Tay people
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Tày | |
|---|---|
| Total population | 1.5 million |
| Regions with significant populations | Northern Vietnam: Cao Bang, Lang Son, Bac Kan, Thai Nguyen, Quang Ninh, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang Provinces |
| Language | Tày |
| Religion | ancestor and spirit worship |
The Tày belong to central Tai-Kadai language group and are located in the north of Vietnam. They are sometimes also called Thô, T'o, Tai Tho, Ngan, Phen, Thu Lao, or Pa Di.
Nông Ðức Mạnh, the current General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam since April 22, 2001, is an ethnic Tày.
There are about 1.5 million Tày people living in Vietnam. This makes them the second largest ethnic group in Vietnam after the majority Viet ethnic group. Most are in northern Vietnam in particular in the Cao Bang, Lang Son, Bac Kan, Thai Nguyen, and Quang Ninh Provinces, where they live along the valleys and the lower slopes of the mountains. They also live in some regions of the Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces. They inhabit the fertile plains and are generally agriculturalists, mainly cultivating rice. They also cultivate maize, and sweet potato among other things.
Tày villages are usually based at the feet of mountains and are often named after a mountain, field or river. Each village has about 15-20 households.
The majority adhere to ancestor and spirit worship. An altar for the ancestors is usually placed in a central location in the house. The altar room is considered sacred, and guests, or women who have given birth, aren't allowed to sit on the bed in front of the altar.
The Tày are closely related to the Nung and the Zhuang on the Chinese side of the Vietnam-Sino border.
It is common for Tày women to wear skirts or sarongs which go down to the knee, and are split up the right side with five buttons along the armpit and narrow sleeves.
Tày songs include the "Hat Luon", which is a kind of duet between lovers.
Literacy in their own language is quite low among Tày people, probably around 5% or less. Dialects include Central Tày, Eastern Tày, Southern Tày, Northern Tày, Tày Trung Khanh, Thu Lao, and Tày Bao Lac. There is a continuum of dialects to southern Zhuang in China.
| Ethnic groups in Vietnam (sorted by language family) |  |
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