Lables:
Choro ethnic group, Ethnic Groups, Mon-Khmer Group
Other names:
Chau Ro, Do Ro, Chro and Thuong.
Population:
15,022 people, (1999 census).
Language:
Choro language belongs to the Mon-Khmer group (of the Austro-Asiatic language
family).
History:
The Choro are permanent inhabitants in the mountainous areas of southern
Indochina.
Production activities:
In the past, the Choro mainly practiced slash-and-burn cultivation, using a
digging stick to make holes in the scorched earth to insert the seeds. They
have a special way of arranging plants in their fields: they grow creepers,
such as gourd, pumpkin, luffa and soya curd, along the outer perimeter; manioc
is grown in the intermediate zone; and the central part of the field is
reserved for rice, alternated with the planting of sesame. Nowadays, apart from
paddy cultivated on widen fields, people also cultivate wet-rice paddy in
submerged fields, using buffaloes to pull the ploughs. Hunting and gathering
take place during breaks in the agricultural cycle (in the sixth and seventh
lunar month). Horticulture, animal husbandry, and handicraft production are
less developed. Bamboo and rattan plaiting are popular. In the past, some Choro
people also worked on local plantations as forest guards, but they still
cultivate their own land as well.
Diet: The Choro mainly eat
ordinary rice. They smoke locally-grown tobacco with pipes. The most popular
drink is can (pipe) wine. Both men and women are fond of chewing betel.
Clothing:
In the past, Choro men used to wear loin cloths and women used to wear skirts.
In summer, the torso might remain uncovered, or wrapped in a blanket in winter.
Nowadays, the Choro have adopted the local Viet style of dressing. One
distinguishing feature of the Choro is that they are often seen carrying a gui
(a basket) on their back. Women often wear five-colored beads and bracelets
made from copper, silver or aluminum, while girls wear necklaces, brace- lets
and large earrings.
Lifestyle: At present, the
majority of Choro live in the low mountainous areas in the southwest and
southeast of Dong Nai province. A large, segment also live in the communes of
Xuan Binh, Xuan Truong, Xuan Tho and Xuan Phu of Xuan Loc district as well as
Hac Dich, Phuoc Thai, Ngai Dao, Bau Lam "of Chau Thanh district. There are
also some scattered Choro communities in the provinces of Song Be and Ba Ria
and along National Highway 15. Before coming to these places, they had long
inhabited in the region of Ba Ria-Long Khanh. Since the mid-twentieth century,
the Choro have been increasingly influenced by Viet culture and lifestyle from
the southeast. For example, nowadays the Choro have switched from tall
stilt-houses with doors at the sides to living in houses built on the ground.
The architecture has also been influenced to include support beams. The only
feature retained of their traditional architecture is the wooden floor, which
accounts for half the width of the house and the whole length of the interior.
Nowadays, some houses have tile roofs.
Transportation:
The main means of transporting goods and produce is the bamboo or rattan basket
carried on the back.
Social organization:
In Choro society, the older matriarchal system has faded, but the new
relationship of patriarchy has yet to be defined. Dual power seems to be
increasing, while inhe- ritance is still enjoyed by women. In Choro families,
women have a higher position than men. The gap between the rich and the poor is
increasing. There are many family lineages living in one Choro village.
Marriage:
There are two forms of Choro marriages: the boy's family takes the initiative,
or vice-versa. The wedding is organized at the bride's family, where the couple
will stay during the first few years before they move away to live separately.
Funerals:
The Choro, according to their traditional customs, bury their dead. The grave
is topped by an earthen mound. In the first three days after the burial, the
deceased's soul is called back to eat meals. Then a ceremony of opening the
grave takes place followed by rice offerings lasting for a hundred days. The
custom of burning votive papers has appeared in Choro funeral practices, and
people visit the grave on 23rd of Lunar December each year.
The new house:
The inauguration of a new house is a cheerful occasion shared by the hosts and
villagers.
Festivals:
The most important event of the year is the worshiping of the soul Of the rice.
Various kinds of cakes are made to treat the guests on this occasion, such as
glutinous rice cakes, pipe cakes and sesame- rice dumplings. The ritual for the
soul of the forest is organized as a major festival three times a year.
Calendar:
The Choro also make their agricultural schedule based on the lunar calendar.
Education:
Traditional Choro society did not develop its own writing system. Teaching and
learning was passed on verbally.
Artistic
activities: There are a few traditional alternating songs left in the
Choro's traditional folklore, which are sung at festivals such as rituals to
the forest's soul. Musical instruments comprise a set of seven-pattern gongs,
including four smaller patterns and three larger ones. Vertically-blown flutes
and bamboo sound- boxes are also found in the mountainous districts of Chau
Thanh.
Games:
The children play tug-of-war, tree-branch seizing, hide and seek, kite-flying
and cu (spinning top).
This
article written by Lanh Nguyen from Travel Agency in Vietnam
For
original article, please visit:
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