Sapa Ethnic Minority Group

The Hmong

Hmong people are a major group in Sapa, Hmong people are living uphill. Travelers are coming to Sapa, then village Cat Cat village where is home to Hmong people.

The Hmong, known for centuries in China by the name of Miao, used to be called the Méo in Southeast Asia. Numbering about three million, they are scattered over a vast territory stretching from southwest China (2 million) to north Vietnam (600,000), Laos (about 250,000), Thailand (150,000), and Myanmar (formerly Burma) (about 30,000).

The main subgroups present in Vietnam are the White Hmong, the Hmong Leng, Hmong Pua, Hmong Shi or Sheu, and the black Hmong. In Sa Pa, the Hmong Leng are the most numerous, some Hmong Sheu and Hmong Pe women – with their colorful skirts and double-breasted tops – come from the Muong Khuong district.

Originally, the Chinese Hmong populations used to live in the wide plains south of the Yangtse river. As of the 16th century, they started to migrate to the southeast under the demographic, territorial, and political pressure of the Chinese. During the first half of the 19th century, the Hmong left the Chinese territory and settled in neighboring countries. At the time, the great Taiping rebellion (1850-1872) was disturbing all of southern China (Guizhou, Yunnan, and Sichuan provinces) causing long periods of famine that pushed numerous ethnic groups to go south. The Hmong entered the Indo-Chinese peninsula through North Vietnam, their presence near Lai Chau was reported in 1848. These successive waves of migration were probably facilitated by the Hmong tradition of shifting cultivation and their close contacts with the Chinese caravaneers who had been traveling for centuries through the mountains of southern Asia.

Today, the traditional agrarian economy is still based on family farms raising pigs, chickens, buffaloes, and horses, on food crops (rice, corn, manioc), and cash crops (cardamom and vegetables).

The traditional social organization of the Hmong is based on the clan. Each clan is made of lineages, all the members of which acknowledge a common founding male ancestor. In the Hmong household, up to four different generations may be gathered under the same roof. The household is the most important economic, political and ritual unit. The villages perched on the mountain slopes house, several clans.

Easily recognizable by their costume, the Sa Pa Hmong Leng – who do not call themselves Black Hmongs – still wear hemp clothes dyed with natural (black-blue) indigo. The women wear stiff indigo-blue turbans over their hair gathered into a bun. Nowadays, they hardly ever wear their batik or embroidered pleated skirts, replaced with short indigo pants. Only the collar, sleeves, and belt are embroidered with geometric patterns in silk. The White Hmong women from the Bat Xat district wear long black pants, fairly short-waisted double-breasted jackets, and cover their hair with colorful headscarves. The Hmong Pua, Hmong Pe, and Hmong Sheu women from the Bac Ha district wear similar batik skirts with an embroidered band. They are distinguished by the decorative patterns and shape of their aprons.

Dao people Dzao people – Sapa:

The Red Dao people’s s land is in a remote area, to discover the land Dao people, tourists should come to Ta Phin village where is the Dao people living around this land.

The Dao, known as the Man or Yao in southwest China for centuries, also number a few tens of thousands in Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar (formerly Burma). The Dao-Mien settled in Vietnam two to three centuries ago, depending on the area. One of the Dao’s specific cultural features is their traditional writing system using Chinese characters. Preserved texts make it possible to trace their origins back to the provinces of south China. Their Taoist religion is also based on texts. For major Taoist ceremonies, the ritual space must be surrounded by painted pictures of the divinities and celestial generals. As a consequence, the art of painting on paper and canvas survives among the Dao. Like the Hmong, the Dao build terraced paddy fields irrigated by a sophisticated system of canals around Sa Pa. They also have a reputation for pig and horse breeding. The different Dao groups from the Lao Cai province usually wear red headdresses or red pieces of clothing. The Dao (Ké Mien) from the Taphin and Tavan villages (Sa Pa district) wear flat headdresses, totally red, hung with silver coins. The headdresses of the Dao (Ké Mien) from the Muong Hum district (north of Sa Pa) are cone-shaped and made of red flowery material. The Bac Ha (Ké Moun) Dao enhance their turbans with red and pink wool or silk threads. The headdresses of the Dao (Iu Mien) from Van Ban district – south of Sa Pa – are decorated with red and yellow pompoms, and hang low down their backs.

Tay in Sapa:

Tay people are living in the valley – Ban Ho village, coming Ban Ho traveler will know about the Tay people’s culture, life, and daily activities. Nowadays, Sapa tourism opens for homestay in Ban Ho with Tay People, your request on Sapa tours to trekking here and overnight with Tay people in the house on stilt.

Tày grows rice in paddy fields, preferably in the plains and in the valleys. The villages consist of wooden or bamboo stilt houses and are often built near a stream or a river. The household is the basic economic unit and tends to be a nuclear family limited to close relatives.

The Tày, Giay, Nung, and Thai women wear brightly-colored jackets, – pink, green, or blue – double-breasted, often with contrasting braid at the collar. The tartan headscarf covers their hair gathered into a bun. Traditionally, each group used to have their own style of bun, held up with long silver needles, but the custom is vanishing

Zay people:

Ta Van village is the main home of Zay people, travel to here you will learn much more about Zay people, if travelers like to take experiences on the Zay’s community, should request homestay on house-on-stilt in Ta Van village with Zay people