La Chi People in Ban Diu Commune make efforts to preserve traditional culture

BHG - Alongside eliminating outdated customs and building a civilized lifestyle, the preservation of traditional culture is always a priority for the La Chi ethnic minority people community in Ban Diu Commune (Xin Man Distric). These efforts have been contributing to creating a healthy living environment, revitalising cultural values to promote socio-economic development, and fostering national unity in the locality.

The La Chi ethnic group constitutes over 65% of Ban Diu Commune's population, residing primarily in the villages of Na Lung, Diu Ha, Diu Thuong, and Nam Lim. As an ethnic group with rich cultural identity, the La Chi people in the area have been making efforts to preserve the cultural values that have been intertwined with their lifestyle for generations. These include rituals in the Hoang Van Thung Festival associated with the Khu Cu Te New Year celebration in the 7th lunar month each year; the ancestor worship ceremonies for three generations held in the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 12th lunar months; and the singing of love duets during weddings, festivals, and holidays.

Following the drumbeats, villagers bring offerings to the Hoang Van Thung Temple.

In particular, the making of traditional clothing is highly valued by the La Chi people, and they pass on this skill to their children within the family. From when they are very young, girls are meticulously guided by their grandmothers and mothers through each step of sewing a complete outfit. In addition, preserving the La Chi language is also a well-maintained practice within the community. To prevent the La Chi language from fading away, families take the initiative to teach their children the ethnic language from an early age.

Along with cultural preservation, the La Chi people in Ban Diu Commune have strictly implemented the elimination of outdated customs since the introduction of Resolution No.27. Specifically, the duration of the Khu Cu Te New Year celebration associated with the Hoang Van Thung Festival has been reduced from 15 days to 7 days; weddings no longer involve bride prices, consanguineous marriages, nor lengthy ceremonies, and all couples getting married must be of legal age with a marriage certificate; 100% of households now use coffins for funerals, do not slaughter many livestock, and limit the funeral to a maximum of 48 hours, with cash offerings replacing material contributions. In daily life, residents are proactive in cleaning their homes and surroundings, and they no longer keeping livestock and poultry under their stilt houses; each household now has a vegetable garden, water tank, bathroom, sanitary latrine, and a garbage pit or animal pen located away from the house.Ill people are taken to healthcare facilities for examination and no longer rely on fortune-telling or ritual practices.

In the near future, Ban Diu Commune will collaborate with schools to invite artisans to teach drum dancing, traditional costume making, bamboo weaving, and love duet singing to students; theywill also intensify the propagation efforts to raise public awareness of preserving the cultural values of their ethnic group while eliminating outdated customs.