The Xtieng ethnic group - a close-knit community

Although not as large as other ethnic groups in Vietnam, the Xtieng have formed a cohesive community with its own identity, becoming a unique piece in the picture of 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam. Let's find out information about the Xtieng ethnic group in Vietnam with iGuide.ai!

Historical origins

Because the Xtieng people do not have a written language and do not have any documents preserving their ethnic history, the history of the origin of this ethnic group is mainly based on folk legends and some results of archaeological and anthropological research.

The Xtieng ethnic group (Stieng) has its own name Dieng - also known by many other names such as: Xa Dieng, Xo Dieng, Xa Chieng, is an ethnic group that has long lived in the Truong Son - Tay Nguyen region and the Southeast. The Xtieng ethnic group is considered to have many local groups, of which the four typical groups are Bu Dip, Bu Dek (Bu Deh), Bulac and Bu Lo.

Geographic distribution

The Xtieng people live mainly in Binh Phuoc province and some localities of neighboring provinces.

Population and languages

Population: According to the survey data of 53 ethnic minorities on April 1, 2019, the total population of the Xtieng people: 100,752 people; male population: 48,391 people; female population: 52,361 people; household size: 4.4 people/household; proportion of population living in rural areas: 95.1%. Language: The Xtieng people speak the Xtieng language, a language belonging to the Mon-Khmer language group in the Austroasiatic language family.

Social and cultural characteristics

Traditional social institutions

The Xtieng live in villages, and call their residential units “bon”, “poh” or “wang” depending on the locality where they live. In a traditional Xtieng village, the person with the highest status is the Village Chief (tom wang or tom bon). These are people chosen from among the heads of the clan or the “elders” (bu kuong). In addition to the village chief, in Xtieng society, the person with high status in the village is the “bu kuong” (Village Elder) – these are the elderly people with prestige and knowledge.

Social class

The traditional society of the Xtieng people is basically divided into three classes. The first class is the rich (bu khung). They are the owners of families with many gongs, precious jars, many buffaloes, elephants and servants in the house. The second class is the free but poor people (luoi). The third class is the servants (kon dek). They are the ones who suffer the fate of a slave class like a family slave class.

Housing

The Xtieng people live in long or half-stilt houses. Traditionally, each village consisted of only a few long houses, where many generations of Xtieng people lived together. But today, the Xtieng people mainly live in short houses, each family in its own separate house.

Skin

Usually, Xtieng men wear loincloths and go shirtless, while women wear shirts and wrap skirts. They like to wear a lot of jewelry, even one arm has more than 20 bracelets. They also like to wear large ivory earrings. Nowadays, Xtieng men dress like Vietnamese people, while women wear blouses and shirts.

Religion and belief

The Xtieng people believe in polytheism, animism, and that everything has a soul. Therefore, they worship the god of thunder, sky, earth, moon, sun, mountains, rivers, etc.

Food and musical instruments

The Xtieng people usually eat rice cooked from rice. Their main food is rice, boiled cassava, fish and vegetables. In the past, the Xtieng people had the habit of eating with their hands, but now they know how to use spoons and chopsticks. Musical instruments: The Xtieng people love music. The most important musical instrument, and one of the precious assets in the traditional society of the Xtieng people, is the gong and cymbal.

Education

According to the survey data of 53 ethnic minorities on April 1, 2019: the rate of people aged 15 and over who can read and write is 62.6%, the rate of people attending primary school is 99.2%, the rate of people attending lower secondary school is 57.3%, the rate of people attending upper secondary school is 17.7%, the rate of out-of-school children is 35.3%.

Marriage and holidays

The Xtieng people practice intra-family and extra-family marriage. Festivals: There are many different large and small ceremonies in the life of the Xtieng people. Among them, the buffalo stabbing festival is the biggest. The Xtieng New Year is called "straw offering ceremony", which is held after the rice is harvested, before burning the next crop, to thank the rice god after a farming season.

Economic conditions

- The Xtieng people live mainly on agriculture. The Bu Lo group lives in the highlands and deeper areas and completely cultivates fields. The Bu Deh (Bu Dek) group in the lowlands has been cultivating wet rice fields for about 100 years. Their farming methods are still primitive, with the main farming tools including axes and knives, bamboo rakes, etc., and threshing rice by hand.

- In addition, economic activities such as gathering, hunting, and raising livestock and poultry also provide a diverse source of food for the people. In addition, the Xtieng people also have the profession of weaving and knitting. They often use barter with the Vietnamese, Khmer, Mnong, Ma and even with the Cambodians in the exchange of goods.

- According to the survey data of 53 ethnic minorities on April 1, 2019: The XTieng ethnic group has: Unemployment rate of 3.98%; Rate of trained workers with degrees and certificates: 2.1%; Rate of workers working in the non-agricultural sector: 31.8%; Rate of workers working in management or high and medium-level technical and vocational training: 0.3%; Rate of poor households: 13.8%; Rate of near-poor households: 8.5%; Rate of households using clean water sources: 86.5%; Rate of households using grid electricity for lighting: 97.9%.

Above is some interesting information about the Xtieng ethnic group, Vietnam. Let's plan to explore, meet and experience the culture with the Xtieng people in the near future with iGuide.ai!

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