Lesson 6: Vu family in Mong community
The Vu clan in Ky Son district has about 386 households, 2,518 people; living concentrated in the communes of Huoi Tu, Tay Son, Na Ngoi, Muong Long of Ky Son district. According to Mr. Vu Chong Pao - the most prestigious person, who still knows well about the origin and traditional cultural features of the Vu clan, the Mong people in general, the Vu clan in particular, originated from China. After many wars, they evacuated to many places. Some Mong people in Ky Son migrated directly from China, some went to Laos and then returned to Ky Son. Also according to Mr. Vu Chong Pao, the first family of the Vu clan consisted of a husband and two wives. The first wife gave birth to 4 sons, the second wife gave birth to 5 sons.
Mr. Vu Chong Pao - a prestigious person of the family
In the ritual of the Vu family, different from other families in the way of arranging the tray of offerings, the dishes brought out to prepare the tray must be divided into nine parts (nine bowls or nine plates...), symbolizing the parts of the nine children of the two wives in the family. The shaman must be someone who is well-versed in rituals and customs, and must be a member of the Vu family. When refusing the ceremony, everyone in the family must stay inside and close all the doors.
Every year, families of the Vu clan often have customs: da choi or nhu da (worshiping ancestors), celebrating new rice (for families who work on the fields), festivals, Tet (Lunar New Year), family's ancestral spirit... In addition, during the year, they also hold ancestral spirits for parents, children who come to visit from afar or when they are sick. The wedding customs of the Mong Vu are also unique. The young couple get to know each other, the young man stays outside the wall of the house, playing his mouthpiece. When not in love, the young woman never leaves the house to meet the young man directly. After the melodies of the mouthpiece, at midnight the two sides chat with each other, the young man stays outside the wall, the young woman stays inside the wall.
Bride and groom at a Mong wedding in Na Ngoi (Ky Son).
Photo: Huu Vi
Just like that, after a long time of getting to know each other and falling in love, the girl agreed to let her lover capture her to be his wife. The boy chose a beautiful night, and came with two other friends. Starting the night of capturing the wife with familiar lip-pipe melodies, at midnight the girl agreed to leave the house to go with the boy. At that time, the group of four people (including the girl being captured to be his wife) went a distance, two boys who were friends of the wife-captor brought gifts to the girl's house to inform the family, and promised to bring gifts to the wedding ceremony three days later.
During the journey home with her lover, the girl must not look back. If she accidentally or intentionally looks back, the wife-catching will be difficult or the couple's life will be difficult later. After three days at her lover's house, the girl does not leave the house. On the fourth day, the groom's family will bring all the traditional wedding gifts to the bride's family to hold a wedding ceremony, and the couple will officially become husband and wife.
In a family with many generations of Vu clan, the daughter-in-law in the family is not allowed to climb on the cupboard or the roof. Doing so is to train and create for the daughter-in-law a transparent, pure life, family unity and harmony; because the cupboard or the roof are usually hidden places, hard to see, others will misunderstand.
The Vu family in Ky Son district loves their homeland and country, determined to fight against foreign invaders to gain independence. The Vu family has made many contributions to the social life of the ethnic people in Ky Son district. Although living in many communes, geographically far apart, the Vu family has established the family's Education Promotion Association, with an education promotion fund to support and encourage their children to always try their best to study. Children of the Vu family who pass university and college entrance exams, and are excellent students at all levels are all commended and rewarded.
The Vu family has many prestigious elders in the Mong ethnic community in general and in the Vu family in particular. Typical examples are People's Armed Forces Hero Vu Chong Pao in Ta Ca commune, Mr. Vu Lia Tria in Muong Long commune, Mr. Vu Pa Chong in Huoi Tu commune, Mr. Vu Xia Xua in Na Ngoi commune... They are prestigious people in the community, always advocating for the construction of cultural life, economic development, hunger eradication and poverty reduction, maintaining local defense and security, especially keeping the border peaceful in the border communes of Ky Son.
Lang Luong (Ky Son District Union)