Cultural Beauty of the Khang Ethnic Group in the Northwest, Vietnam

The Khang people mainly reside in Son La, Lai Chau and Dien Bien. The Khang ethnic community has many unique cultural features. Let's join iGuide.ai to learn about the Khang ethnic group in Vietnam according to reference information from the Vietnam Ethnic Committee!

1. Historical origin

From historical and ethnographic documents, it is possible to assume that the Khang people were the original and long-standing owners of the Northwest region of Vietnam before the Thai people from southern China and the Kho Mu people from Laos migrated to this area. Other names: Xa Khao, Xa Xua, Xa Don, Khang Huoc, Mkhang Hoc, Mkhang Ai, Ma-hang Beng, Ma-hang Coi,...

2. Population

According to the survey of 53 ethnic minorities on April 1, 2019, the Khang ethnic group has 16,180 people, of which the male population is 8,170 people and the female population is 8,010 people. Household size: 4.5 people/household; Percentage of population living in rural areas: 98.8%.

3. Geographic distribution

Concentrated in Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces.

4. Language

The Khang language is still classified in the Mon-Khmer group of the Austroasiatic language family. Currently, the use of the Khang-Thai bilingualism is widespread. In the family, members (especially the elderly) mainly communicate with each other in the Khang language, but use Thai when interacting with neighboring ethnic groups (Thai, Hmong, Khmu, etc.). Thai is also used in religious ceremonies or when performing folk cultural activities. The young generation of the Khang people is now fluent in Mandarin.

Education: According to the April 2019 Survey of 53 Ethnic Minorities: The rate of Khang people aged 15 and over who can read and write: 60.8%; The rate of people attending primary school: 98.1%; The rate of people attending lower secondary school: 86.5%; The rate of people attending upper secondary school: 30.4%; The rate of out-of-school children: 20.0%.

5. Main features

- Cuisine:The Khang people like to eat sticky rice and sour and spicy dishes such as: pickled fish, pickled taro leaves, mixed dishes of betel leaves, meat, chili, garlic, mixed herbs, and cooked food. The custom of drinking through the nose (tu mui) is a unique cultural feature of theirs. The Khang people are used to drinking white wine, rice wine, smoking cigarettes and tobacco.

- Skin:The Khang people dress like the Thai people.

- Housing:There are two types of houses: temporary houses and permanent houses. Stilt houses have one or two roofs, no roof covering, no lean-to, and have a main door that goes from one end to the other, connected to the stairs for going down.

- Social relations:Under the management of the former Thai Muong, the Khang people do not have their own social organization. The highest position in the village is: Quan Quan, almost like the Thai village chief. The patriarchal family dominates the village. Besides, there are also some remnants of the matriarchal system: the custom of living with the son-in-law, the role of the uncle... The head of the family still has a certain role.

- Wedding:In the past, the Khang people's marriage was both free and had to go through many rituals. After four or five nights of getting to know each other and sleeping at the girl's house, if the couple liked each other, they would hold an engagement ceremony and many rituals that the young couple and both the groom's and the bride's families had to perform. After three years of living with the couple's family, the young couple had to hold a ceremony to introduce themselves to both families, and then the groom's family would organize a wedding reception. This was the most important ceremony.

- Funeral:The Khang people have a custom of dividing the deceased's belongings into what the deceased used when alive. At the head of the grave, there is a tall pole, on which is tied a wooden bird figure and a shirt that the deceased used to wear. After the burial, when returning home, the brothers and relatives must stand under the floor so that the uncle can cut a strand of hair, put it in a bowl of water containing eggs and dried fish, and then throw it on the side of the road in the cemetery so that the deceased's spirit will not return to disturb his descendants and relatives.

- Worship:They believe that humans have 5 souls. One main soul is in the head and four souls are in the limbs. When they die, the main soul turns into a good ghost that protects their descendants, while the remaining four souls turn into evil ghosts that often disturb the "feeding" spirit. People also believe in many other types of ghosts such as: stream ghosts, village ghosts... The ceremony to worship parents is held once every 3 years. This is the happiest ceremony, the family often invites brothers and relatives in the village to attend the meal, then dances all night long.

- Holidays:The Khang people celebrate Lunar New Year, New Rice Festival and perform rituals related to slash-and-burn agriculture.

6. Economic conditions

Slash-and-burn farming is the main economic form with the method of burning and digging holes to sow seeds. Livestock is quite developed: pigs, chickens, ducks, buffaloes, cows. A famous sideline is weaving household items (boxes, rattan chairs, rattan, baskets...). The Khang people are good at building and sailing dugout canoes and swallow-tail boats, which are popular with other ethnic groups. In recent years, the State has allocated forest land to households or groups of households, making forest economy a new direction for the Khang people.

The Khang ethnic group has: Poverty rate: 51.5%; Near-poverty rate: 12.5%; Unemployment rate: 1.03%; Rate of trained workers with degrees and certificates: 3.5%; Rate of workers working in the non-agricultural sector: 10.1%; Rate of workers working in management or high and middle-level CMKT: 1.2%. Above is some interesting information about the Khang ethnic group, Vietnam. Let's plan to meet and experience the culture with the Khang people in the near future with iGuide.ai!

Source:
- Ethnic groups in Vietnam (National Political Publishing House Truth)
- Basic characteristics of 54 ethnic minorities in 2019 (Committee on Ethnic Minorities and General Statistics Office)
- Website of the Ethnic Committee, Website of Nhan Dan Newspaper
- Survey results collect information on the socio-economic status of 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam)