a social institution to ensure legal continuity, social protection, more or less subject to

social regulation to explain the continued inheritance and requires mutual assistance and cooperation of both sides

In a marriage relationship, the San Diu is quite bold features unique cultural traditions of their people In addition to the freedom to actively get to know each other in a certain degree, men and women who San Diu also heavily influenced by a number of other issues such as: the betrothed, parental pressure

to marry the two parties since the new born; Posted protection for subjects of the

two families and economic position in society, the concept of “la so” the

concept is the most serious nature and affect many in the marital problems of San Diu The San Diu believe in fate, so even though the couple differ much in age is normal Marriage is decided by the parents Boys and girls are not allowed

to freely love to learn, are not free to marry Parents would marry nor be given

in marriage to the principle of "mon dang ho doi" There have been many cases

are to love one another but because the leaves are not good should pity farewell

to parents looking for a suitable leaves others in the spiritual sense of the people and the requirements of the two families, the them Such marriage does not guarantee a happy family By backward feudal practices, which many girls had

to find death when forced to coast

A very important institution of marriage is the foreign ethnic kiss The phenomenon of marriage between members of the family do not occur in the community If people in the same line they try to get married is seen as incest and subject to serious crime They allow men and women to be married on condition that apart from five or more lifetime When taken together, necessarily young couple with me ancestors San Diu people in each village have a lot of different clans To avoid violating the rules of marriage, when children grow up, they carefully taught this rule, the only child to know who they are not married

There are a number of lines they abstained not married to each other, because in the process of natural cell between the lines they have the wrong and

incense bowl ancestors, so they can not marry each other like Diep and Luc, Vi and Nong, Truong and Ly In folk still circulated a story that people often tell their educated offspring According to Truong Thi Hoa, 60, San Diu ethnic (Cau cong - Tan Khanh), in the family has handed down a legend to this day, it's their life nine cases old, were arrested Ly girl carrying water for his family Carrying water for an extended family, hard to do so, call girls suffering with his pen, his

business is the only way into the forest directly to their school, change “quoc” to egg to each other “co” And because such a change, so they hatch out, that was

not his child, should have national and are dead offspring surgery They saw their chief so he found about disorder in the family, know the reasons, looked up heaven that they will never get married with Ly So that from that far, the boy, the girl surnamed Truong, have heard little push from, so no one dares to marry Ly

A monogamous marriage regime has been long established in San Diu society This is an advanced form of marriage and becoming more popular They have to respect one another and be faithful to each other for the rest of my life The fact that the couple lived together relatively peacefully and lead her birth Only cases married with no children or not have a son to continue the husband's new wife take concubine However the case of married probably occurs less in San Diu communities Because in the opinion of the people, they respect their spouses, have a sense of fidelity in marriage According to the customary law of the San Diu, if adulterous wife will be taken out of her husband's and husband's compensation for all expenses lo wedding If cheating husband will have to pay

a fine pig, chicken and pay honor to the bride Wild pregnant women in society will be fined If a guy is not married, unmarried daughter must be married to each other

Due to the sale of marriage, strict procedures prescribed by law, should the divorce happens in San Diu society However, what the couple divorced is not Caused the couple to break up because his wife did not keep your virtue, or

left the husband must return the money to the entire offering and the expenses for the wedding Forsaking her husband to pay his wife's entire labor and to be compensated an amount known as compensation for her dignity

Marriage of San Diu is monogamy mode but still she thought marry you but its expression is highly challenging wedding The boys will spend some cash and in kind, such as rice, pork, alcohol to get married, in fact buy the girl The

bride's daughter married her husband notions is “mai nhuy” (sell daughter)

According to the opinion of the people, the wedding challenge as high as the value of the girl Every marriage consume a large volume of material Starting from this idea, popular former phenomenon engaged to 13, 14 year old There are cases where the two parents disagree with each other when the couple do not know each other Since further challenge this wedding that has not at the guy by the poor, do not have enough money to get married in-law

Due to the influence of the feudal patriarchal patriarchy should form the residence after marriage the wife resides with her husband.In family man is started grabbing the decision all related to the small plowing, transplanting pick - weddings, anniversaries December, holidays in the community And wife must obey her husband, his father In summary, the patriarchal nature of in San Diu family is evident

Previously, the phenomenon of child marriage in ethnic communities happens quite popular The average age of marriage of girls 14 to 15, about 16 -

17 year-old son The reason for victims of child marriage is due to the perception of the people that built the family early to focus on food and children's health have children when grandparents trusted Do people believe in fate, so the wife, husband, age difference is normal Marriage is decided by the parents

San Diu also continue “to marry new wife” Once married, home, long no

children, the people that is so unfortunate price now new wife should marry