Part 1: Exploring the Nam Non region
The O Du people currently number only about 100 households, mainly concentrated in Van Mon village (Nga My commune). Few people know that they have a proud past. Their ancestors are believed to have been the first to settle the land on both sides of the Nam Non River - the headwaters of the Lam River.
Content:Tien Hung - My Ha;Technique: Nam Phong • September 1, 2025
The O Du people currently number only about 100 households, mainly concentrated in Van Mon village (Nga My commune). Few people know that they have a proud past. Their ancestors are believed to have been the first to settle the land on both sides of the Nam Non River - the headwaters of the Lam River.
In early August, we visited Van Mon village, where the people were still immersed in joy and pride because their most important ritual had just been included in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage list. That ritual is the "New Year's Thunder Welcome Ceremony of the O Du people".
“It’s truly something to be proud of. This result is the effort of the entire small O Du community,” said Ms. Luong Thi Lan, Party Secretary of Van Mon village. Twenty years ago, 73 households scattered along the banks of the Nam Non River were gathered and resettled in Van Mon village to make way for the construction of the Ban Ve hydroelectric power plant. Since then, this village has been home to the vast majority of the O Du people. Currently, the O Du ethnic group numbers only about 500 people, but 461 of them live concentrated in Van Mon village. This is the smallest ethnic group in Vietnam according to all population censuses to date.
In the Thai language, "Ơ Đu" means love. In the "Geography of Tuong Duong District," researcher Ninh Viet Giao states that the Ơ Đu people previously lived mainly along the Nam Non River, from Luong Minh commune to Huu Khuong commune. The Ơ Đu were once very numerous, controlling a large area along the Nam Non River. There, besides slash-and-burn agriculture, they also engaged in gold panning, fishing, and trading along the river, resulting in a relatively prosperous economic life.
Today, historical traces of the O Du people's territorial control remain, such as the bamboo fortifications in Huu Khuong commune (formerly Tuong Duong district). Legends of the Thai and Kho Mu people confirm that the upstream areas of the Nam Non and Nam Mo rivers were once settled by the O Du people; the names of caves, streams, and mountains still bear the distinct sounds of the O Du language. The ancient O Du people had a relatively developed society, with a leader and slaves. Place names like Xieng Tam, Xieng Lam, Ta Xieng... along the Nam Non river were always bustling with boats traveling up and down.
However, after many other ethnic groups migrated to live in the land along the Nam Non River, civil wars over land began to break out. Due to their weaker position, the O Du people were pushed to the headwaters of streams and ravines. Having lost their land, they had to work as laborers for the chieftains of other ethnic groups. From being pioneers and masters of the vast land on both banks of the Nam Non River, they were forced to live scattered, interspersed among the villages of the Thai and Khmu people. In 1934, according to French statistics, only 34 people still identified themselves as O Du.
Mr. Lo Van Tinh (78 years old) recounts that when Van Mon village was established to provide a separate resettlement area for the O Du people, he was the first village head. At that time, the village had only 73 O Du households, but they were gathered from 8 different villages living upstream of the Nam Non River. “Those 8 villages weren't concentrated in one commune, but scattered across 4 communes: Kim Da, Kim Tien, Huu Duong, and Huu Khuong. By 2007, 5 more O Du families had migrated here spontaneously,” Mr. Tinh said. After 20 years, Van Mon village now has 109 households, of which 103 are O Du households, with 461 inhabitants.
Before moving here, Mr. Tinh was born and raised in Xop Pot village (formerly Kim Da commune). This village was previously considered the center, where the largest number of O Du people lived. “Although it was called a large population, the number of O Du households there could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Because the O Du people lived scattered in many places, and within the village, most people were Thai and Khmu, the distinctive culture of the O Du gradually faded away. In villages with a large Thai population, the O Du spoke Thai, while in villages with a large Khmu population, they spoke Khmu for easier communication. The same applied to cultural customs,” Mr. Tinh recounted.
Today, the O Du people only have the Lo surname remaining, divided into Lo elder and Lo younger. Therefore, the vast majority of O Du people, upon reaching adulthood, marry into other ethnic groups and are heavily influenced by them. This is also one of the reasons why the distinctive culture of the O Du people is gradually fading away.
Not only their language, but also their distinctive clothing is gradually disappearing. Previously, the O Du people used to weave their own fabric and sew their own unique clothing. But living alongside the Thai and Khmu people, they gradually switched to wearing the clothing of the majority ethnic group. Even the most important ritual for the O Du people, the ceremony of welcoming the first thunder of the new year, has not been held for decades since they moved to Van Mon village. Many young O Du people are even unaware of this ritual.
Mr. Lo Van Tinh recounted that his grandfather was considered the leader and shaman of the entire O Du community. Therefore, the ceremony welcoming the first thunder of the new year was usually held at his house. “During the festival, O Du people from all over would come to his house to hold the ceremony. But in 1969, my grandfather passed away. Since then, the O Du people have stopped holding this ceremony. Fortunately, I was old enough by then and witnessed many ceremonies, so I understand,” Mr. Tinh said.
According to Mr. Lo Van Cuong (62 years old), another respected figure in Van Mon village, one reason for the decline of the culture and the lack of regular annual ceremonies is the difficult living conditions. “In the past, we lived at the top of the stream, and transportation was very difficult. There was no electricity, and it took half a day to get to the commune center. People were preoccupied with earning a living, and no one thought about their own culture. Now that we've moved here, living right next to the national highway, transportation is convenient, and life is more prosperous, so we've started to yearn for our culture and are determined to preserve it,” Mr. Cuong said. In 2019, with the support of Nghe An province, the O Du people's New Year's thunder-welcoming ceremony was revived after half a century of not being held. Since then, the O Du people in Van Mon village have held this ceremony every year.
According to Mr. Lo Thanh Nhat, Secretary of the Party Committee of Nga My commune, when the O Du people were relocated to Van Mon village, many traditional cultural elements of the O Du people have been lost and eroded. From the structure of the village and houses to material and spiritual cultural activities, everything has changed. Furthermore, tangible and intangible cultural elements have rapidly disappeared and been replaced by new cultural elements. One of the biggest losses is the O Du language, which has almost disappeared. Few people know the folk songs and dances anymore. Festivals have also disappeared, and customs and traditions are no longer widely practiced in daily life.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>Homepage
>>Part 2: The New Year Begins with Thunder
>>Part 3: Relearning your mother tongue
>>Final installment: Continuing the aspirations of the O Du people.
