Society

Part 1: Exploring the Nam Non region

Nam Phong • DNUM_ABZAJZCACF 11:31

The O Du people currently have only about 100 households, mainly living in Vang Mon village (Nga My commune). Few people know that they have a proud past. Their ancestors are said to be the first people to reclaim the land on both sides of the Nam Non River - the upper source of the Lam River.

Content:Tien Hung - My Ha;Technique: Nam Phong • 09/01/2025

The O Du people currently have only about 100 households, mainly living in Vang Mon village (Nga My commune). Few people know that they have a proud past. Their ancestors are said to be the first people to reclaim the land on both sides of the Nam Non River - the upper source of the Lam River.

In early August, we visited Vang Mon village, when the people here were still filled with joy and pride because their most important ritual had just been included in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage. That was the “New Year Thunder Ceremony of the O Du people”.

“I am very proud. This result is the effort of the entire small O Du community,” said Ms. Luong Thi Lan, Secretary of the Vang Mon village Party Cell. 20 years ago, 73 households living scattered on both banks of the Nam Non River were gathered and resettled in Vang Mon village to make way for the construction of the Ban Ve hydropower plant. Since then, this village has been home to the vast majority of the O Du people. Currently, the O Du ethnic group has only about 500 people, but 461 people live concentrated in Vang Mon village. This is the smallest ethnic group in Vietnam in all previous population censuses.

O Du in Thai means love. In the book "Geography of Tuong Duong district", researcher Ninh Viet Giao said that the O Du people used to live mainly along the Nam Non river, from Luong Minh commune to Huu Khuong commune. The O Du people were once very populous, they owned a large area along the Nam Non river. There, in addition to slash-and-burn farming, they also worked as gold diggers, fishers, and traders along the river, so their economic life was quite prosperous.

Today, historical traces of the geographical separatism of the ancient O Du people still remain, such as the bamboo ramparts in Huu Khuong commune (old Tuong Duong district). Legends of the Thai and Kho Mu people all confirm that the upstream areas of Nam Non and Nam Mo were originally developed by the O Du people, and the names of caves, streams, and mountains still bear the strong sound of the O Du language. The ancient O Du people had a fairly developed society, with rulers and slaves. Places such as Xieng Tam, Xieng Lam, Ta Xieng... on the Nam Non river of the O Du people were always bustling with boats going back and forth.

However, after many other ethnic groups migrated to live in the land along the Nam Non River, civil wars for land began to take place. Due to their weakness, the O Du people were forced to the head of streams and creeks. Losing their land, they had to work for the lords of other ethnic groups. From the pioneers and owners of the vast land on both banks of the Nam Non River, they had to live scattered, interspersed among the Thai and Kho Mu villages. In 1934, according to French statistics, there were only 34 people who identified themselves as O Du people.

Mr. Lo Van Tinh (78 years old) said that when Vang Mon village was established to arrange a resettlement area for the O Du people, he was the first village chief. At that time, the village had only 73 O Du households, but they were gathered from 8 different villages living upstream of Nam Non. "Those 8 villages were not concentrated in 1 commune, but were scattered in 4 communes: Kim Da, Kim Tien, Huu Duong, Huu Khuong. In 2007, 5 more O Du households spontaneously migrated here," Mr. Tinh said. After 20 years, Vang Mon village now has 109 households, of which 103 are O Du households, with 461 people.

Before moving here, Mr. Tinh was born and raised in Xop Pot village (former Kim Da commune). This village was previously considered the center, where the O Du people lived in the largest number. “Although it is called a large number, the number of O Du households there can be counted on the fingers. Because the O Du people live scattered in many places, in the village, most of the Thai and Kho Mu people are the majority, so the unique culture of the O Du people is gradually fading away. In villages with a large Thai population, the O Du people speak Thai, and in villages with a large Kho Mu population, they speak Kho Mu for easier communication. The same goes for cultural customs,” Mr. Tinh said.

Up to now, the O Du people only have the Lo family name, divided into Lo anh and Lo em. Therefore, the vast majority of the O Du people when they reach adulthood marry other ethnic groups and are greatly influenced by these ethnic groups. This is also one of the reasons why the unique culture of the O Du people is gradually fading away.

Not only the language, but also the unique costumes of the O Du people have gradually disappeared. Previously, the O Du people often wove their own fabrics and made their own costumes with their own characteristics. However, living among the Thai and Kho Mu people, they gradually switched to wearing the costumes of the majority ethnic group. Even the most important ceremony for the O Du people, the ceremony to welcome the thunder at the beginning of the new year, when they were moved to Vang Mon village to live, it had been decades since this ceremony was held. Many young O Du people did not even know about this ceremony.

Mr. Lo Van Tinh said that his grandfather was considered the leader and shaman of the entire O Du community. Therefore, the New Year's thunder ceremony was often held at his house. "Every holiday, O Du people from everywhere would come to his house to hold the ceremony. But in 1969, my grandfather passed away. Since then, the O Du people no longer held this ceremony. Luckily, I was already grown up at that time, and had witnessed the ceremony many times, so I understood clearly," Mr. Tinh said.

According to Mr. Lo Van Cuong (62 years old), another prestigious person in Vang Mon village, the reason why part of the culture has been lost and the special rituals are no longer held regularly every year is due to the difficult life. “In the past, living on the top of the stream, traveling was very difficult. There was no electricity, and it took half a day to get to the commune center. People were busy making a living, no one thought about the culture of their people. Now that we have moved down here, living right next to the national highway, transportation is convenient, life is also more prosperous, so we have begun to yearn to think about culture and are determined to preserve it,” said Mr. Cuong. In 2019, with the support of Nghe An province, the New Year thunder welcoming ceremony of the O Du people was restored after half a century of not being held. Since then, every year the O Du people in Vang Mon village have held this ceremony.

Mr. Lo Thanh Nhat - Secretary of the Nga My Commune Party Committee said that when they were moved to Vang Mon village to live in a concentrated area, the traditional cultural elements of the O Du people were greatly eroded and lost. From the village structure, houses to material and spiritual cultural activities, everything changed. Not only that, the tangible and intangible cultural elements also quickly eroded and were replaced by new cultural elements. One of the biggest losses is that the O Du language almost disappeared. Nowadays, few people know the folk songs and dances. Festivals were also completely lost, and customs and practices were no longer practiced much in life.

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>>Part 2: The New Year Begins with Thunder

>>Part 3: Relearning mother tongue

>>Final episode: Continuing the aspirations of the O Du people