Characteristics of the Cho Ro ethnic group

The Cho Ro ethnic group, with a population of nearly 30,000 people, lives concentrated in the low mountains of the southwest and southeast of Dong Nai province and Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. Currently, the lives of the Cho Ro people are increasingly improving, preserving and promoting traditional cultural values. Let's go togetheriguide.aiFind out information about the Cho Ro ethnic group in Vietnam!

1. Historical origin
The Cho Ro people have long resided in the low hills and mountains, located in the southeast of Dong Nai province and partly in Ba Ria - Vung Tau province.
Other names: Chau Ro, Do Ro, Chro, Thuong.

2. Population
According to data from the Survey of 53 ethnic minorities on April 1, 2019, the Cho Ro ethnic group has: 29,520 people, of which the male population is 14,822 people and the female population is 14,698 people. Household size: 4.0 people/household. Proportion of population living in rural areas: 91.2%.

3. Geographic distribution
Currently, the Cho Ro people live concentrated in the low mountains of the southwest and southeast of Dong Nai province. The places where the largest number of Cho Ro people reside are the communes: Xuan Binh, Xuan Truong, Xuan Tho, Xuan Phu in Xuan Loc district. Scattered in Song Be and Ba Ria provinces, along Highway 15, there are also a number of Cho Ro families living.

4. Language
- The language belongs to the Mon-Khmer language group (South Asian language family), belonging to the southern mountainous branch, quite close to the languages ​​of the Xtieng, Ma, Co-ho ethnic groups, but is from the Khmer in There is quite a lot of Cho Ro language. Previously, the Cho Ro people did not have their own writing. Some missionaries have transcribed the Cho Ro language into the Latin system.

- Education: According to data from the Survey of 53 ethnic minorities on April 1, 2019: Percentage of Cho Ro people aged 15 and older who can read and write in general: 81.7%; Percentage of people attending primary school: 101.7%; Percentage of people attending lower secondary school: 72.7%; Percentage of people attending the same high school level: 36.8%; Percentage of out-of-school children: 23.6%; Percentage of people aged 15 and older who can read and write their ethnic language: 4.9%.

5. Main characteristics
- Costume: In ancient times, men wore loincloths and women wore sheet skirts. In the summer, they wear a shirt or short blouse, and in the cold season, they often wear a blanket. But today, the vast majority of Cho Ro people dress according to the Vietnamese style of the same locality.

- Housing: Previously, they lived on high stilt houses with doors opening at the gable ends. Nowadays, it is popular in real estate. They adopted the architectural style of Southern farmers' houses: houses with trusses. The old feature still preserved in the house is the sleeping stall, occupying half of the horizontal area and extending from beginning to end of the interior. Some houses have masonry walls and tiled roofs.

- Social relations: In the Cho Ro social structure, the relationships of the matriarchal family have disintegrated but the relationships of the patriarchal family have not been established. In the family, women are still respected more than men. In a village, many clans reside together.

- Marriage: The Cho Ro people's marriage takes two forms: the groom's family asks the wife or the bride's family asks the husband. The wedding ceremony is held at the bride's house, after the wedding ceremony, she resides at the wife's house, and after a few years, she will build her own house.

- Funeral: The Cho Ro people follow the custom of burial. The grave is raised up in a hemispherical shape. During the first 3 days, people call the souls of the dead to come and eat; Then there is the "opening the tomb" ceremony with 100 days of rice offerings. The custom of using votive papers has appeared in funerals of the Cho Ro people and every year on the 23rd day of the 23rd lunar month, people go to the graves like the local Vietnamese people.

- New house: The inauguration ceremony of a new house is always an opportunity to share joy between the homeowner, the family and the village.

- Tet: The day of worshiping the rice god is an important annual occasion. Cakes such as banh tet, banh tube and banh giay mixed with sesame are prepared by every family to celebrate and receive guests. The ceremony to worship the forest god was held as a village festival and now, every 3 years this ceremony is held solemnly.

- Calendar: The Cho Ro people also have their own agricultural calendar according to the farming cycle and based on the moon phase.

- Performing arts: Traditional folk arts only have a few response songs during festivals, they sing prayers to the Rice God and now very few people know about them. The notable musical instrument is a set of 7 bronze gongs, including 4 small and 3 large. In addition, bamboo pipes and vertical flutes are also commonly found in Chau Thanh mountains.

6. Economic conditions
The Cho Ro people mainly farm and cultivate by burning and then poking holes to plant seeds. Hunting and gathering often focuses on leisure time (around June and July of the lunar calendar). Currently, the Cho Ro people have settled down, mainly cultivating wet rice combined with growing industrial crops, fruit trees and cash crops. They know how to develop production such as buying machinery to serve farming labor, using chemical fertilizers, pesticides...

- The Cho Ro people have: Poverty rate of 4.2%; Rate of near-poor households: 5.5%; Unemployment rate: 1.55%; Percentage of trained workers with degrees and certificates: 26.6%; Proportion of workers working in the non-agricultural sector: 56.3%; Proportion of employees working in management or technical expertise at high and middle levels: 1.2%; Percentage of households doing traditional handicrafts: 0.01%.

Above is some interesting information about the Cho Ro ethnic group, Vietnam, let's joiniguide.aiPlan to explore, meet and experience culture with Cho Ro people in the near future!

Source:
- Ethnic groups in Vietnam (Truth National Political Publishing House)
- Basic characteristics of 54 ethnic minorities in 2019 (Committee for Ethnic Minorities and General Statistics Office)
- Website of the Committee for Ethnic Minorities, Website of Nhan Dan Newspaper
- Results of the survey collecting information on the socio-economic status of 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam)