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| Vietnam
Identity
The O Du
According to latest survey by the Council of Nationalities of the National Assembly, the O Du now number 194 mostly inhabiting the village of Kim Hoa and Xop Pot (Kim Da commune), and the rest scattered in nearby villages in Tuong Duong district, Nghe An province. The O Du are also called Tay-hat. Their language belongs to the Mon-Khmer Group but is no longer used. They live on
farming in slash-and-burn plots with rice as their staple food and maize
and cassava as supplements. Hunting and gathering still play an important
role in their economic life. Cow breeding is insignificant and serves for
draught power. Poultry and pigs are raised to serve rituals and
worshipping and to improve daily meals, especially when there are guests. They live in small-size families. After marriage, the bride-groom comes to live at his wife's house for some time before returning to his house with his children and wife. For the O Du, the New Year begins on the day when the thunder rolls for the first time in early spring. They believe that people have a soul which, after death, becomes the soul of the house, watching over every activity of the living family. Today, the O Du still retain self-consciousness about their ethnicity, but their language has almost vanished and only a few people know their mother tongue. They skillfully use the Thai and Kho Mu language. Their cultural identity is obscured by the influence of the Thai and the Kho Mu. In the national population census in 1989, many O Du declared themselves as Thai or Kho Mu. |
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Wickerwork and, of late, weaving are sideline family occupations.
Formerly, the O Du had no family names. They then adopted the family names
of the Lao or Thai.