MARRIAGE OF THE DAO HO PEOPLE IN BAO THANG RURAL DISTRIC, LAO CAI PROVINCE

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Chu Quang Cuong MARRIAGE OF THE DAO HO PEOPLE IN BAO THANG RURAL DISTRIC, LAO CAI PROVINCE Major: Anthropology C

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

Chu Quang Cuong

MARRIAGE OF THE DAO HO PEOPLE IN BAO THANG RURAL DISTRIC, LAO CAI PROVINCE

Major: Anthropology Code : 62 31 03 02

ABSTRACT OF DOCTOR OF PH.D DISSERTATION

HA NOI - 2015

Completed at: Graduate Academy of Social Sciences,

Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences

Supervisor: 1 Dr Ly Hanh Son

2 Dr Vi Van An

Reviewer 1: Assoc Prof PhD Nguyen Duy Thieu Reviewer 2: Assoc Prof PhD Tran Van Binh

Reviewer 3: Assoc Prof PhD Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga

The dissertation shall be defended at the Ph.D Evaluation Committee of the Graduate Academy at No 477 Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan, Ha Noi

Dated by … hour ……minute, day… month……year……

This publication can be reached at:

- National Library of Vietnam

- Library of Graduate Academy of Social Sciences

- Library of the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology

Introduction

1 Rationale for the study

The Dao Ho people, who is also known as the Dao Quan Trang sub-group, is among the seven Dao sub-groups living in Vietnam According to the 2009 Population and Housing Census, the total number of the Dao in Vietnam was 751.067, mainly locating in northern mountainous provinces such as Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Bac Kan, Cao Bang, Lang Son, Quang Ninh There were about 88,379 people of this ethnicity in Lao Cai province, which accounts for 14.4% of the provincial population and 11.8% of the Dao people in the whole country Based on past studies, the Dao originated from China who immigrated to Vietnam from the 13th century to the early

20th century The ethnicity consists of several subgroups, which include Dao Do, Dao Tuyen (Dao Ao Dai), Dao Tien, Dao Quan Trang, Dao Quan Chet, Dao Thanh Y, and Dao Lo Gang (Dao Thanh Phan) Among these sub-groups, the Dao Ho is a component

of the Dao Quan Trang, which mostly settled in Lao Cai, and Yen Bai provinces

So far, there have been a number of research studies examining many aspects of the Dao in Vietnam in terms history, economic activity, physical culture, religion, and life cycle ritual… However, most of these studies mainly focused on some specific sub-groups such as Dao Do, Dao Tien, and Dao Tuyen Furthermore, there is a lack of ethnological and anthropological monographs devoted to marriage and family of the Dao in general, and the Dao Ho in particular Meanwhile, marriage is among prominent characteristics

of each ethnic culture during the development process that has been investigated by many ethnologists and anthropologists

Evidently, an in-depth study of marriage of the Dao Ho shall update knowledge of wedding customs and living styles of the Dao in general, and also the Dao Ho in particular This study should be more significant in the context of the Vietnam being in the process of carrying out the reform policy and economic development Marriage of the Dao Ho is moving towards changes

in the social, economic, and cultural development of the country More specifically, mixed marriage has become popular; wedding customs and habits are adjusted in accordance with the integration and acculturation

Based on the above-mentioned reasons, I would like to study

“Marriage of the Dao Ho people in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province” as the Doctoral dissertation majoring in anthropology

2 Objective of the dissertation

- Introduce systematically characteristics and rituals of traditional marriage and its changes of the Dao Ho people in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province

- Highlight changes and factors influencing marital changes of the Dao Ho people at the research’s location

-Based on research findings, I propose some recommendations to preserve and promote fine values of marriage customs and traditions

of the Dao Ho people

3 Research subject, and the scope of work

The dissertation focused on the Dao Ho people living in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province Specifically, this dissertation

will mainly examine traditional marriage and changes since 1986 when Vietnam started implementing the Reform policy to present Regarding the scope of work, the dissertation only conducted the fieldwork in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province More clearly, the site of research included Son Ha, Phu Nhuan, Son Hai, and Lu communes where Dao Ho people made up the majority of the population Besides, the researcher also studied the Dao Ho living in communes nearly such as Thai Nien, and Tri Quang

4 Research methodology

Both dialectical and historical materialisms have been utilized for examining the Dao Ho’s marriage in consultation with the Party’s policies and guidelines on ethnic minorities concerning the preservation and uphold of ethnic cultural culture

Selective research methods have been used in this study in which ethnographic fieldwork has been the key one to gather information at

the research site The author also utilized expert, in-depth analysis,

comparative, generalization methods to have better consideration,

evaluation, understanding towards the results obtained

5 Contribution of the dissertation

The dissertation is the first anthropological monograph ever of marriage of the Dao Ho people living Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province It systematically provided evidences in terms of tangible and intangible cultures, social customs/habits, and religions concerning the Dao Ho’s marriage

