The
Giay
The Giay have a 38,000 population
inhabiting in Lao Cai, Ha Giang, Lai Chau and Cao Bang provinces.
The Giay are also called Nhang, Dang, Pau Thin, Cui Chu and Xa.
Giay language belongs to the Tay-Thai Group. The Giay practise
rice cultivation in submerged fields. Besides ricefields,
cultivation of burnt-over land provides additional results and
the Giay use this land as place to develop animal husbandry. The
Giay rear a plenty of buffaloes as draught animals, horses as
pack animals and for transport, and pigs and poultry which supply
meat and are used for sacrificial purposes.
Giay men wear trousers, short vest
and wind a turban around their heads. Women wear a five-paneled
vest open at the side and buttoning under the right armpit and
trousers. They wear their hair wound round the head or wind with
a turban. Decorated motifs are often seen on women wear, linen
sacks, pillows, curtains and children's clothes.
The Giay villages are very crowded, some
may contain hundreds of households. The Giay people in Ha Giang
and Cao Bang often live in houses on stilts and those who are in
Lao Cai and Lai Chau live in houses built level with the ground.
The central bay of the house serves for receiving guests and for
placing ancestor altar. Each couple lives in a small room of
other bays. Another bay serves as a kitchen.
Patriarchal custom is the rule of
Giay families. The children take the family name of the father.
The family of the young roan seeks marriage for their son. After
the wedding, the bride comes to live with her husband's family.
However matriloc ate is also popular. In the past, marriage by
"kidnapping" was occured when the young man and women
were engaged but the male family could not afford direct
betrothal and wedding ceremonies. The man had to kidnap his
woman.
Giay women in pregnancy must obey taboos
and an altar has been set up for the delivery. When the baby is a
month old, a ceremony is held to inform the ancestors of the
birth and pray for their protection. At the ceremony the
ofliciant writes on red cloth the horoscope of the baby with the
hour, day, month and year of birth. The horoscope is consulted
for "age concordance" when the day comes for the baby,
now grown up, to choose a spouse, and to determine the hour of
his or her burial.
According to Giay's cosmogonies
concepts, the universe is composed of three levels. Apart from
the middle one where human beings are living, there are the upper
one and the underground. When a person dies it is customary that
if funeral and burial are carefully organized the deceased will
be carried to the heaven. On the contrary, it will be doomed to
the underground.
On the altar, the Giay worship not
only their ancestors but also the genies of the heaven, the earth
and the kitchen. They also worship the Goddess of childbirth and
even the ancestors of the wife. The ancient ancestors are
worshipped as the guardian genies.
The cultural heritage of the Giay
is rich including many ancient tales, poems, proverbs, puzzles
and alternating songs. Many stories explain natural phenomena.
Some stories are narrated in accompaniance with songs (sung
stories). Folksongs are popular with various genres and rhythms,
particularly love duet sentences are very attractive
entertainment.