MARRIAGE OF THE DAO HO PEOPLE IN BAO THANG RURAL DISTRIC, LAO CAI PROVINCE

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Chu Quang Cuong MARRIAGE OF THE DAO HO PEOPLE IN BAO THANG RURAL DISTRIC, LAO CAI PROVINCE Major: Anthropology Code : 62 31 03 02 ABSTRACT OF DOCTOR OF PH.D DISSERTATION HA NOI - 2015 Completed at: Graduate Academy of Social Sciences, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences Supervisor: Dr Ly Hanh Son Dr Vi Van An Reviewer 1: Assoc Prof PhD Nguyen Duy Thieu Reviewer 2: Assoc Prof PhD Tran Van Binh Reviewer 3: Assoc Prof PhD Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga The dissertation shall be defended at the Ph.D Evaluation Committee of the Graduate Academy at No 477 Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan, Ha Noi Dated by … hour ……minute, day… month……year…… This publication can be reached at: - National Library of Vietnam - Library of Graduate Academy of Social Sciences - Library of the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology Introduction Rationale for the study The Dao Ho people, who is also known as the Dao Quan Trang sub-group, is among the seven Dao sub-groups living in Vietnam According to the 2009 Population and Housing Census, the total number of the Dao in Vietnam was 751.067, mainly locating in northern mountainous provinces such as Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Bac Kan, Cao Bang, Lang Son, Quang Ninh There were about 88,379 people of this ethnicity in Lao Cai province, which accounts for 14.4% of the provincial population and 11.8% of the Dao people in the whole country Based on past studies, the Dao originated from China who immigrated to Vietnam from the 13th century to the early 20th century The ethnicity consists of several subgroups, which include Dao Do, Dao Tuyen (Dao Ao Dai), Dao Tien, Dao Quan Trang, Dao Quan Chet, Dao Thanh Y, and Dao Lo Gang (Dao Thanh Phan) Among these sub-groups, the Dao Ho is a component of the Dao Quan Trang, which mostly settled in Lao Cai, and Yen Bai provinces So far, there have been a number of research studies examining many aspects of the Dao in Vietnam in terms history, economic activity, physical culture, religion, and life cycle ritual… However, most of these studies mainly focused on some specific sub-groups such as Dao Do, Dao Tien, and Dao Tuyen Furthermore, there is a lack of ethnological and anthropological monographs devoted to marriage and family of the Dao in general, and the Dao Ho in particular Meanwhile, marriage is among prominent characteristics of each ethnic culture during the development process that has been investigated by many ethnologists and anthropologists Evidently, an in-depth study of marriage of the Dao Ho shall update knowledge of wedding customs and living styles of the Dao in general, and also the Dao Ho in particular This study should be more significant in the context of the Vietnam being in the process of carrying out the reform policy and economic development Marriage of the Dao Ho is moving towards changes in the social, economic, and cultural development of the country More specifically, mixed marriage has become popular; wedding customs and habits are adjusted in accordance with the integration and acculturation Based on the above-mentioned reasons, I would like to study “Marriage of the Dao Ho people in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province” as the Doctoral dissertation majoring in anthropology Objective of the dissertation - Introduce systematically characteristics and rituals of traditional marriage and its changes of the Dao Ho people in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province - Highlight changes and factors influencing marital changes of the Dao Ho people at the research’s location -Based on research findings, I propose some recommendations to preserve and promote fine values of marriage customs and traditions of the Dao Ho people Research subject, and the scope of work The dissertation focused on the Dao Ho people living in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province Specifically, this dissertation will mainly examine traditional marriage and changes since 1986 when Vietnam started implementing the Reform policy to present Regarding the scope of work, the dissertation only conducted the fieldwork in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province More clearly, the site of research included Son Ha, Phu Nhuan, Son Hai, and Lu communes where Dao Ho people made up the majority of the population Besides, the researcher also studied the Dao Ho living in communes nearly such as Thai Nien, and Tri Quang Research methodology Both dialectical and historical materialisms have been utilized for examining the Dao Ho’s marriage in consultation with the Party’s policies and guidelines on ethnic minorities concerning the preservation and uphold of ethnic cultural culture Selective research methods have been used in this study in which ethnographic fieldwork has been the key one to gather information at the research site The author also utilized expert, in-depth analysis, comparative, generalization methods to have better consideration, evaluation, understanding towards the results obtained Contribution of the dissertation The dissertation is the first anthropological monograph ever of marriage of the Dao Ho people living Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province It systematically provided evidences in terms of tangible and intangible cultures, social customs/habits, and religions