The man who 'sleeps sitting up' has 14 children

(Baonghean.vn) - Having 2 wives and 14 children is the "record" set by Mr. La Van Lieu in Co Phat village, Mon Son commune, Con Cuong district (Nghe An).Mr. Lieu is said to be the man with the most children in the Dan Lai community.

At the age of 58, La Van Lieu still has the strength of a young man.Despite his age and haggard appearance, his hair is still jet black. Mr. Lieu said that since he was young, he has always liked to have long hair. Having long hair is also a way for many Dan Lai and Tay Poong men in Nghe An to express their masculine personality.

Portrait of the man with the most children in the Dan Lai community.

In the past, the Dan Lai people lived in remote mountainous areas in the communes of Chau Khe, Mon Son, and Luc Da in Con Cuong district. However, this area was quite isolated from the outside world. Now, these lands are all part of the core zone of Pu Mat National Park. The Dan Lai people are known as a community with the custom of "sleeping sitting up", sleeping on trees to avoid wild animals. Child marriage and incestuous marriage still exist in this community.

For more than 10 years now, according to the Vietnamese government's policy of preserving the Dan Lai ethnic group, a part of this community has been "relocated" to live next to the Thai people in Tan Son village, Cua Rao (Mon Son commune), Thach Son village, Thach Ngan commune, Con Cuong district. Another part has lived quite permanently in Chau Son village, Chau Khe commune.

Breakfast in Mr. La Van Lieu's family must be "organized" with 2 trays to have enough space for the whole family.

“At the age of 21, in 1979, I married Ms. La Thi Huong, a native of the same village,” Mr. Lieu shared. At that time, Ms. Huong was only 17 years old. The couple had 13 children. According to Ms. Vi Thi Ky, Mr. Lieu’s second wife, the two met and “fell in love” in 1981 and had a son together. The woman, who is 3 years older than her husband, said she felt “happy” to be Mr. Lieu’s second wife, even though there were no marriage papers.

According to the people who have lived in Co Phat village for a long time and are close to Mr. Lieu's family, the two wives lived in harmony. People believe that thanks to "magic", the two wives were able to live "peacefully" together. However, Ms. Vi Thi Ky did not believe in this. "God sent me down to be his second wife" - Ms. Ky affirmed.

During his 35 years of living with his two wives, Mr. Lieu married off nine children. The youngest is now six years old and in first grade. When asked about the total number of his children, the “polygamous” man, perhaps the only one in the Dan Lai community, said he could not remember.

In the small house, Mr. Lieu and his two wives and children live in harmony and happiness.

A rice field of Mr. Lieu's family in Co Phat village

Despite having many children, Mr. Lieu and his two wives seem to have a rather optimistic life. The man who makes a living by gathering wild plants and making traditional medicine and is currently building the biggest wooden house in Co Phat village said that raising a group of children is not an easy task. That is also the reason why after more than 35 years of marriage, he was able to build his own wooden house.

Mr. La Van Linh, Secretary of the Co Phat village Party Cell, shared: Because the Dan Lai people have lived in the deep forest for a long time, they do not have full access to population policies and family planning measures, so most of them have many children.

Bun My