The HA NHI Community of 54 Ethnic groups in Vietnam

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     Also called Co cho, U Ni and Xa U Ni, the HA NHI have about 19,954 inhabitants settling in the provinces of Lai Chau¹ and Lao Cai ². The HA NHI language belongs to the Tibeto-Burmese³ group. The HA NHI mainly worship their ancestors.

    They live on growing rice in milpas or fields. They are one of the ethnic groups who have good experience in reclaiming terraced fields on mountain slopes, digging canals, building small dams, using cattle as traction and doing the garden close to their houses.

    Animal husbandry is developed. Weaving and basketry are quite popular. Formerly, most of the HA NHI could produce clothes for themselves. Female costumes vary among different subgroups: decorated with colorful patterns (in Lai Chau) or indigo-dyed only (in Lao Cai).

    The HA NHI have adoptee a sedentary lifestyle. Each hamlet contains 50-60 households. The HA NHI consist of many family lineages. Each lineage comprises many branches. Every year, at the Lunar New Year, members of the same lineage gather to listen to an elderly man speaking about their ancestors. Some lineages recall far back their 40 generations.

    Children often take the name of their father or of the animal symbolizing their birthdays as their middle name. Young men and woman are free to choose their partners. Each couple go through two marriages. After the first wedding the young man and women become husband and wife. The bride comes to live with her husband’s family and takes tne family name of her husband. Matrilocal residence is also observed. The second marriage is organized when the couple get rich or have a child.

    Funeral customs vary according to regions, but some common practises have prevailed. When a person dies, the partition of his/her bedroom is dismantled, and the ancestral altar is dismounted. The dead body is placed on a bed in the kitchen and buried at good hours and days. There is no cemetery of the whole village. The grave is not filled with grass-covered soil.

    Around the grave, stones are piled up; no funeral house is built.

    The HA NHI possess many ancient tales and long stories n verses. Young men and women play their own dances accompanied by the percussion. They express their love b playing leaf-oboe, lip zither and flutes. Young girls like to play am-ba met-du, tuy-huy or nat-xi (various kinds of traditional flutes) at night. Young boys play la-khu, a string zither. At the festivals, drums, cymbals and castanets are performed. The HA NHI have many songs such as lullabies, duet songs, songs in wedding mourning horse inauguration, receiving guests, and welcoming the New Year. A wedding song of the HA NHI in Muong Te District of Lai Chau Province is composed by 400 verses.

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.
◊  The CO HO Community of 54 Ethnic groups in Vietnam.
◊  The CONG Community of 54 Ethnic groups in Vietnam.
◊  The CHUT Community of 54 Ethnic groups in Vietnam.
◊  The CHU RU Community of 54 Ethnic groups in Vietnam.
◊  The CHAM Community of 54 Ethnic groups in Vietnam.
◊  The DAO Community of 54 Ethnic groups in Vietnam.
◊  The GIAY Community of 54 Ethnic groups in Vietnam.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo): CONG DONG 54 Dan toc Viet Nam – Phan 1.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo) with Web-Voice (Web-Audio):  Nguoi BA NA  trong Cong dong 54 Dan toc anh em o Viet Nam.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo) with Web-Voice (Web-Audio):  Nguoi BO Y trong Cong dong 54 Dan toc anh em o Viet Nam.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo) with Web-Voice (Web-Audio):  Nguoi BRAU trong Cong dong 54 Dan toc anh em o Viet Nam.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo) with Web-Voice (Web-Audio):  Nguoi BRU-VAN KIEU  trong Cong dong 54 Dan toc anh em o Viet Nam.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo) with Web-Voice (Web-Audio):  Nguoi CHO RO trong Cong dong 54 Dan toc anh em o Viet Nam.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo) with Web-Voice (Web-Audio):  Nguoi CHAM trong Cong dong 54 Dan toc anh em o Viet Nam.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo) with Web-Voice (Web-Audio):  Nguoi CHU RU trong Cong dong 54 Dan toc anh em o Viet Nam.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo) with Web-Voice (Web-Audio):  Nguoi CHUT trong Cong dong 54 Dan toc anh em o Viet Nam.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo) with Web-Voice (Web-Audio):  Nguoi CONG trong Cong dong 54 Dan toc anh em o Viet Nam.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo) with Web-Voice (Web-Audio):  Nguoi DAO trong Cong dong 54 Dan toc anh em o Viet Nam.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo) with Web-Voice (Web-Audio):  Nguoi GIAY trong Cong dong 54 Dan toc anh em o Viet Nam.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo) with Web-Voice (Web-Audio):  Nguoi GIA RAI trong Cong dong 54 Dan toc anh em o Viet Nam.
◊  Vietnamese version (vi-VersiGoo) with Web-Voice (Web-Audio):  Nguoi HA NHI trong Cong dong 54 Dan toc anh em o Viet Nam.
◊  etc.

BAN TU THU
07 /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