Unique features of the Co Tu ethnic group

Although the origin of the Co Tu ethnic group is still controversial, it cannot be denied that the Co Tu people have a unique culture, bearing the imprint of life and beliefs in the 54 ethnic colors of Vietnam. Let's join iGuide.ai to learn about the information about the Co Tu ethnic group, Vietnam according to reference information from the Vietnam Ethnic Committee!

1. Historical origin

The Co-tu people are an ethnic group that has long lived in the Truong Son-Tay Nguyen region. Up to now, the origin of the Co-tu people has only stopped at hypotheses, but in summary, domestic and foreign scholars rely on the achievements of architecture, sculpture, culture and even the physical beauty of the people to guess that the Co-tu people were once the owners of a high culture that has declined, not an ethnic group with a developing primitive civilization.

This ethnic group has not yet formed local groups but only groups distinguished by residential area such as highlanders (Co-tu Driu), midlanders (Co-tu Cha Lau) and lowlanders (Co-tu Nal).

2. Geographic distribution

The Co Tu ethnic group resides mainly in the two provinces of Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam, with a large concentration in the districts of Nam Giang, Dong Giang, Tay Giang of Quang Nam province and a small number in the districts of Nam Dong and A Luoi of Thua Thien Hue province.

3. Population, language

- Population: According to the survey data of 53 ethnic minorities on April 1, 2019, the total population of the Co Tu people: 74,173 people; male population: 37,096 people; female population: 37,077 people; household size: 3.8 people/household; proportion of population living in rural areas: 88.2%. - Language: The language of the Co Tu people belongs to the Mon-Khmer group (South Asian language family), close to the Ta Oi and Bru-Van Kieu languages. Before 1975, the Co Tu people had a written language based on Latin script for transcription, but now few people use it.

4. Main features

- Traditional social institutions: The Co-tu people live in concentrated communities along water sources called vell (village); in which the relationship between villagers is quite close. They practice self-governance based on customs, headed by a "village elder". Each village consists of several dozen houses surrounding the Guol house - the administrative-cultural-social center of this ethnic group. The Co-tu people practice a patriarchal system, so men often play a very important role.

- Housing: The Co Tu live in stilt houses. In a stilt house, many married couples who are brothers and their children live together. Each village has a communal house called Guol, which is the tallest and most beautiful. It is the place for meetings and community activities.

- Costume: The Co Tu people most prefer black woven fabric with lead patterns, followed by white beaded patterns. In the past, Co Tu men often wore loincloths, went shirtless, and in the cold season, they would wear a blanket or a decorated cloth shirt. Women often wore a short skirt to the knee, with the upper part wrapped in a scarf similar to the Vietnamese yem, and in the winter they also wore a blanket. During festivals, they wore a plain white belt.

- Religion and beliefs: Like many other ethnic groups in the Central Highlands, the Co-tu believe that all things and phenomena are supernatural, with the intervention of gods, and this belief has influenced almost every aspect of their lives, from big things like building a house, choosing a field, weddings, funerals... to small things like harvesting, farming, hunting, so they have many sacrificial ceremonies. In each Co-tu village, there is a "sacred" object (usually a stone) kept in the communal house, like a talisman to protect the whole village.

- Cuisine: The main food of the Co-tu people is rice, cassava and corn. The Co-tu people usually eat plain rice, but on festivals they cook sticky rice. The Co-tu people are used to eating with their hands. They also like grilled, marinated and preserved dishes in bamboo tubes and drink Ta-vak wine, etc. Ta-vak wine is a typical drink of the Co-tu people, indispensable during festivals.

- Musical instruments: Common musical instruments of the Co Tu people are a set of 3 gongs, 1 gong, drums, flutes, zithers, and two-stringed fiddles.

- Education: According to the survey data of 53 ethnic minorities on April 1, 2019: the rate of people aged 15 and over who can read and write is 75.4%, the rate of people attending primary school is 100.2%, the rate of people attending lower secondary school is 92.5%, the rate of people attending upper secondary school is 70.6%, the rate of out-of-school children is 9.9%.

- Festivals: The Co Tu people still preserve many festivals related to slash-and-burn farming practices, life cycle rituals, community festivals... Among them, the biggest are the stabbing ceremony and the "grave gathering" ceremony. The people celebrate Tet by village, around January and February of the solar calendar, after the rice harvesting season.

5. Economic conditions

The Co Tu people mainly live by growing upland rice, with simple farming methods. In addition, the Co Tu people also raise buffalo, pigs, dogs, and chickens. However, the main source of daily food is gathering, hunting, and fishing. In particular, the weaving profession is very developed in the Co Tu community. Up to now, the people still mainly practice direct exchange: barter.

According to the survey data of 53 ethnic minorities on April 1, 2019: The Co Tu ethnic group has: Unemployment rate of 3.99%; Rate of trained workers with degrees and certificates: 13.1%; Rate of workers working in the non-agricultural sector: 25.6%; Rate of workers working in management or high and middle-level technical and vocational training: 7.0%; Rate of poor households: 38.1%; Rate of near-poor households: 7.1%; Rate of households using clean water sources: 76.1%; Rate of households using grid electricity for lighting: 94%.

Source:
- Ethnic groups in Vietnam (National Political Publishing House Truth)
- Basic characteristics of 54 ethnic minorities in 2019 (Committee on Ethnic Minorities and General Statistics Office)
- Website of the Ethnic Committee, Website of Nhan Dan Newspaper
- Survey results collect information on the socio-economic status of 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam)