Saturday, 31 March 2018

H’Mong – Dzao – Thai Ethnic Group in Mu Cang Chai

1. Thai
The Thai ethnic group in Yen Bai province has 53,104 people living in most districts, towns and cities of the province. In particular, it is concentrated in Van Chan, Nghia Lo, Tram Tau and Mu Cang Chai districts, including White Thai and Black Thai. Like the H’Mong people, Thai people live in villages where are in lowland, near the central area and near the water source.  The Thai people are famous for the dances. In the festivals, the spreading dance has become the cultural characteristics. Everyone holds hands to dance under the melody of singing & spreading hands.
Dress apparel: Thai women wear Pieu suits, black skirts and short shirt with the butterfly & spider & cicada button shaped. On the holidays, they can wear a slim black dress, or a hoodie style dress.
Male wear cut pants to the waist and shirt with pockets on either side. On holidays, they wear long black shirt with the white inside.
They put the black scarf in the style of an ax on the daily day, they wore a long scarf on holidays.


2. H’Mong
H’Mong people in Yen Bai are mainly 4 groups: Mong Hoa; Mong Den, Mong Trang vĂ  Mong Do.
H’Mong people often live in the village and prefer the high slope, sloping area with the topography of 800-1700m. Part of the H’Mong life is to drown in dances, festivals and glittering in traditional costumes.

Traditional H’Mong costumes are made of linen fabric, decorated by needles, clew, and beeswax to create beautiful patterns. The women's costume includes a head scarf, or head cap with long tail, skirt, apron, belt and leggings. Men's clothing also has its own unique characteristics.  Men's jacket is short, the collar has a lot of daisies. Pants are usually black & indigo dyed with wide pants to clear the climbing hills and canoes easily

.3. Dzao

The Dao ethnic groups live in Yen Bai province. There are four main groups: Red Do, Dao Quan Chet Nga Hoang, Dao Quan Trang and Dao Lan Tuyen. When coming to Vu Linh- Thac Ba, tourists can easily meet the Dao ethnic people living around this area. The traditional costumes of the Dao Yen Bai people are unique by the decorative art on clothes with motifs of plants, animals, human figures, birds, Chinese characters. Men's wears have two types: short-sleeved shirts for daily basis and long shirt for festivals and weddings.

Local foods to try in Mu Cang Chai


Colorful steamed sticky rice
They have created a lot of dishes from the glutinous rice seeds combined with the skillful hands people. One of them is the steamed sticky rice dish with 5 colors and it is also an indispensable dish on the tray of Thai people here.







Tu Le steamed sticky rice

Tu Le rice is a very famous product from ancient times, it is grown from Muong Lo field in Yen Bai province. The seeds of sticky rice are famous for its long and stretch. Picking up a handful of sticky rice in the hand, you can feel heavy but cool like velvet. Rice is cooked without need of coconut water but sticky rice is still fragrant, plastic and sweet. It is plastic without being wet and sticky.  The sweet taste turns to savoury if chewing carefully but no fat.


Tu Le green rice
Tu Le Commune, Van Chan District (Yen Bai Province) has long been famous for its glutinous rice. When it is cooked, it has a special taste, but if processing to green rice it has more sweet & cool bar taste. Tu Le Green rice has a characteristic flavor of Yen Bai highland. Green rice is often eaten along with bananas, red peach or can also be used to cook duck porridge, sticky rice and wedges on dishes such as: fried shrimp, fried meat...

Salt roasted crab
Salt roasted crab can be found throughout restaurants, restaurants in Tu Le. Unlike crabs living in the sea, in cairns, crabs live in rock niches in streams in the uplands. The crab meat is fragrant, firm and it can be made many delicious dishes. They cook the crab by boiling oil, adding the garlic and pouring the crabs to roast it with salt until it turns to golden.

Dried buffalo meat

Dried buffalo meat has long been known as the specialty of the highlands of the Northwest. Buffalo meat is famous for its delicious flavor. Each piece of buffalo meat is marinated with chili, ginger, sugar, salt and leaves, and then dried naturally to create a very specific flavor that few meats have. Especially, the taste of the smoke in each piece of meat makes a very special feeling for the customers.


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The custom of dragging wife of H'Mong people


     The custom of dragging wife of H'Mong people 

As usual, spring is also the opportunity for young H’Mong women and to meet each other. These can be year-end markets, festivals during the New Year's Day, or firewood & water picking day to prepare for a new year. With a large population, H’Mong people in Mu Cang Chai still retain their traditional cultural characteristics. The custom of dragging wife that called wife robbery is a unique feature in the marriage of the H’Mong.

When the couple complains and swear to marriage, they will report back to their parents and family. If everything goes well, the man's family will invite matchmaker to ask for the engagement party (the wedding appointment) and finally the wedding (the wedding procession).
This custom can be happened for a variety of reasons such as: The boy likes the girl but the girl refuses, the son's family used the power to "rob the wife" for his son… But these cases have only happened in the past, under the feudalism. Today, as many other ethnic groups, H’mong people always respect the regime of one wife-one husband. The concept of beautyfull couple is healthy, ethical and hard working.
Marriage is the result of voluntary love. The dragging wife custom is now the affirmation for the intense love and aspirations for a happy family of H’Mong girls.
H’Mong weddings are usually celebrated on good days in the spring, because people are abstinent to wed in thunderstorms months.  And it is thought that spring is the season of things to multiply. But not every love story has a happy ending without experiencing turbulent.
In fact, there are many couples who love each other earnestly but they cannot get the agreement from one of their family (mostly the girl's parents). When parents didnot agree but the couple finds themselves to live together, they not only are considered impious but also the marriage is not accepted by the community. At that time, the couple will discuss to marry each other by “The dragging wife custom” with the help from relatives.
Everything is planned in secret that the girl’s family do not know it, the girl is still collecting firewood and picking water as usual. Then one day as scheduled, the man appeared. Friends of the guy appeared and helped the guy pull the girl to home while they are talking.
The girl still felt surprised and cried despite knowing everything. Not only that, girls have to pretend to call for help from her family. It is thought that the girl was taken to wife without crying, it is cheap and spoiled girl. When the bridegroom come to save the girl, the boy’s friends will take the hit for him to let him take the girl to home.
After the boy's family brought the chicken to the feast, the girl was brought into the house. The H’mong perceive that the girl was made the entrance ceremony by a rooster, even if the girl had left home, her parents would not be able to accept it because she had belonged to other family. Therefore, knowing that his daughter has been pulled to wife, even if they do not agree, the girl’s family also agreed.
However, the two parties can agree on the wedding when going to the engagement party. But if the boy used the dragging wife custom, the girl’s family will be less sympathetic and often punish by asking for higher than usual. The boy must determine that he will be fined if he uses the dragging wife custom. And they have to meet the requirements of the girlfriend no matter how much they claim. Because of these rules, not all families can use the "dragging wife" for boys.
Families want to use the dragging wife custom are routinely well-off family so as to meet the requirements of the girl’s family. It may take up to three years for the boy's family to pay the fine.

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