The beauty of the Khang ethnic group

 The Khang people reside mainly in Son La, Lai Chau and Dien Bien. The Khang ethnic community has many unique cultural features. Let's go togetheriguide.aiFind out information about the Khang ethnic group in Vietnam according to reference information from the Vietnam Ethnic Committee!

1. Historical origin

From historical and ethnographic documents, it is possible to determine that the Khang people were the original and long-standing owners of the Northwest region of Vietnam before the Thai people from southern China and the Kho Mu people from South China. Laos migrated to this area.
Other names: Xa Khao, Xa Xua, Xa Don, Khang Huoc, Mkhang Hoc, Mkhang Ai, Ma-háng Béng, Ma-háng Coi,...

2. Population
According to data from the Survey of 53 ethnic minorities on April 1, 2019, the Khang ethnic group has 16,180 people, of which the male population is 8,170 people and the female population is 8,010 people. Household size: 4.5 people/household; Proportion of population living in rural areas: 98.8%.

3. Geographical distribution:Concentrated in Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces.

4. Language:

The Khang language is still classified in the Mon-Khmer group of the Austroasiatic language family. Currently, the bilingual use of Khang - Thai has become common. In the family, members (especially the elderly) mainly communicate with each other in the Khang language, but use Thai when interacting with neighboring ethnic groups (Thai, Hmong, Khmu,... ). Thai is also used in religious ceremonies or when performing folk cultural activities. Young Khang people are now fluent in Mandarin.
Education: According to the Survey of 53 Ethnic Minorities in April 2019: Percentage of Khang people aged 15 and older who can read and write in general: 60.8%; Percentage of people attending primary school: 98.1%; Percentage of people attending lower secondary school: 86.5%; Percentage of people attending the same high school level: 30.4%; Rate of out-of-school children: 20.0%.

5. Main characteristics

- Eating: Khang people like to eat sticky rice and sour and spicy dishes such as: marinated fish, pickled leaves, mixed dishes including lolot leaves, meat, chili, garlic, mixed herbs, and cooked food. The custom of drinking through the nose (tu mui) is a unique cultural feature of them. Khang people are accustomed to drinking white wine, can wine, smoking cigarettes and smoking waterpipes.

- Costume: Khang people dress like Thai people.

- Housing: There are two types of housing: temporary houses and permanent houses. The stilt house consists of 1 roof and 2 roofs, no roof covering, no wings, and a main door that opens from one end to the other, connecting with the stairs so you can go down.

- Social relations: Under the management of the previous Thai Muongs, the Khang people do not have their own social organization. The highest position in the village is: the Thai village official. Patriarchal sub-family predominates in the village. Besides, there are also some remnants of the matrilineal system: the custom of staying in law, the role of uncle... The head of the family still has a certain role.

- Marriage: In the past, the Khang people's marriage was both free and required many rituals. After four or five nights of getting to know each other and sleeping over at the girl's house, if the couple is satisfied with each other, the engagement ceremony will take place and many rituals must be performed by the young couple and both sides of the boy's and girl's families. After 3 years of living with the groom's family, the young couple must hold a ceremony to introduce the two families, and the groom's family will organize a welcoming ceremony for the bride. This is the most important ceremony.

- Funerals: The Khang people have the custom of distributing wealth to the dead, including what the deceased used to eat when they were alive. At the head of the grave, there is a high pillar buried, on which hangs a wooden bird figure and a shirt that the dead usually wear. After the burial, when returning home, brothers and relatives had to stand under the floor so that the uncle could cut off a strand of hair and put it in a bowl of water containing eggs and dried fish, then throw it on the side of the road to the cemetery to preserve the soul. If you die, you will not return to harass your children, grandchildren, and relatives.

- Worship: They believe that humans have 5 souls. One main soul in the head and four souls in the four limbs. When he dies, the main soul turns into a good ghost to protect his descendants, while the remaining four souls turn into evil ghosts that disturb the "eating" spout. People also believe in many other types of ghosts such as: stream ghosts, village ghosts... Worshiping parents is carried out every 3 years. This is the happiest festival, families often invite brothers and relatives in the village to attend the meal, then dance and dance all night long.

- Tet: Khang people celebrate Lunar New Year, New Rice Festival and perform rituals related to slash-and-burn agriculture.

6. Economic conditions

Slash-and-burn farming is the main economic form with the method of burning, cutting holes and planting seeds. Livestock farming is quite developed: pigs, chickens, ducks, buffaloes, and cows. A famous side job is weaving household items (chests, rattan chairs, rattan, baskets...). The Khang people are good at building and sailing dugout canoes and swallow-tail boats, which other ethnic groups like to buy and use. In recent years, the State has allocated forest land to households or groups of households, making the forest economy a new direction for the Khang people.

The Khang ethnic group has: Poverty rate: 51.5%; Rate of near-poor households: 12.5%; Unemployment rate: 1.03%; Percentage of trained workers with degrees and certificates: 3.5%; Proportion of workers working in the non-agricultural sector: 10.1%; Proportion of employees working in management or technical expertise at high and middle levels: 1.2%.

Above is some interesting information about the Khang ethnic group, Vietnam, let's joiniguide.aiPlan to explore, meet and experience culture with Khang 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)