Lables:
Ethnic Groups, Mang ethnic group, Mon-Khmer Group
Proper name:
Mang.
Other names:
Mang U, Xa Mang, Nieng O, Xa Ba O.
Local groups:
Mang Gung, Mang Le.
Population:
2,247 people (1999 census).
Language:
The Mang language belongs to the Mon-Khmer language group (Austro-Asiatic
language family). Many of the Mang know how to speak Thai.
History:
Up to now, the area of Nam Ban (Dum Bai) in the Nam Ban village, of Sin Ho
district, Lai Chau province is considered as the motherland of the Mang. Many
legends and stories have suggested that the Mang are one of the first
inhabitants in the northwest of the country.
Production activities:
The Mang are agriculturists. As wandering nomadic peoples, they tend to practice
slash and burn farming. After the Lunar New Year, people will choose and mark
their own fields. In March and April, they clean up the fields and let them
dry; in June and July, the Mang burn the trees on the field, and then they
plant seeds. Working tools include axe, knife, and a pointed digging stick.
However, the productivity rate is often low because the land is impoverished,
and the forest is too young. As a result, the Mang lifestyle is unstable, and
there is always a threat of food shortages. Lately, the Mang have learnt how to
work in permanent fields or on step terraces, which have tended to improve and
stabilize agricultural production.
Raising
cattle and making handicrafts are not well- developed. Gathering fruit and
hunting in all four seasons are important additions to the Mang economy. The
Mang raise water buffaloes, cows, goats, chickens, and pigs. Many of the Mang's
plaited products, such as bamboo mats and carrying baskets, are highly valued
and used by other ethnic groups.
Diet:
The Mang generally eat two meals a day (lunch and dinner). Corn is the main
food. It is usually mixed with cassava, or rice, and then steamed. The steamed
young leaves of the cassava plant are mixed with salt and form an important
year-round food for the Mang. The Mang like to smoke tobacco in pipes, and
drink locally-made alcohol.
Clothing:
Mang traditional dress is still in evidence, though many Mang have adopted
clothing styles popular among other Vietnamese today. The unique feature in the
dress of Mang women is a throw to wrap around the body. It is made of white
rough cloth, and in the middle are two rows of red thread. Mang women generally
do not wear head coverings; their hair is pulled up to the top by colorful
string. Mang women do wear leggings.
Housing:
The Mang live in stilt houses that are simply made using many different
varieties of wood.
Transportation:
The carrying basket is popular, and of the type that has a tumpline placed on
the forehead and a handle behind the head.
Social organization:
The head of the old traditional society was a man called Pogia. Together, he
and all the heads of family lines directed all the social, cultural, and
religious activities in a village. Later, this social structure was destroyed,
and the Mang became influenced by the Thai's social structure. However, the
village still keeps its traditional social structure. The head of the village
looks after its taxes and services. There is usually a big family line in a
village. Heads of different family clans, together with all the village's
elders, direct all the social and religious activities according to traditional
custom. The Mang have five main family lines, and each chose one, animal as its
family symbol.
Beliefs:
The house's ghost is worshiped on New Years day, or when there is someone ill.
God is the highest creator. The Mang also have a legend about the origin of
humankind, like the calabash story. The Mang believe that there are four
stories in the universe: heaven is the world of those creator Gods; the earth is
the world of humans and spirits-; under the earth is the world of ugly dwarfs;
and in the water is the world of serpents. Moreover, the Mang believe that
there are many spirits, and the house spirit is the most important. The Mang
also worship the spirits of their ancestors.
Artistic activities:
There is a well-known and beloved folklore melody called oxoong. Elderly people
are enthusiastic in their recitations of folktales, chronicles and historical
stories.
Entertainment:
On New Year’s Day and festivals, Mang children play badminton and spinning-top.
Young people play shuttlecock.
Funerals:
The Mang funeral includes many complicated steps, from wrapping the corpse in a
shroud to burying. In the past, the coffin was made mainly from bark or bamboo.
Later, the Mang started using a hollowed out tree trunk or board for their
coffins.
New House:
Though Mang houses are very temporary, there are, nevertheless, steps that must
be followed when building a new house. A ritual specialist must be invited to
determine the date and time to choose the land, clear the floor, erect the
central column and roof for the house, and the like. The open house ceremony is
a happy day for the whole village. This ceremony bears many complicated
rituals, which display characteristic elements of Mang culture.
Festivals:
Beside the Lunar New Year, the Mang also have the New Rice Festival held after
the October harvest. Every year, the villagers worship the village and the
house spirits to pray for peace. The Mang especially practice many agricultural
rituals such as ceremonies for planting and harvesting as well as rituals to
the rice's soul and the rice's mother.
This
article written by Lanh Nguyen from Travel Agency in Vietnam
For
original article, please visit:
No comments:
Post a Comment