The study also produced new findings that pointed out endogenous factors and acculturation concerning marriage of the Dao Ho in the research location, in both diachronic and synchronic dimensions

Research findings are the scientific foundation for formulating policies to protect and promote precious values of the Dao Ho people in Bao Thang rural district in particular, and other ethnic minorities in Vietnam in general

6 Theoretical and practical significance

Firstly, the dissertation provided theoretical and practical background concerning the preservation and upholding ethnic minority’s cultural identity

Secondly, it also shed the light on core marriage principles and changes in marriage of the Dao Ho’s community, emphasizing the role of the Dao Ho’s family in the process of cultural promotion Finally, result-based evidence was also produced to support the process of building a new type of cultured family that was the scientific foundation for the preservation and promotion ethnic minority’s cultural identity

7 Structure of the dissertation

Apart from the Introduction, Conclusion, Reference, and Appendix, the main content of the dissertation consists of four chapters as the following:

Chapter 1: Literature review, theoretical background,general

information on the Dao Ho in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province

Chapter 2: Traditional marriage of the Dao Ho people

Chapter 3: The Change of marriage

Chapter 4: Result and discussion

Chapter 1

LITERATURE REVIEW, THEORETICAL BACKGROUND, GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE DAO HO IN BAO THANG RURAL DISTRICT, LAO CAI PROVINCE

1.1 Literature review

Prior to the reform in 1986, there were a number of research studies of the Dao in different academic fields by international and national scholars After the reform, there were more research efforts focusing on cultural aspects of this ethnicity This study carefully

reviewed publications related to the Dao in Vietnam such as “Major

rituals in the life cycle of the Dao Tien people in Ba Be, Bac Kan”

(Ly Hanh Son, 2003), “Traditional culture of the Dao group” (Pham Quang Hoan, Hung Đinh Quy, 1999), “Wedding customs of

the Dao in Quang Ninh” (Vu Dinh Loi, 1999), “Wedding ceremony

of the Dao Tien people in Ba Be, Bac Kan” (Ly Hanh Son, 1999),

“Wedding ceremony of the Dao Tuyen people” (Tran Huu Son, 2001), and “The Dao Quan Chet in the Northern midland

mountainous areas” (Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, 2015)

All the above-mentioned studies carefully examined marriage customs and wedding characteristics of the Dao However, none of

them particularly focused on marriage of the Dao Ho people 1.2 Theoretical foundation

1.2.1 Key concept

Within this dissertation, key concepts such as marriage, customs,

habits, taboo, and ritual were clearly defined Since then, common

understanding on principles, rituals of marriage of the Dao Ho

people will be clarified All the concepts shall be looked from anthropological perspective, which also provides theoretical foundation for better understanding considerations and resolving issues emerging from the study

1.2.2 Theoretical background

The dissertation applied “the alliance theory of marriage”, “the

structure theory of rituals”, “the theory of culture change” to

investigate and evaluate characteristics, rituals and nature of the Dao Ho’s marriage in Bao Thang These theories were fully employed when examining the relationships between men and women during the practice of marriage rituals, and explaining changes in traditional marriage of the Dao Ho people under the impact of natural, social, economic factors, and awareness of local residents

1.3 General information on the Dao in Vietnam and the Dao

Ho in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province

The author presented general information on geographic features, administrative characteristics, population, ethnic structure and the location of different Dao sub-groups and also the Dao Ho in different communes in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province Besides that, the dissertation also discussed the origin, economic activities, and types of physical, social and spiritual cultures of the Dao Ho people It pointed out that all these aspects have been changed along with the improvement of social and economic development of Vietnam

Summary of chapter 1

In brief, the introduction and chapter 1 highlighted some points as the following:

Firstly, the dissertation highlighted the necessary aspect of the

study This is the reason for the author selecting this dissertation topic, which also covered both theoretical and practical reasons for the research to be carried out As a result, it also helped to define clearly the objectives of the study

Secondly, the author analyzed systematically a set of relevant

theories that were employed in this dissertation Based on these theories, appropriate and highly useful conclusions were drawn out, fulfilling the research objectives as mentioned before

Thirdly, beside the discussion of the research methodology, the

author introduced the implementation of selected methods to gather collect information and data These included ethnographic fieldwork with in-depth interview, and expert, analysis, comparative, generalized methods

It can be said that the results obtained from this study formed a systematically scientific study of marriage culture of the Dao Ho people in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province that can be used

to preserve cultural aspects of the Dao people in Vietnam

Chapter 2 TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE OF THE DAO HO PEOPLE

