Proper name:
Bo Y
Other names:
Chung Cha, Trong Gia.
Population:
1,420 people
Local groups:
Bo Y and Tu Di
Language:
The Bo Y group speaks Tay-Thai language (which belongs to the Tai-Kadai
language family while the Tu Different speaks Han or Chinese language family).
History:
The first Bo Y people traveled south to Vietnam from China about 150 years ago.
Production activities: The Bo Y people were originally experienced
in wet rice cultivation. However, since settling in the northern mountainous
regions of Vietnam, they have had to rely mainly on slash-and-burn
agriculture-primarily growing corn, their main crop. In addition, each family
usually has a vegetable garden. Apart from raising livestock and poultry, the
local people are also involved in various crafts such as cloth weaving,
black-smithing, pottery-making, stone carving, silver engraving, plaiting and
woodwork, etc.
Clothing:
Formerly, Bo Y women wore full skirts like those worn by Hmong, or ornamented
with batik bee’s wax designs and dyed indigo. The blouse is short, often having
five panels with a bodice covering the chest and abdomen. Silver ornaments are
popular, such as necklaces, wrist chains and ear-rings. The women wear their
hair wound in a chignon at the top of their head. Their headgear is
traditionally an indigo turban which or ornamented with colorful embroidery.
Nowadays, some Bo Y people have adopted the neighboring Nung’s way of dressing.
Some also wear shirts lie the Han but with removable sleeves.
Lifestyle:
The Bo Y live in Quan Ba (Ha Giang province) and Muong Khuong (Lao Cai). They
live in houses built on the ground with a thatched, wooden or tiled roof and
clay walls. The house usually has three sections, with an extra bay for the
unmarried boys or used as a rice granary.
Social organization:
The society’s social classes are clearly defined. The upper classes consisted
of the village chief (known as Pin Thau) and his assistant (Xeo Phai)
Marriage:
There are three steps involved to organise a Bo Y wedding:
Step
1: The boy’s family sends two female matchmakers to ask the girl’s family for
her personal information, date of birth, so tht match-making calculations can
be made. The girl’s family, in return, often shows their good-will by offering
the guests 10 red colored chicken eggs. If the boy’s family finds that the
couple is well-matched, then they will again send two matchmakers-this time
male to read the horoscope of the girl and to consult the girl’s family on the
price for an engagement ceremony.
Step
2: After the engagement ceremony, the marriage is agreed by the boy’s and the
girl’s families.
Step3:
The wedding. The bride-groom’s family presents the wedding presents to the
bride’s family. Apart from food, some clothes for the bride are also included.
The bridegroom does not go to the bride’s house; instead, the bride rides on a
horse to the bridegroom, attended by the bridegroom’s sister who walks
alongside. She brings with her a pair of scissors and a small hen, which she
will release to the forest at mid-way.
Birth:
In the past, according to local customs, the women often sit when they deliver.
They cut the baby’s umbilical cord with a bamboo knife and the placenta is
often buried right under the bed. Three days later, a ceremony is held for the goddess,
believed to be the creator and protector of the baby, and also to nickname the
baby. Only when the child reaches two or a tree year is he or she given an
official name. It a child is ailing all the year round, a foster father will be
chosen so that the child’s spirit has a place to rest.
Funerals:
Funerals reflects the sentiments of the living towards the dead, which,
according to Bo Y beliefs, will take the deceased’s sprit back to his or her
country land. Four rifle shots are fired before the funeral, and the deceased’s
feet should go first as the coffin is carried to the grave yard. Between the
deceased’s home and the grave yard, three stops are made (if the deceased’s
wife or husband is still living) or four (if both have died). Mourning is maintained
by the family members for three years, during which time, the men are not
allowed to drink wine, the women cannot wear ornaments, and boys and girls are
not allowed to get married.
Beliefs:
Three incense bowls are placed on the altar, which is dedicated to heaven, to
the spirit of the heart, and to ancestors. Under the altar, three is an incense
bowl dedicated for worshiping the land’s god. If the wife’s parents both died
without a son, the son-in-law is responsible for setting up a small altar in the
doorway.
Festivals:
There are many Tet occasions celebrated by the Bo Y, such as Nguyen Dan (Lunar
New Year), Ram Thang Gieng (mid-lunar-January festival), 30th of Lunar January
festival, Han Thuc, Doan Ngo, 6th of Lunar June, mid-Lunar-July and New Rice
festival, in particular, is held on the 8th or 9th day of Lunar September,
featuring the square sticky rice cake, chay cake and colored steamed rice.
Calendar:
The Bo Y calculates the date based on the lunar calendar.
Education:
In the past, some Bo Y people still used Chinese for writing their family
annals, their ritual texts, and their destiny accounts sheet.
Artistic activities:
In the Tu Di group, the youth often take part in exchanging songs sung at the
beginning of the spring marketplaces or at their homes. Most songs are in
Chinese, accompanied by ken la, a wind instrument made of leaves.
Games:
On special occasions, the Bo Y play with swings, Chinese chess, spinning top,
and khang playing.
This
article written by Lanh Nguyen from Travel Agency in Vietnam
For
original article, please visit:
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