The CONG Community of 54 Ethnic groups in Vietnam

Hits: 457

    The CONG have about 1,859 inhabitants, mainly living in the communes along the Da River¹ in Muong Te District of Lai Chau Province². The CONG are also called Xam Khong, Mang Nhe and Xa Xeng. The CONG language belongs to the Tibeto-Burmese³ group.

    The CONG mainly cultivate on milpas by clearing forest, burning trees and making holes with sticks to sow seeds. Recently, they have used hoes and oxen or buffaloes’ traction. Hunting fishing, and gathering remain important activities for them. CONG women are unfamiliar with weaving. They grow cotton which is used to barter for cloth. CONG men and women are skilled at basketry, particularly making rattan mats.

   The CONG live in houses-on-stilts. Each house comprises three or four compartments separated by partitions. The central one with a single window is reserved for guests. Only one entrance door is opened in one end of the house.

   Each CONG lineage has a leader and its own taboos and rules on worshipping rituals and altar arrangement. In the family, the father play an important role. When the father dies, his eldest son will replace his position.

    In the past, only CONG men and women got married one another. Of late, they have accepted marriage with members of other ethnic groups such as the Thai⁴ and Ha Nhi⁵. According to customs, persons of a direct descent can get married only from the seventh generation. The mane’s family actively proposes marriage. After the betrothal, the man lives in his future wife’s family for several years. A married woman wears her hair knotted In a chignon on the top of the heads. The man must offer to his wife’s family white silver. The woman’s family must prepare dower for the bride to bring to her husband’s house. Several days after the wedding, the couple come to visit the bride’s family.

   The CONG’s ancestors belonging to the third generation are worshipped. They presents offerings to the ancestors at wedding, after the harvest, at the birth of a child or upon the death of a parert. Like the Ha Nhi and La Hu⁶, every year each CONG village holds a communal ceremony for the start of a rice crop.

  Besides, several rites are also held to pray for bumper crops and prosperity.

   The CONG folk arts are diverse with charming songs, including the famous Cong khao.

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.
◊  The BRAU Community of 54 Ethnic groups in Vietnam.
◊  The BRU-VAN KIEU Community of 54 Ethnic groups in Vietnam.
◊  The CHO RO 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.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo):  Nguoi BRU-VAN KIEU  trong Cong dong 54 Dan toc anh em o Viet Nam.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo):  Nguoi CHO RO trong Cong dong 54 Dan toc anh em o Viet Nam.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo):  Nguoi CHAM trong Cong dong 54 Dan toc anh em o Viet Nam.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo):  Nguoi CHU RU trong Cong dong 54 Dan toc anh em o Viet Nam.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo):  Nguoi CHUT trong Cong dong 54 Dan toc anh em o Viet Nam.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo):  Nguoi CONG 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