2.1 Marriage’s understanding

The Dao Ho people believed that marriage holds a special significance not only to each individual but also for a family, and lineage Traditional marriage is formed on two major principles: monogamy and exogamy Furthermore, groom’s parents would search for a potential bride in consultation with common moral standards

The dissertation generalized traditional understandings of marriage of the Dao Ho such as the role of marriage towards family and lineage, criteria for selecting bride and groom Furthermore, it also referred to marriageable age at the community

2.2 Principle of marriage

2.2.1 Principle of the same-ethnic marriage

Generally, traditional marriage of the Dao is formed between men and women of the same subgroup living in the same local area Previously, the Dao Ho parents in Bao Thang did not allow their children to get married with someone from a different ethnic group, even with the other Dao sub-groups

Traditionally, the Dao’s parents shall search for a son-in law or a daughter-in-law in the same Dao subgroup at their living village This is because the elderly of the Dao Ho thought that the same sub-group marriage provides couples favorable conditions for a happy family due to easy communication, and feeling sharing since they speak the same language, perform the same traditional customs and

habits, wear the same traditional dressings, have the same awareness

2.2.2 Principle of exogamy

Exogamy is the major principle that aims at strengthening the unification within a lineage, indicating the parental consent of whom one can get married Based on information collected at the local communities, the Dao Ho’s marriage is normally established on blood-relationship (pedigree)

Marriage is obviously forbidden between the Dao Ho relatives who are descended from the same-three generation ancestor (having the same direct blood relationship) It means that the most popular

principle of marriage in the Dao Ho’s community is exogamy, not

allowing people of the same three-generation ancestors to get married

2.2.3 Principle of residence after marriage

Residence after marriage provides not only living styles, but also implies particularly social aspects of the Dao people Residence after marriage is an institution regulated by customs and habits of the ethnic in which most people are strictly abided by

It is normally agreed that a newly-married couple can select either of patrilocal or maltrilocal residence In some particular cases, newly married couples can reside with both groom’s and bride’s families

2.3 Identity and types of marriage

Together with the confirmation of marriage as the formulation of

a family, the dissertation investigated wedding challenges by a girl’s family towards the future groom’s family, the decision maker of the

wedding ceremony, and wedding presents which a groom’s family needs to offer

It is pointed out that parents in the past decided all matters in terms of wedding When a man came to the age of 13, his parents searched for a girl matching to their son’s destiny Although young people were in love, they had to have their parents’ consent for further steps After having had parental approval and compatible ages, their marriage may have a chance to be successful

Furthermore, traditional marriage of the Dao Ho in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province is characterized by white silvers and other presents as wedding challenges

It is noted that the Dao Ho community strictly follows monogamous principle However, men can get married to one person due to the death or the in-fecundity of wives

2.4 Marriage ritual

Marriage ritual refers to different steps that a family should perform in terms of wedding Data collected indicated that both girls and boys had to follow different sets of rituals before getting married The story began as parents searched for potential grooms/brides, asking a medium to send word for a proposed marriage, selecting a matchmaker and shaman until presenting “betel leaves and areca nut”, proposing a marriage date, organizing wedding ceremony, and implementing a newly-wed’s first visit Since patriarchy normally dominated the Dao Ho community Thus, patrilocal residence was the most common selection to most couples, meaning a bride shall reside with the groom’s family, and will be regulated by the groom’s family traditions However, it is documented that matrilocality residence was long existed within the

Dao’s community After marriage, the groom shall live with the bride’s family in a 3 or 5-year duration During this time, the bride’s family is responsible for helping the groom to develop capacities to run a family and raise a living, ect

2.5 Special marriage cases

In this part, the dissertation focused on special cases among the

Dao Ho’s marriage as a wedding between a never-married man and

a widow, or between divorced persons, or having pregnancy before marriage, ect

Basically, weddings between those above-mentioned people also followed the commonly wedding rituals However, there were some steps shortened or removed depending actual conditions

2.6 Customary law of lineage and village to violators

The dissertation found out the Dao Ho’s customs and habits allowed couples facing unresolved family problems could get a divorce

If a wife solely wanted a divorce, the bride’s family had to return all wedding presents If only a husband wanted a divorce, the bride’s family did not return anything at all If both spouses agreed for a divorce, the bride’s family needed to return the partner two white silvers It is noted that if a wife had a pregnancy from someone other than her husband, she would be fined by the local customary law

Summary of chapter 2

Traditional marriage of the Dao Ho is characterized by their own culture in which wedding challenge is of a popular custom Matrilocal residence reflects the groom’s gratitude towards the bride’s family The Dao Ho community commonly accepts weddings

among widows, divorced persons Marital rituals, wedding dresses, ect depict fully characters of the Dao Ho

However, traditional marriage has had many steps rituals, wedding offerings and a huge number of participants It is advised that some of these should be removed in accordance with the modern living styles