Lables:
Co ethnic group, Ethnic Groups, Mon-Khmer Group
Proper name:
Cor, Col.
Other names:
Cua, Trau.
Population:
22,649 people (1999 census).
Language:
The Co language belongs to the Mon-Khmer group (part of the Austroasiatic
language family). Their language is close to languages spoken by other groups
in the Tay Nguyen region, such as Hre, Sedang and Bahnar, etc. The Co's written
language was invented before 1975, primarily based on Latin letters. Nowadays,
however, this writing system is no longer popular.
History:
The Co people are permanent residents in northwestern Quang Ngai province and
southwestern Quang Nam province.
Production activities:
Cultivation of swidden fields is the main method for earning a living, rice
cultivated on swidden fields is the main crop. The earth is cleared of
vegetation and digging sticks are used to make holes in the scorched earth to
insert the seeds. Multi-crop farming and crop rotation are popular ways to
maximize production on the scorched land. The Co are well-known for their betel
and cinnamon crops. In particular, locally-grown cinnamon is plentiful and
precious, becoming an important source of income that is derived from both the
forest-grown and homegrown cinnamon. Cinnamon, which can only be harvested
after 10 years, is an important asset of each family. Thanks to cinnamon, many
local families have been able to buy desired goods such as gongs, jars and
buffaloes, in the past, and, nowadays, motorbikes, cassettes, and clocks. They
have also been able to build houses, fabricate wooden furniture, purchase
clothes, and enjoy a more diversified diet. Barter of goods is also popular.
The Co raise buffalo, pigs and chickens mainly for sacrifices in religious
rituals. Textiles and blacksmithing are not well-developed. In contrast,
basketry is well-developed and produces high-quality wares. Hunting and
gathering are an important part in the daily life of the Co.
Diet:
The daily diet includes ordinary rice, salt and chili, jungle vegetables* fish
and meat. Formerly, people ate with their hands and drank uncoiled water and
can wine consumed using straws or pipes. Nowadays, people have turned to boiled
water, green tea and distilled spirits. Betel chewing only prevails among the
elderly, while smoking is still popular.
Housing:
The majority of Co is concentrated in the Tra Bong and Tra Mi areas of
northwestern Quang Ngai and southwestern Quang Nam province. Their stilt houses
are sprawling structures, with doors built below each of the gables. The
interior is divided into three compartments, including a path in the middle, a
sectioned compartment for the family's private activities, and another on the
other side for public activities such as meetings, festivals, parties and
games. In the past, in certain instances, the inhabitants of one village might
live together in several longhouses, which might run hundreds of meters in
length and were protected with surrounding fences and spikes. Recently, more
and more Co families have built their own houses directly on the ground,
following a style which resembles the houses of the Viet people. Some Co houses
have also adopted tile roofs and brick walls.
Clothing:
The Co mainly buys clothes from their Sedang and the Viet neighbors. According
to tradition, men wear loin cloths, leaving the upper torso unclothed, and
women wear skirts and blouses with short sleeves. In winter, they wrap
themselves with blankets.
Long
dresses and head-bands, imported from people living on the plains, are worn on
ceremonial occasions, especially by more affluent elders. Nowadays, Viet
clothing styles are most popular among the Go. Women's skirts are made from
industrial cloth, and their ornaments have a more simple design. It is rare to
find women wearing the colorful beaded strings around their necks, wrists and
waists as was the fashion in the past.
Transportation:
The Co make their own style of gui (the back-basket) for transporting goods and
produce along the steeping terrain of mountains and streams. Almost everything
is put into the gui and carried on people's back, attached with two
shoulder-straps.
Social organization:
Each village has a knowledgeable elder, respected and obeyed by all. Villagers
live within a well-defined geographic area, and the location of the village is
always within this territory. The villagers have close relationships
established through marriages or through shared blood lines. Although each
family has its own business and land plot, a sense of communal sharing is very
strong. There has been an increasing gap between the rich and the poor, but the
exploitation of servitude has not appeared.
This
article written by Lanh Nguyen from Vietnam Heritage Travel
For
original article, please visit:
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