La Chi Culture

How do they live? The La Chi live in small villages, usually with only five to ten houses. Their houses are usually built on slopes and hillsides. An exception is Na Leng village, which is larger, and is situated on flat land (although still mid-way up the side of a mountain). La Chi houses are a mixture of the two most common types found among different tribal groups. Their dwellings are built on slopes, half on stilts and half on the ground. The downhill half (on stilts) has one ladder for access. Before Communists took control of north Vietnam, the La Chi were forced to render tribute to the powerful Tay chiefs. Perhaps because of their history of persecution, the La Chi build a clay wall around their homes. This wall is almost as high as the roof of the house. There is one door through the wall, which gives the appearance of a fort. No doubt it does provide some security.

House. The two-level house usually has a kitchen with mud or adobe walls, perhaps to be more fire-proof. The interior usually has three rooms of different sizes, one small foyer and one stairway or ladder linking the two levels of the house. The central room has the door, which faces the yard. The foyer contains a storage area for the parents, and may be divided to form a bedroom for a son and his wife.

Crafts. Most La Chi women are good at spinning, weaving dyeing and embroidering. Men are excellent carpenters, skilled at building everything from houses to furniture. They also make many kinds of things from rattan and bamboo. Some are blacksmiths, and do seasonal work in that field. They hire themselves out for work at different times of the year between harvest times.

Society. La Chi society is based upon the nuclear family, which is patriarchal. All things are under the father's control. Only sons can inherit assets. One unusual thing is that the youngest son inherits more because he takes care of the graves of his grandparents and great-grandparents. The La Chi home may house three generations, but rarely more. There is a concept of a family lineage, but this is not as strong as other people groups. Marriages are monogamous, and family lineage is reckoned through the male line. People of the same family gather together during the seventh lunar month to offer sacrifices to their ancestors. The La Chi has four clans, called: Ly, Tan, Wong and Lung. The Ly and Wong clans are each divided into senior (Co) and junior (Ngai) lines. Each clan or sub clan has a senior patriarch called the "old father".

Marriage. Members of the same family or clan may intermarry, as long as they are separated by five (sometimes four) generations. At La Chi weddings the groom's family must give a high price to the bride's family as a way to repay them for what it cost them to raise the girl. The La Chi are monogamous and divorce and polygamy are rare. When an older brother dies, the younger brother can marry his older sister-in-law, but older brothers cannot marry their younger sister-in-law if a younger brother dies. When a woman dies, her husband cannot marry any of her sisters.

Music. The La Chi have distinctive musical instruments: bronze drums and ox-hide drums. Each family has one drum and some bronze gongs, with the Vuong and Ly each having two drums. In the house of the "old father", there is a private apartment to store the family's drums and gongs. Other traditional musical instruments include the dan tinh ( three- string zither) and a harp-like instrument. The La Chi people have a rich and distinctive folklore replete with legends, tales, poems, songs, proverbs, festivals, sports. and games (shuttlecock throwing, balance swinging, top spinning, etc.). Young men and women like to sing "ni co" (love) songs. Traditional dances with handkerchiefs, fans, belts and buffalo horns are still performed. The most popular game is played by throwing as small ball through a hoop fastened to the top of a tall pole (sounds like basketball, but is different).

Livelihood The La Chi grow wet rice in terraced fields. That is the basis of their livelihood. On the lower fields they practice typical paddy agriculture by transplanting rice seedlings. Because of the high population density, the La Chi have been forced to construct fields on the hillsides. To build the terraced fields La Chi men use hoes and harrows to loosen and move the soil. Men also carry away large rocks while women and children level the fields. They well understand how to fertilize their fields by applying manure to paddy and upland alike. Besides upland rice, and corn (maize) they grow manioc, galangal, gourds, sweet potatoes and other vegetables. They sometimes break up the soil in upland with small hand tools and plant seeds in a hole made with a digging stick. But they also plough other upland fields and sow crops in more modern ways. Certain fertile areas are reserved for growing cotton and indigo. They do raise domestic livestock such as chickens, other poultry, pigs, and horses. They also practice fishing. Finally, they earn money by weaving baskets, carpentry and blacksmithing.