To Dong Hai
The “Coong” people are known under various names like Coong Nam Ke, Coong Tac Nga… labeled by people of other ethnic groups according the former’s places of residence, or Xam Khoong by themselves, or Coong, the official name recognized by the State.
With a small population of nearly 1,300, the people of this ethnic group reside largely in Muong Te district of Lai Chau province, in areas along the Vietnam-Laos border and the Vietnam-China border. They live mainly on milpa farming, forest vegetable and fruit gathering as well as stream-fishing and hunting.
The Coong people live in hamlets, each accommodating from 10 to 15 houses built by rivers, water streams or valley edges. Their houses are made on stilts with three or four compartments. The outmost compartment is reserved for the daughter and son-in-law (during his matrilocality), next to which is the compartment for the elder son and his wife, then the compartment for the eldest son in the family and his wife. The middle compartment is for guest reception. The innermost compartment is used as the parents’ bed room, where exist the ancestral altar and the cooking place.
Before the August Revolution in 1945, the Coong people’s administrative apparatus had been fully controlled by mandarins of the Thai ethnic group, who appointed people of Coong stock to such posts as “ky muc” and “tao ban” for running all affairs in a hamlet, and “sa qua” for administering a larger area embracing many hamlets. These dignitaries worked under the baton of Thai mandarins who had mercilessly exploited the Coong people.
The Coong people have for long formulated different family lines under different family names such as Lo, Ly, Chao, Chang, Lu… Each family line has its own customs and practices. For instance, people of Lo family line worship their ancestors during the day time, people of Ly line refrain from eating the squirrel while people of Hu line do not eat tiger meat. Family lines are distinguished from one another according to their places of erecting the ancestral altars and the way of ancestral worshipping.
Each family line is headed by a man called “xip xung” who represents the whole line in settling issues related to people of other family lines as well as affairs of the entire family line, in marrying wives for sons and grandsons, presiding over the wedding ceremonies and in trying cases of breaching the customary laws of the family line…
The Coong society has been organized in the form of partriarchy with men heading the families, namely the fathers or the eldest sons if the fathers die.
Under the Coong customs and practices, men are not allowed to marry many women while their wives are still alive. Monogamy has been deeply rooted among the Coong people and divorces are hardly seen. While permitting the marriage between sons of the younger sisters and daughters of the elder sisters or the marriage between sons of the elder sisters and daughters of the brothers, the customary laws of this ethnic group strictly forbid the marriage between sons of the elder sisters and daughters of the younger sisters or the marriage between sons of the brothers and daughters of the sisters as well as the marriage between the widowers and sisters of their deceased wives or the marriage between the widows and brothers of their deceased husbands. Formerly, the intra-ethnos marriage was strictly observed by people.
Matrilocality has long been practiced by Coong people. As a rule, the groom shall have to stay matrilocally for a certain period of time agreed upon by the two families in the “Hu men ti xe” (marriage proposing) ceremony (which formerly might last for 8 to 12 years). Immediately after the “Hu men ti xe” ceremony, the groom moves to his in-law’s place, bringing along a blanket, pillow and a knive. From that day on, the girl has to twist her hair into chignon as a sign indicating that she is a married woman. During their matrilocality, the grooms have to abide by a number of regulations: They are not allowed to sit on chairs, to put on footwear, to enter the rooms of their mothers-in-law or elder sisters- in-law, to go to bed before their parents-in-law finish their dinner. They have to get up early to cook rice, boil water or catch fish in rivers or streams...
Several months before the expiry of the matrilocal period, the groom’s parents shall go the bride’s family, asking for the wedding. If the groom does not stay matrilocally, his family shall have to pay a sum of money to the bride’s family to ask for the wedding.
On the wedding day, the groom’s family send people to take the bride home together with her dowry including blanket, mattress, clothing, working tools, a pig, a hen… given by her parents. It is customary that the groom’s aunt shall have to carry on her back the bride to the groom’s house. Young people in the hamlet often spray dirty water on the bride-taking procession of the groom, indicating that they do not wish the girl to marry a husband in other locality.
When a person in the family dies, the wattles partitioning compartment and the altar as well as the back door, called the “ghost’s door” which is opposite to the main door and often kept close, shall be removed. If the parent dies, his or her body shall be placed right in their bedroom; if children or grand-children die, their bodies shall be placed in the middle of the house. When carrying the dead persons to graveyards for burial, the Coong people try to keep their own souls from not being lured by ghosts or demons. After the burial, they have to call the souls of their own and their next of kin back home, not letting them wandering in the graveyards.
Twelve days after the burial, people organize a rite to worship their ancestors and erect new altars. If the parents die, their sons and daughters shall be in mourning for the deceased, the eldest son shall have his head close-shaven and wear the mourning crepe till the new rice ritual.
The ancestral worshipping in the family is undertaken by the father. If the father dies, the mother shall take his place, doing the ancestral worshipping. When the mother dies, the eldest son shall undertake the worshipping together with his brothers and sisters. In cases where the children split up, living in separate houses, each of them shall erect his/her own altar and undertake the worshipping.
The Coong people’s property ownership is fully respected under their customary laws which severely punish those who steal or rob other persons’ properties. When the parents die, only sons are entitled to inherit their properties. Particularly the eldest son, who shall maintain the ancestral worshipping on behalf of the parents, is entitled to inherit the house left by the parents.