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Hongnam: Vietnam's Ethnic Minorities
The Si La
The Si La, also
know as the Cu De Xu, live in three hamlets called Seo Hay, Si Thau Chai
and Nam Xin in Muong Te district of Lai Chau province. They have a
population of about 600. The Si La language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman
Group.
The Si La live on rice and corn cultivation on burnt-over land. In recent decades, they have begun growing rice in submerged fields. Though agriculture plays a major role, hunting and gathering are also significant in the life of the Si La. The Si La live in houses built level with the ground. The kitchen is placed in the central bay. Si La women's attire is quite unique. The upper part of their dress is always a different colour from the rest and decorated with silver and tin coins. Their headgear varies according to age. When travelling, they always carry a woven handbag with red fringes attached to the hems. In the past, Si La men painted their teeth red and women painted theirs black. This custom is no longer observed by the young people. The Si La have
many family lineages. All of them refrain from eating cats. The
relationship between the members of a lineage is very close. The head of a
lineage is the oldest man, who is in charge of judging internal affairs,
especially worship. In Si La society, besides the head of the lineage, the
mo (sorcerers) are respected by all.
According to
custom, weddings are celebrated in two stages, with an interval of one
year. At the second rite, the family of the groom must hand wedding
presents to the bride's family prior meeting the bride and bringing her
home.
The Si La
celebrate many religious rituals, the most important is the worship of the
ancestors and the god of the village.
The life of the
Si La is still hard. The distance of communications, the lack of food and
clothing, the increase of diseases like goitre and malaria, high mortality
and lack of access to technology have made the Si La's life more
difficult. Appropriate attention needs to be paid to the Si La group the
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It is also
customary that the burial ground occupies a plot at the edge of the
settlement, in which the graves of the members of the same lineages are
grouped. The Si La often build a funeral house first, then dig the grave
inside the house. The coffin is made from a hollowed out tree-trunk. When
a person dies, the Si La organise entertainments and sing without crying.
They never clean the graves or rebury the dead but retain the custom of
mourning parents over three years.