Th?

Th? clothing
Total population
91,430 (2019) [1]
Regions with significant populations
Vietnam ( Ngh? An Province )   Laos ( Bolikhamsai Province and Khammouane Province )
Languages
Tho ? Vietic languages ? Vietnamese ? Lao
Religion
Buddhism ? Animism

The Th? ethnic group (also Keo , Mon , Cuoi , Ho , Tay Poong ) inhabits the mountainous regions of northern Vietnam , mainly Ngh? An Province southwest of Hanoi . Many Th? speak the Tho language , which is closely related to Vietnamese . The Th? population numbered 91,430 in 2019. ^[1]

The Th? are one of the 4 main groups of Vietic speakers in Vietnam, the others being the Vi?t , M??ng , and Ch?t . The name Th?, which means "autochthonous" was originally applied to the Tay ethnic group, however this usage is obsolete.

History [ edit ]

The Th? people are a heterogeneous mix of different Vietic peoples. Around the end of the 17th century, Vietnam experienced multiple social upheavals that caused multiple migrations of Viet and Muong peoples into territory of other Vietic speaking ethnic minorities such as the Cu?i and intermixed with the local populations. After a period of evolution, were given the name Th?. Their culture combines elements of Viet and Muong culture, with elements of Thai culture. ^[2] Their clothing is a mix of Vietnamese, Muong, and Tai traditions from the early modern period. Some women wear clothing similar to the Ao ba ba or the Ao t? than , but with a Sarong and a Kerchief . Men wear simple tunics and pants. Just like with the Muong, many clothing items are purchased from the Thai. They mainly grow rice and ramie , and use hemp to make bags, hammocks and nets. In the northern communes of Ngh? An, the stilt houses are identical to that of the Muong. In the South, however, they are in the Thai style.

Subdivisions [ edit ]

Th? consists of various different ethnolinguistic groups. Quan Vi Mien (2013:12) lists the following branches.

• H? (Lao/Thai exonym for the Han Chinese)
• K?o (Keo) (Lao/Thai exonym for ethnic Kinh or Vietnamese)
• M?n (Mol) (M??ng autonym)
• Cu?i
• đan Lai
• Ly Ha
• Tay Po?ng (Pho?ng, Po?ng, Ph?ng) (Lao exonym for the "Kh?", or Mon-Khmer hill tribes)

Languages [ edit ]

Th? is a heterogeneous group; thus, local groups have distinct languages. However, all of Th? languages belong to Vietic branch . Nguy?n H?u Hoanh (2009) classify Th? languages into 5 groups base on their position in Vietic branch. ^[3]

• Tay Po?ng ( Poong or Phong ) and đan Lai ( Liha ) - Lexicostatistical studies have found that đan Lai and Po?ng sharing 85% basic lexicon. Thus, Nguy?n (2009) identify them as dialects of a language. The speakers of this language reside mainly in Con Cuong and T??ng D??ng districts. It may also have close relation with Hung language (Toum) in Laos .
• Cu?i , Nguy?n (2009) pointed out that Cu?i is a distinct language with Vietnamese, Muong and Po?ng-đan Lai. This language have two dialects Cu?i Ch?m in Tan H?p commune ( Tan K? district ) and Cu?i N?p (or Cu?i Lang L?) in Thai Hoa town . Because of sharing 66% basic lexicon with Po?ng, Nguy?n (2009) proposed to group Cu?i with Tay Po?ng-đan Lai to form a subbranch in Vietic, parallel to Vi?t-M??ng branch and Ch?t branch.

• M?n and H? , The two dialects share 98% basic lexicon and have a closer relation with M??ng languages than Cu?i and Po?ng. They share 77%, 79% and 71% core lexicon with M??ng Bi language, M??ng ?ng language and Ngh? An dialect of Vietnamese, respectively. Especially, M?n and H? are lexical closest with a M??ng language in Nh? Xuan district (84%). Therefore, Nguy?n (2009) group them into a single language in Vi?t-M??ng branch which have a closer relation with M??ng languages. Maspero (1912) named this language as Southern M??ng language
• K?o share 99% lexicon with Ngh? An dialect of Vietnamese. Thus, Nguy?n(2009) classified K?o as a dialect of Vietnamese or even a sub-dialect of Ngh? An dialect
• Th? Lam La and Th? Nh? Xuan share respectively 94% and 95% basic lexicon with Ngh? An dialect. However, Nguy?n (2009) argued that two Th? languages experienced a different phonological innovation with Vietnamese. Thus, he place it into a grey area between being dialects of Vietnamese or being member languages of Viet-Muong branch ( Ngu?n has a similar status).

Distribution [ edit ]

As of 2009, 80% (59,579 persons) of all ethnic Th? live in Ngh? An Province , while 13% (9,652 persons) are found in Thanh Hoa Province Quan Vi Mien (2013:11).

Quan Vi Mien (2013:12-13) lists ethnic Th? populations and branches (ethnic subdivisions) for the following districts of Ngh? An Province .

• Qu? H?p District : 18,394 people; H?, K?o, M?n branches, in the following communes:
  • Tam H?p (5,515 ethnic Th?)
  • Ngh?a Xuan (3,855 ethnic Th?)
  • Minh H?p (1,983 ethnic Th?)
  • H? S?n (2,652 ethnic Th?)
  • V?n L?i (2,403 ethnic Th?)
  • Th? H?p (1,730 ethnic Th?)
  • Qu? H?p city (265 ethnic Th?)
• Ngh?a đan District : 28,487 people; H?, K?o, M?n, Cu?i đ?p branches
• Tan K? District : 15,695 people; H?, K?o, M?n, Cu?i Ch?m branches
• Con Cuong District : 3,220 people; đan Lai, Ly Ha branches
• T??ng D??ng District : 436 people; Tay Po?ng branch

See also [ edit ]

• List of ethnic groups in Vietnam

References [ edit ]

• Quan Vi Mien. 2013. V?n hoa dan gian: dan t?c Th? . Ha N?i: Nha xu?t b?n v?n hoa thong tin.
• Thi Nh? & Tr?n M?nh Cat (1975). "Vai net v? ng??i Th? ? Ngh? An". In, ?y ban khoa h?c xa h?i Vi?t Nam: Vi?n dan t?c h?c. V? v?n đ? xac đ?nh thanh ph?n cac dan t?c thi?u s? ? mi?n b?c Vi?t Nam , 444-455. Ha N?i: Nha xu?t b?n khoa h?c xa h?i.
• đ?ng Nghiem V?n & Nguy?n Anh Ng?c (1975). "Vai net v? ba nhom đan Lai, Ly Ha va 'Tay Po?ng'". In, ?y ban khoa h?c xa h?i Vi?t Nam: Vi?n dan t?c h?c. V? v?n đ? xac đ?nh thanh ph?n cac dan t?c thi?u s? ? mi?n b?c Vi?t Nam , 456-471. Ha N?i: Nha xu?t b?n khoa h?c xa h?i.