Name of
Ethnic Group: La Chi (Cu Te, Tho Den and La Qua).
Population:
About 8,000 persons.
Locality:
Xin Man District in Ha Giang Province, and Muong Khuong and Bac Ha Districts in
Lao Cai Province.
Customs
and Habits: The typical La Chi house is built on stilts, has three
apartments, and an ancestral altar in the largest apartment. Each household has its own
drums and gongs which are used in ritual ceremonies conducted by the head of the family
lineage. Children take the family name of their fathers. As part of the wedding presents,
the groom's family has to offer the amount of money that was needed to pay for the bride's
upbringing. The 7th Lunar Month Festival is the largest and merriest activity of the La
Chi culture.
Culture:
The La Chi language belongs to the Kadai Group. Young boys and girls like to sing
"nica" songs. The traditional musical instruments of this group include drums,
gongs, three-stringed zithers (dan tinh), and lip-organs made from tree leaves. Popular games played at festivals are con throwing,
top spinning, and swinging.
Costumes:
Men wear five-panelled shirts that fall below their knees (nowadays these shirts are
shorter), wide trousers, and head turbans. The women usually wear a four-panelled dress
with a belt, a bra, and a long turban, along with a pair of trousers or a skirt.
Economy:
The La Chi grow wet rice in terraced fields. La Chi women have a tradition of weaving and
indigo dyeing. The La Chi live a sedentary life that revolves around villages.
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