VietNamNet Bridge - The Lu is a minority ethnic group in Vietnam with a population of about 3,700 people. They live mainly in Tam Duong and Sin Ho Districts of Lai Chau Province and still retain their own culture with typical identities.

The Lu ethnic people retain its custom of blackening their teeth.

According to Tao Van Si, Deputy Chairman of the People’s Council of Ban Hon Commune in Tam Duong District of Lai Chau Province, Ban Hon Commune has a population of over 2,000 people, of which 90% are Lu ethnic people who live along the banks of the rivers and streams. The Lu ethnic people lead a settled life, have a settled agriculture and have grown rice since long ago.

When a young man reaches the age to marry and he selects a wife, the whole hamlet gives him breeding seeds and helps him build a traditional house-on-stilts, which consists of two roofs, a short roof at the back and a long roof in the front shading the stairs and veranda.

Among the traditional crafts of the Lu ethnic people, brocade-weaving is most developed. Lo Thi Noi in Pa Pe Hamlet, Binh Lu Commune of Tam Duong District said: “As of our tradition, before getting married, Lu ethnic girls must be skilled in embroidering and weaving brocade. Each brocade item woven by a Lu girl is imbued with her dreams and love for the group”.

That’s why the attires of the Lu people, from man’s trousers to woman’s shirts, skirts and scarves have unique decorative cubes and patterns. Lu women wear the shirts made of cotton and dyed indigo black, with silver or aluminium buttons on the right side. The sleeves of the shirt at the shoulders and wrists have embroidered wave-shaped patterns.

Stick-pushing, a folk game of the Lu ethnic people.

The most noticeable property that distinguishes the Lu ethnic women with women from other ethnic groups is the Lu women have black teeth. To dye their teeth, the Lu women seek out Met and Xuyen trees in the forest and cut them into small pieces. They burn the pieces and use the smoke, which is led through a bamboo pipe to dye their teeth. After several applications of dying, the teeth become shiny black. The Lu ethnic women say that the blacker the teeth, the more beautiful they become and when they get older their teeth will be stronger and solid.

The Lu women have diverse jewellery items, including bracelets and necklaces with delicate carved designs.

The Lu people always value the cultural and spiritual life, which is reflected in their preservation of many unique worshipping ceremonies, notably the Cam Muong ceremony. This is an occasion for the Lu to present offerings during prayer to the Genies of rivers, mountains and streams for providing them with an affluent life and good things and chasing away bad karma.

After the Cam Muong ceremony, all families must send their children to school to enhance the intellectual standards and improve life. This is a beautiful feature in the folk culture of the Lu ethnic people. After the ceremony, all villagers in the hamlet have a feast and drink wine together.

They play the games of tug-of-war and En throwing, sing songs and withhold going into the hamlet for 3-9 days. On these days, children are very excited in playing the folk games, such as “Dragon hatching eggs”, “hand-wrestling and leg-wrestling”, etc.

Old people in the hamlet tell the children old stories, folk songs and proverbs that reflect the feelings, thoughts and behaviour and production experience of the Lu ethnic people.

Le Van Kiem, Head of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Office in Tam Duong District said that the culture, lifestyle, activities, customs and habits of the Lu ethnic group have virtually remained intact.

Recently, Lai Chau Province has invested hundreds of millions of VND in building a cultural house in Pa Pe Hamlet which has the shape of a traditional house-on-stilts where cultural, artistic and community activities are held.

The provincial authorities encourage the communes to mobilize the artisans with knowledge of the Lu culture and create favourable conditions for their activities, helping preserve the traditional cultural values of the Lu ethnic group.

(Source: Vietnam Pictorial)