TA THI TAM
The Lu, a Tay-Thai language group with a population of nearly 5,000 lives in the northern mountainous provinces of Lai Chau and Dien Bien. The group is also called Thay Lu, Nhuon (or Duon), Phu Lu, Thay U, Thay Sin or Thay Hung.
Historical records showed that the Lu entered Vietnam in the seventh century from Sip Song Pan Na, occupying Muong Thanh region before black and white Thai people. Only when the black Thai, led by Lang Chuong, invaded Muong Thanh that the Lu became dependent on the Thai.
Lu people live on farming, growing ordinary and sticky rice on both water and terraced fields with low productivity but good quality. Their irrigation system is small canals without a system to bring water to upper fields like the Thai’s.
The Lu’s residential and social unit is village, which is somewhat similar to that of the Lao and Thai. A Lu village is often situated on a flat area near a water source. The front of a village is believed where exists the village spirit, usually in a secular tree (like a banyan tree). Under this tree is placed an incense-burner for worshiping the village spirit on a certain day.
In a Lu village, families live friendly and assist one another in farming, house building and family affairs such as wedding and funeral.
Unlike the Thai, Lu people do not clearly distinguish between paternal and maternal sides even though the maternal side plays a less important role.
The Lu lives in houses on stilts. A house has four roofs which are extended to be eaves, making the house airy and spacious. A house is divided into parts for couples into which strangers are not supposed to enter. It also has two stoves, one for cooking daily meals and the other for boiling water for receiving guests.
Before living in a new house, a Lu family will conduct a ceremony which must not be held at noon. After cleaning the house, the house owner invites four old men outside his family line to drink wine in four cups inside a basin placed in the middle of the house. Then comes a young man at the entrance door, squatting down and asking to buy the house. The drinking old men tell him the house already has the owner who is coming soon. Then appear at the stairway the house owner with a fishing net on his shoulder and his wife carrying a tripod and a sticky rice cooker. The husband enters the house followed by his wife, putting their stuff down. Next come two young girls with a torch in their hands. Another girl standing at the stairway will put out the fire of the torch carried by the first girl while the second girl will use the torch to make a fire in the family stove. This fire must be kept for three days. After that, the house owner offers a pig head to his ancestors in a ceremony and invites villagers to a party in which people drink wine and sing along flute melodies.
A Lu woman wears an indigo blouse split in the chest and a black indigo dress with embroidered patterns on two layers. Her other accessories include scarf, necklace and silver or brass bracelet. Lu women have their teeth dyed black. A Lu man wears a black indigo shirt split in the chest, which has two pockets at two flaps and another on the left chest and cloth buttons. His trousers have embroidered patterns from the knees downward. A Lu man with a black turban winded on his head often wears a sword not only for security but also for decoration.
The Lu likes sticky rice. Typical dishes during Tet (lunar new year) include five-color (white, red, green, yellow and purple) sticky rice and rice vermicelli served with chicken or pork soup. Pork is an indispensable dish of Tet.
Lu people worship three spirits: phi huon (family spirit), phi ban (village spirit) and phi muong (general spirit). Phi huon are the souls of dead grandparents and parents of a family which are believed to protect family members. Phi ban, the soul of the founder of a village, is worshiped in a spacious place of the village near a water source where grows a secular tree. Lu people make an offering ceremony for phi ban on the third day of the seventh month of Lu calendar every year or when villagers suffer serious illness or epidemics. Phi muong are the souls of the first Lu immigrants into Vietnam and founders of the first mountainous areas. Offerings to Phi muong are made only once every three or four years.
Lu young people are free to choose their partners. Before marrying a girl, a boy must ask for permission from his parents and find a matchmaker who, together with his parents, will go to the girl’s house, asking for her parents’ permission. If accepted by the bride’s family, the groom’s family will choose a date for the two families to discuss the wedding.
According to Lu custom, the husband must stay with his wife’s family for three years before bringing his wife their separate home. This stay aims to show his gratitude towards his wife’s parents for raising her. This time is also for the groom to learn how to lead a family life and for the bride to make quilts, cushions and pillows as gifts for her parents-in-law and other relatives.
A Lu wedding is held for two days in the bride’s family, starting from the night the groom goes to the bride’s house. The groom is accompanied by two matchmakers (chief and assistant matchmakers) and some brothers and cousins representing the groom’s family side. The parents of both the groom and bride are not supposed to take or escort the bride because the Lu believes parents who escort their daughter to her husband’s house take away their daughter’s prosperity while parents accompanying their son to his wife’s house will not live long.
Arriving at the bride’s house, the groom, bringing along a blanket and a suit in a bag, is welcomed by his mother-in-law who will take the bag and bring it to the bride’s room. The chief matchmaker carefully hands the groom to the bride’s family. That night, an important formality is held. The chief matchmaker who represents the groom’s family gives the bride’s father four silver coins. The coins symbolize offering by the groom’s family to the bride’s for the latter to make a meal and offer it to their phi huon, reporting on the wedding of their daughter and the arrival of the new groom. In a Lu wedding, the bride’s maternal uncle plays an important role as he chairs the wedding and represents the bride’s family. Therefore, the groom’s family must give a sum of money to this uncle.
A Lu funeral is held simply. When a villager dies, all villagers stop their work and go to the dead’s house, helping the family kill an old buffalo tied with a white cloth from its neck to the coffin. This formality implies that the family sacrifices the buffalo for the dead to take to the other world for his farm work.
The Lu worships phi huon in a section of the house called hong. Once every first month of Lu calendar, a tray of offerings lit with 10 wax candles is made for the ancestors. An sorcerer is invited to conduct the ceremony.
The offering to phi ban is also made in the first month in a ceremony called kieng ban or cam bam, with 30 kg of pork as offering placed at the village front near a stream.
On the third day of the third month every year, villagers conduct another offering ceremony in the village’s holy forest. After the ceremony, which is conducted by the village sorcerer, villagers eat together, then sing and play traditional games such as tug of war and sword dance. Between three and nine days during this occasion, strangers are not supposed to enter the village while villagers are not allowed to go out.
Other Lu festivals include bun pi may (new year festival) in the first month, bun huat nam (water splashing) in the eleventh and twelfth months, and bun bang phay (firework letting off) in the second and third months of Lu calendar.
Lu literature, arts and folklore are rich. Khap lu is the responsive singing of Lu boys and girls. The girl whose face is covered with a red cloth sings along the flute rhythms blown by the boy. In the old time, when the night fell, couples sitting on sedge mats passionately sang and blew flutes.-