The Lo Lo people are one of the ethnic groups with the most beautiful and brilliant women’s costumes, which are handcrafted very sophisticatedly and meticulously, as the way to make women’s costumes has been handed down though generations.
Lo Lo ethnic minority group
1. Origin
The Lo Lo people in Vietnam are closely related to the Yi people in China. The Lo Lo people first came to Dong Van and Meo Vac districts in Ha Giang province and Phong Tho district, in Lai Chau province, then part of the Lo Lo people in Ha Giang moved to Bao Lac district in Cao Bang province.
Name: The Lo Lo people are also called Mun Di, Di, Man Di, La La, Qua La, O Man, and Lu Loc Man.
The Lo Lo ethnic group includes Lo Lo Den (Black Lo Lo), Lo Lo Hoa (Flower Lo Lo), and Lo Lo Trang (White Lo Lo).
2. Population
According to the survey on the socio-economic status of 54 ethnic minority groups in 2019, conducted by the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs and the General Statistics Office, the population of the Lo Lo people as of April 1, 2019 was 4,827 people, including 2,413 males and 2,414 females.
3. Language
Belonging to the Tibeto - Burman language group
4. Geographical distribution
They mainly live in Cao Bang and Ha Giang provinces, in addition to some central provinces and Central Highlands region, such as Binh Dinh and Gia Lai.
5. Main features
- Housing: Traditional houses include three different types of houses, such as houses on the ground, houses on stilts and half-stilt-half-earth houses.
- Family structure: Patriarchal.
Lo Lo women’s and men’s costumes are all very colourful. (Photo: NGOC TRAM)
Lo Lo women’s and men’s costumes are all very colourful. (Photo: NGOC TRAM)
- Traditional costumes: Women’s clothes include scarfs, tops, pants, aprons, belts, leggings, skirts, and shoes. Lo Lo women often use headscarves. Lo Lo women’s scarves in Ha Giang are black or indigo, with many different textures and colours at the end of each scarf and the middle of the scarf. Lo Lo women in Cao Bang use white and black scarves. These two types of scarves are not decorated and embroidered with tassels and patterns.
Black Lo Lo women wear square collared tops with slits on the chest, and buttons made of cloth or bronze. The sleeves are decorated with many patterns or attached with different coloured fabrics. The back of the shirt is decorated with small square motifs.
Flower Lo Lo women wear round neck shirts, black or indigo in colour, with the chest split. The entire shirt is embroidered with cloths of red, blue, yellow, and white colours.
The skirt is a highlight in the traditional costume of the Black Lo Lo people, which is divided into three layers: the outermost layer is fringed with bunches of colourful wool, the second layer is cloth with many patterns, and the innermost layer is a black pleated skirt. The popular pattern on the cloth is the pá pú pattern.
Men wear black clothes, including a four-piece shirt, buttoned in the right armpit and an indigo scarf.
- Cuisine: The daily dishes of the Lo Lo people include starch foods such as rice, corn rice, sticky rice, men men (steamed minced corn), and com lam (sticky rice in bamboo tube); food rich in protein and fat such as meat, fish, eggs, peanuts, sesame, bee pupae; and dishes made from vegetables, tubers and fruits. During the holidays, the Lo Lo people prepare many other dishes such as tiet canh (blood pudding), roast meat, banh troi (floating rice cake), banh ran (deep-fried glutinous rice ball), and banh chung (square glutinous rice cake). When Tet comes, the Lo Lo people in Meo Vac make banh chung with glutinous corn.
In daily life, Lo Lo people have a habit of drinking alcohol, with the custom of offering wine when receiving guests.
Lo Lo girls (Meo Vac, Ha Giang) attend a ceremony to pray for rain. (Photo: NGOC TRAM)
Lo Lo girls (Meo Vac, Ha Giang) attend a ceremony to pray for rain. (Photo: NGOC TRAM)
- Festivals: The Lo Lo people celebrate the Lunar New Year like the Chinese and the Vietnamese. They have the custom of celebrating New Rice, the Mid-year Festival, the Full Moon in July, and others.
- Belief: The Lo Lo people worship their ancestors, parents and deceased relatives. On the altar, there are wooden spirit tablets, painted with black charcoal. The soul holds an important role in the spiritual life of the Lo Lo people.
(Photo: Tran Thanh Dat)
(Photo: Tran Thanh Dat)
- Economic conditions: They grow rice, maize, crops, vegetables, and fruit trees on the upland, in addition to raising cattle and poultry, hunting, gathering, and fishing. The Lo Lo people also perform a number of crafts such as knitting, tile making, embroidery, etc. Commercial activities and goods exchange are also quite developed.
According to the “Basic characteristics of 54 ethnic minority groups in 2019”, conducted by the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs and the General Statistics Office, the poverty rate is 53.9%; the proportion of near-poor households is 14.4%; the unemployment rate is 0.22%, the rate of trained workers with degrees and certificates is 6.9%, the proportion of labourers working in the non-agricultural sector is 14.5%; the proportion of labourers holding management positions or technical qualifications at high and middle levels is 3.4%; and the proportion of households doing traditional crafts is 3.17%.
(Photo: Tran Thanh Dat)
(Photo: Tran Thanh Dat)
Built with Shorthand