Tribasia Blog

Northern Vietnam is full of surprises. When you think you have come across all the minorities in one given area, you quickly realize that you are short of a few.

The official number of ethnic minorities recognized by the authorities (54) falls short of the real-life picture. One grouping often hides many different sub-groups and cultures.
Although they might not exist in the official eyes, these minorities still lead their day-to-day life.

Before leaving Sa Pa, we ventured north, towards Lao Cai. We were convinced that we had seen all the minorities in Sa Pa's immediate vincinity: Black Hmong, Red Dzao, Dzay and Xa Pho.

We were proven wrong when we came across a different sub-group of Dzao people living in a hamlet, 18 kms north of Sa Pa. As they do not speak English and we do not speak Dzao language, we could not establish the name of this sub-group.

These Dzao people use different stitching patterns and headdress from the Red Dzao.
They wrap their head in a colourful material adorned with flowers and arranged in a conic shape. We were happily surprised to come across this village and be kept on our toes in our tribal quest :))

Sa Pa region is not only full of 'ethnic' surprises but also surrounded by magnificent landscapes. Every curve on the mountain road unveals landscapes more spectacular than the ones you previously saw.

We leave Sa Pa with great memories of its ethnic diversity and natureal beauties. Soon it will be time for us to leave Vietnam altogether.

Labels: Black Dzao, ethnic diversity, mountains, nature, northern Vietnam, Sa Pa

We were back on our feet for a long trek yesterday, south of Sa Pa (Northern Vietnam). We first went to Lao Chai, a Black Hmong village located in a very scenic valley. Beyond the beautiful rice fields, we spotted vast areas of maize and hemp cultures.

Hemp was introduced following the interdiction of opium by the authorities. To which extent this is successful, we cannot really say as the lush greenery of the mountains is an easy hideout for plants of any kind...
Hemp is of course used for clothing. Many Black Hmong women can be seen with strands of hemp on their shoulders which they prepare for weaving. The typical weaving machine consists of a wooden wheel around which the threads of hemp are rolled. The wheel is actioned by foot, just like a bicycle.

We also came across lots of Red Dzao -whenever you see Black Hmong in Sa Pa area, there seems to be a Red Dzao village just nearby.

We continued our walk towards the village of Ta Van, the home of Dzay people, also called Giay.
Please have a look at our 'Ethnic Groups' section (http://www.tribasia.com/ethnic-groups.html) for further information about this group.

From Ta Van to Giang Ta Chai, a Dzao village further south, we were escorted by an unsolicited trio of Black Hmong women. One of them sported a red dot on her forehead. We had already spotted a few babies and women in the market with these marks and were curious about its meaning. Was it a sign of protection as in the Hindu religion?
The eldest of the three women told me that Black Hmong actually applied a freshly boiled cut buffalo horn on their forehead to cure them of diseases. The best placebo on earth no doubt. With medical means out of reach -either financially or logistically- for many minorities, many resort to traditional methods.

We trekked all the way back from Giang Ta Chai up to Sa Pa with the sunlight bathing the valley of its fading light. A beautiful sight!

All in all it was a sunny day full of wonderful views and without any hassle. What best!
After these 25 kms walk, we are ready to put our feet up :))

Labels: Black Hmong, Dzay, Lao Chai, northern Vietnam, Red Dzao, Sa Pa, Ta Van

On 14th June, we took the mini-bus from Sin Ho to Lai Chau (North Vietnam), a 60 kms ride up and down a narrow mountain road. All was going well until the bus started to stink with a smell of alcohol.

One of the passengers at the back had the bright idea to have a few servings of his home-brewed tipple and was probably too drunk to notice that one of our bags was under his feet. Great!
We arrived with an alcohol-scented bagpack!

We had to spend the night in Lai Chau as we missed the last bus. It is a proper town and people here have long assimilated Kinh (=Viet) ways of dressing, except for Hmongs coming from their surrounding mountain villages.

On 15th June, we left Lai Chau by mini-bus to go back to Sa Pa where we have a few more areas we wanted to have a look at. After all these bus rides, we start by resting for a good few days! See you!

Labels: Black Hmong, Lai Chau, northern Vietnam, Sa Pa, Sin Ho

After much trekking, it was time to hire a bike again to cover the 55 kms from Sa Pa to Lai Chau district to discover its colourful markets and minorities.

The road from Sa Pa to Lai Chau crosses the highest mountain pass in Vietnam, the Tram Ton at over 1,900 metres, and therefore offers unique views of the mountain range and Vietnam's highest peak, the Fansipan. From afar, mountains proudly show their natural curves with curly green vegetation rolling down their sides, in contrast with the sharpness of cultivated fields down the valleys at their feet.

Amid such natural beauty, the destruction caused by recent mass public works is a sore sight.
Mechanical digger arms are like abscesses on the scenery. We all know it takes billions of years and a succession of natural phenomenons to make up a mountain; it seems so fickle that an army of excavators could turn it to ruin for the sake of a modern age in less than a year!

Going back to the local people, touch wood, local cultures have not so far been as negatively impacted as the environment they live in, although they directly suffer or benefit from its changes.

It is really striking how ethnic minority groups differ from one distric to the next. On the one hand, Sa Pa area is mainly populated with Black Hmong and Red Dzao as we recounted in the last few posts. On the other hand, Lai Chau district is the home of Lu people as well as Black Dzao and Red Hmong. We are aware that all these names sound rather similar except the colours are mixed up but once you see these groups in real life, there is no confusion possible!

In terms of traditional outfits: the Lu are recognizable with their wide black headdress with colourful teasels at each end and their blackened teeth -although the practice is now less common among younger generations.

The Black Dzao of course wear black linen/cotton clothing but what makes them unique is their headdress again. They sport a silvery inverted spiral on top of a solid black base, sometimes covered by a cloth, particularly under the sun as it gets very hot! They are tenacious but not aggressive in their endeavors.

Red Hmong contrarily to their name cannot be spotted because of their red clothing but the way they hold their hair in a giant swirl around their head. It provides their hair with so much volume that any shampoo manufacturer would die for it. We do not have the secret to their hairdressing but we will sure try and find out! Red Hmong are more aggressive than the Black Dzao when it comes to interacting and communicating but we are now used to their ways... although still not to their dogs :))

After so much excitement discovering new faces, the road works spoilt a bit the fun for us. With so much sand, mud and big trucks with blind drivers on the road, it was inevitable that we would have a difficult time riding. And we did! We ended up slipping on the road surface, luckily at low speed, and with a few scratches but we are well. After a few days' rest, we will be back on track!

Labels: Black Dzao, Fansipan, Lai Chau, Luzon, mountain, northern Vietnam, Red Hmong, Sa Pa, Tram Ton Pass

Today we rested our legs and opted to rent a motorbike to drive 35 kms south of Sa Pa. This is where we came across a Xa Pho minority village. It was the first time we encountered this group.
They no longer wear the traditional attire on a daily basis but only for special occasions such as festivals and ceremonies. Xa Pho women dress with a black long-sleeved top adorned with white stitched crossbow figures and a tube of black clothing tied at the waist and stitched with bamboo tree-liked shapes and colourful helms for skirt. The patterns used are very typical of this minority. They wrap their hair in a simple colourful shawl.

When walking through their village, you can grasp that Xa Pho are poor -much poorer than the average Hmong, Tai and Red Dzao- and that each thatched grass hut is home to an extended family. They were probably late settler in Vietnam compared to other minorities. As a result they got little choice when it came to settle down and their village is located on a steep slope of a mountain: not an ideal location when it comes to farm land and torrential rains.

We also went through Tay villages. Tay women are highly recognizable with their facial features and although the younger generations do not always wear their traditional clothing, we can identify them more easily than any others among the minorities' maze!

After 8 hours of biking around, it has been another rewarding day full of great views and sunshine. Fingers crossed, it will last!

Labels: discover, northern Vietnam, Sa Pa, Xa Pho Minority

Labels: Black Hmong, northern Vietnam, Red Dzao, rice planting, rice terraces, Sa Pa