The BO Y Community of 54 Ethnic groups in Vietnam

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    The BO Y are also called Chung Cha, Trong Gia, Tu Di, Tu Din and Pu Na. They have a population of about 2,059 inhabitants settling in concentration in the provinces of Lao Cai¹, Yen Bai², Ha Giang³ and Tuyen Quang⁴.

    The BO Y language belongs to the Tay-Thai⁵ linguistic family. Ancestor worship is the role of their religion. On the altar three joss stick containers are placed, the middle one for the Heaven, one for the God of the Kitchen⁶ and the other for the ancestors.

    The BO Y live mainly on slash-and-bum agriculture and wet-rice cultivation too. They rear plenty of cattle and poultry and are expenenced in fish-raising. Every year, in the breeding season of fish, the BO Y go to the rivers to catch up spawn and young fish which are fed in ponds and submerged fields.

    The BO Y practice carpentry, blacksmithing pottery, stone carving and silver engraving as sidelines. Women know how to grow cotton, spin threads, weave cloth, sew and embroider clothes, scarves, and bags. Women wear full skirts, a five-paneled shirt and a bra. Recently, some of them have adopted the NUNG or HAN way of dressing. The women prefer silver Jewelry. They wound and tied their hair in a chignon at the top of the head. Their headgear is an indigo turban of 2 meters long and 0.3 meter wide. It is arranged in a crow-bill shape above the forehead.

    Generally, the BO Y live in houses built on the ground. In the interior, there is always an entresol serving as bedroom for unmarried boys and granary. Each family lineage adopts a list of 5-12 middle names. Each name indicates a generation. Previously, the BO Y carried out the wedding ceremony in a complicated and expensive way. In the ceremony held to bring a bride to her husband’s home, the groom’s family sent 8-10 persons to meet the bride, including 1-2 unmarried couples and two married couples. A unique character is that the groom never presented in this ceremony. On the way to her family-in-law, the bride always node a horse towed by her husband’s younger sister. The bride took with her a pair of scissors and a small hen which was released midway.

    In the former days, it is a habit that the BO Y women gave birth In a sitting position. The placenta was burled under the mother’s bed. When parents die, the children must observe strict taboos for 90 days and 120 days in mourning of their mother and father respectively.

    The BO Y dossess a rich treasury of folk arts and culture including ancient tales, proverbs and folksongs.

SEE MORE:
◊  The COMMUNITY of 54 ETHNIC GROUPS in Vietnam – Section 1.
◊  The BA NA Community of 54 Ethnic groups in Vietnam.
◊  The BO Y Community of 54 Ethnic groups in Vietnam.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo): CONG DONG 54 Dan toc Viet Nam – Phan 1.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo):  Nguoi BA NA  trong Cong dong 54 Dan toc anh em o Viet Nam.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo):  Nguoi BO Y  trong Cong dong 54 Dan toc anh em o Viet Nam.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo):  Nguoi BRAU  trong Cong dong 54 Dan toc anh em o Viet Nam.
◊  etc.

BAN TU THU
06 /2020

NOTES:
¹ : … updating…

NOTE:
◊  Source & Images:  54 Ethnic Groups in Vietnam, Thong Tan Publishers, 2008.
◊  All citations and italic textes has been set by Ban Tu Thu – thanhdiavietnamhoc.com