Name of
Ethnic Group: La Ha (Phlao and Khla).
Population:
About 1,400 people.
Locality:
Son La and Lao Cai Provinces.
Customs
and Habits: The La Ha house is built on stilts with two entrances and ladders at
both ends.
Young
boys and girls are free to seek their love. A young boy will visit a young girl at her
house playing a flute or a two-string violin to try to engage her in normal conversation.
After the marriage proposal, the bridegroom lives in the bride's family house for four to
eight years before the wedding actually takes place. The bride then joins her husband's
family and takes his family name.
Old customs require that a dead person be
buried along with their money and a rice paddy. The La Ha believe there are many
supernatural forces including spirits of the forest, the water, the mist, and the house.
In each family, only the soul of the father, which will turn into the spirit of the house
after his death, is worshipped. Every year, when the ban flowers blossom, a celebration is
held by every family to honour their parents.
Culture:
The La Ha language belongs to the Kadai Group.
Costumes:
The La Ha dress the same as the Black Thai.
Economy:
The La Ha live on slash-and-burn farming. Nowadays, many villages cultivate rice in
submerged fields and build embankments to protect the soil from erosion. The La Ha grow
cotton but do not weave.
|