Experience daily life of Dao people in northern Vietnam

By Huynh Phuong   October 21, 2020 | 01:15 am PT
Visitors to Mau Son Mount in Lang Son Province have the unique opportunity to discover the colorful customs of the local Dao ethnic minority.
Experience daily life of Dao people in northern Vietnam

There are three ethnic minorities in Mau Son: Dao, Tay and Nung, of which the Dao account for 98 percent. From past to present, the Dao in Mau Son, a commune near the border with China have clung tightly to their cultural identity.

Series “Dao People’s Lifestyle in Mau Son” by lensman Nguyen Son Tung, a Lang Son Province resident, vibrantly depicts the mountainous Dao lifestyle.

Experience daily life of Dao people in northern Vietnam

The Dao eat breakfast and dinner at home while lunching in the fields. Their staple is rice, including glutinous rice, cooked in varying forms.

Mills are used to pound rice and stone mortars for corn. Rice is usually made into porridge while corn is broken into small pieces and cooked with rice, made into porridge or baked into cakes.

Meat, cured and strung along the ceiling, is typically served with leaves from the exotic Chinese sweet gum tree.

Experience daily life of Dao people in northern Vietnam

Harvested corn is kept in the attic to avoid termites and are infused with kitchen smoke, affording them a golden glint and signature taste.

Experience daily life of Dao people in northern Vietnam

Customary female attire includes a long black dress embroidered with colorful patterns and decorated with silver stars and beads. A silver pendant is also worn on the side.

Experience daily life of Dao people in northern Vietnam

Colorful local fabric often depicts birds and pine trees.

“The use of traditional clothing for every day use remains common, though mainly among the elderly. It is worrying that fewer and fewer artisans know how to embroider, weave and make traditional garments. Materials are also growing increasingly scarce,” Tung said.

Experience daily life of Dao people in northern Vietnam

Dao men usually wear a simple black shirt with a scarf with colorful tassels. Wide pants are held up by a hemp rope. A turban or scarf usually serve as a hat.

Experience daily life of Dao people in northern Vietnam

Traditional weddings will see songs of love resound to the accompaniment of a Pi le trumpet welcoming the bride.

Usually, the groom's family collects the bride in the early morning. Departing, the bride wears traditional clothing, which is changed before she enters the groom's house.

Experience daily life of Dao people in northern Vietnam

The traditonal Pi le trumpet is used during rituals for the rice god and forest god, during weddings, and over Tet (Lunar New Year festival). Its sound represents the spiritual communication between heaven and earth, mountains and forests, loved ones, as well as children and their parents.

The trumpet consists of a mouthpiece, pipe and bell, capable of producing 72 different melodies.

Experience daily life of Dao people in northern Vietnam

Most Dao families worship their ancestors up to the ninth generation, including their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. Ancestor worship occurs during funerals, tomb visits, full moon in seventh lunar month, Lunar New Year festival, and other rituals.

The Dao are originally farmers, and pray to the god of agriculture to bless their harvests.

During funerals, the Dao believe a dead person's soul returns to its roots among the ancestors. To facilitate this journey, a 'dry ritual' is performed at home, one month after burial.

 
 
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