Discover about the Tho people

The Tho people are one of four ethnic groups belonging to the Viet-Muong group. The current residence of the Tho people is mainly in the midland and mountainous areas of Nghe An province, the intersection of upstream and downstream migration flows. Let's go togetheriguide.aiFind out information about the Tho and Vietnamese ethnic groups!

1. Historical origin

About 4,000 years ago, there was a group of ancient Vietnamese people living in the midland and mountainous areas of Nghe An province, partly in Thanh Hoa province. Later, a group moved to the delta, gradually becoming Vietnamese; The other part still remains in the old residential area, which are the ancestors of today's Turks.
Other names: Villager, Keo, Mon, Cuoc, Ho, Dan Lai, Ly Ha, Tay Pong, Con Kha, Xa La Vang...

2. Geographic distribution

The Tho are an ethnic group residing in the midland and mountainous regions of Nghe An and Thanh Hoa provinces. The current area of ​​residence of the Tho people is the intersection of migration flows from north to south, from the lowlands to the uplands, and the exiles who share the same situation integrate into a common community of the Tho people.

The Tho people include many local groups:

- Tho Mon: Most originate from Muong people, residing in mountainous districts of Thanh Hoa province and some communes of Nghia Dan, Tan Ky, Quy Hop districts, Nghe An province.
- Tho Keo (Keo) lives mainly in Nghia Quang commune, Thai Hoa town, Nghe An province.
- Tho Lam La resides mainly in communes of the former Lam La canton, Nghia Dan district, Nghe An province.
- Tho Cuoi lives in Nghia Quang commune, Thai Hoa town, Nghe An province.
- Tay Poong lives mainly in Tam Hop commune, Tuong Duong district, Nghe An province.
- Dan Lai - Ly Ha reside in several communes in Con Cuong district, Nghe An province. In addition, there are a number of other names, such as Tho Giai Xuan, Con Kha, Ho. Previously, a part of the Tho people were also called "Xa La Vang", which is a common name for the most unstable nomadic groups.

3. Population, language

- Population: According to the 2019 Survey of 53 Ethnic Minorities, the Tho people have 91,430 people (47,019 men, 44,411 women), ranking 23rd among 54 ethnic groups in our country.

- Language: Vietnamese, Turkish, belongs to the Viet-Muong language group in the Austroasiatic language family.

4. Main characteristics

- Traditional social institutions: The smallest administrative unit of the Tho people in the past was the village (today called hamlet) with a village boss at its head. In terms of civility, the village is called Muong. However, this organization in the Tho region is very weak and not as distinctive as the Muong or Thai Muong. The basic residential unit of the Tay Poong and Dan Lai groups is the village or sale; established on high, flat places, near a water source in the middle of a valley or gentle slope, near streams (streams).

- The Tho family is a small patriarchal family, mainly consisting of 2 generations of parents and children; Patriarchy is quite high, in lowland groups there is a clear distinction between leader and subordinate, like the Vietnamese people.

- Housing: Traditional housing of the Tho people is a stilt house covered with simple forest wood, bamboo, and leaves; In some areas, houses are built in the form of columns, requiring only a knife and an ax to build a house. Nowadays, the houses of the Tho people are also in the process of converting from stilt houses to land houses, many houses are built on floors like Vietnamese houses in the area.

- Religion and belief: Earth groups all have a belief in all things animistic, which is the "master" belief. Along with ancestor worship, Tho people also worship the earth god, the kitchen god, the earth god, the tutelary god, and all kinds of ghosts (forest ghosts, stream ghosts, tree ghosts, mountain ghosts...).

- Costume: Men's uniform includes wide-crotch pants, brown or porridge-colored, with rolled waistband; Short shirt or black shirt, purple scarf on head, wooden clogs on feet. Turkish women wear white shirts; skirt made of indigo-dyed cotton fabric, woven with horizontal stripes. When worn, those stripes form parallel circles around the body; Wear a white square scarf like the Muong people and mourn with a long white scarf like the Vietnamese.

- Marriage: A popular and long-standing, quite unique custom of the Turks is the custom of sleeping on the roof, allowing boys and girls, during festivals and holidays, to freely exchange feelings, however There must be no improper behavior because public opinion and customary law are very strict. From sleepless nights, couples gradually form, leading to the formal formalities for a marriage.

- Cuisine: Previously, highland Turkish groups mainly ate sticky rice cooked with their hips, but now most have switched to eating plain rice. When they are hungry, they often eat tubers, vegetables and fruits picked from the forest. During holidays and New Year, Tho people often make banh chung, banh giay, and banh gai.

- Wine (cassava wine, rice wine, can wine) is loved by both men and women and is indispensable during holidays. Besides, both men and women of the Turkic groups also like to chew betel. Betel is used to invite guests on weekdays, Tet holidays and at weddings.

- Education: In the past, the Turks did not have their own writing, only a few people knew Chinese characters. Today, Vietnamese is popular and widely used.
According to statistics from the General Statistics Office in 2019, the rate of people aged 15 and older who can read and write general education is 94.9%, the rate of people attending primary school is 101.4%, the rate of people attending primary school is 101.4%. The rate of people attending middle school is 93.4%, the rate of people attending high school is 59.3%, the rate of out-of-school children is 9.2%.

5. Economic conditions

-The Tho people live mainly on farming and a small number of farmers work on wet fields. Food crops grown are mainly rice followed by cassava and corn. In the Keo, Mon, and Cuoc groups, gai is a widely grown tree and holds an important position in people's economic life. Among the Turks, fishing is also very developed. Although hunting and gathering only develop in some areas, it has contributed significantly to reducing difficulties in people's lives.

- In recent years, in harmony with the country's development, the Tho ethnic people have implemented the rural standard garden model, restored the models of making gai cakes, weaving gai hammocks... gradually increasing their income. family, contributing to preserving ethnic cultural identity to serve local socio-economic development.

- According to data from the General Statistics Office in 2019, the unemployment rate of Turkish people is 0.45%; The proportion of workers working in the non-agricultural sector is 28.6%; The rates of poor and near-poor households are 13.5% and 24.4%, respectively; 93.2% of households use hygienic water sources and 98.8% of households use grid electricity for lighting.

Above is some interesting information about the Tho and Vietnamese ethnic groups, let's joiniguide.aiPlan to explore, meet and experience culture with Turkish people in the near future!