concerning the Dao Ho’s marriage The study also produced new findings that pointed out endogenous factors and acculturation concerning marriage of the Dao Ho in the research location, in both diachronic and synchronic dimensions Research findings are the scientific foundation for formulating policies to protect and promote precious values of the Dao Ho people in Bao Thang rural district in particular, and other ethnic minorities in Vietnam in general Theoretical and practical significance Firstly, the dissertation provided theoretical and practical background concerning the preservation and upholding ethnic minority’s cultural identity Secondly, it also shed the light on core marriage principles and changes in marriage of the Dao Ho’s community, emphasizing the role of the Dao Ho’s family in the process of cultural promotion Finally, result-based evidence was also produced to support the process of building a new type of cultured family that was the scientific foundation for the preservation and promotion ethnic minority’s cultural identity Structure of the dissertation Apart from the Introduction, Conclusion, Reference, and Appendix, the main content of the dissertation consists of four chapters as the following: Chapter 1: Literature review, theoretical background,general information on the Dao Ho in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province Chapter 2: Traditional marriage of the Dao Ho people Chapter 3: The Change of marriage Chapter 4: Result and discussion Chapter LITERATURE REVIEW, THEORETICAL BACKGROUND, GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE DAO HO IN BAO THANG RURAL DISTRICT, LAO CAI PROVINCE 1.1 Literature review Prior to the reform in 1986, there were a number of research studies of the Dao in different academic fields by international and national scholars After the reform, there were more research efforts focusing on cultural aspects of this ethnicity This study carefully reviewed publications related to the Dao in Vietnam such as “Major rituals in the life cycle of the Dao Tien people in Ba Be, Bac Kan” (Ly Hanh Son, 2003), “Traditional culture of the Dao group” (Pham Quang Hoan, Hung Đinh Quy, 1999), “Wedding customs of the Dao in Quang Ninh” (Vu Dinh Loi, 1999), “Wedding ceremony of the Dao Tien people in Ba Be, Bac Kan” (Ly Hanh Son, 1999), “Wedding ceremony of the Dao Tuyen people” (Tran Huu Son, 2001), and “The Dao Quan Chet in the Northern midland mountainous areas” (Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, 2015) All the above-mentioned studies carefully examined marriage customs and wedding characteristics of the Dao However, none of them particularly focused on marriage of the Dao Ho people 1.2 Theoretical foundation 1.2.1 Key concept Within this dissertation, key concepts such as marriage, customs, habits, taboo, and ritual were clearly defined Since then, common understanding on principles, rituals of marriage of the Dao Ho people will be clarified All the concepts shall be looked from anthropological perspective, which also provides theoretical foundation for better understanding considerations and resolving issues emerging from the study 1.2.2 Theoretical background The dissertation applied “the alliance theory of marriage”, “the structure theory of rituals”, “the theory of culture change” to investigate and evaluate characteristics, rituals and nature of the Dao Ho’s marriage in Bao Thang These theories were fully employed when examining the relationships between men and women during the practice of marriage rituals, and explaining changes in traditional marriage of the Dao Ho people under the impact of natural, social, economic factors, and awareness of local residents 1.3 General information on the Dao in Vietnam and the Dao Ho in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province The author presented general information on geographic features, administrative characteristics, population, ethnic structure and the location of different Dao sub-groups and also the Dao Ho in different communes in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province Besides that, the dissertation also discussed the origin, economic activities, and types of physical, social and spiritual cultures of the Dao Ho people It pointed out that all these aspects have been changed along with the improvement of social and economic development of Vietnam Summary of chapter In brief, the introduction and chapter highlighted some points as the following: Firstly, the dissertation highlighted the necessary aspect of the study This is the reason for the author selecting this dissertation topic, which also covered both theoretical and practical reasons for the research to be carried out As a result, it also helped to define clearly the objectives of the study Secondly, the author analyzed systematically a set of relevant theories that were employed in this dissertation Based on these theories, appropriate and highly useful conclusions were drawn out, fulfilling the research objectives as mentioned before Thirdly, beside the discussion of the research methodology, the author introduced the implementation of selected methods to gather collect information and data These included ethnographic fieldwork with in-depth interview, and expert, analysis, comparative, generalized methods It can be said that the results obtained from this study formed a systematically scientific study of marriage culture of the Dao Ho people in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province that can be used to preserve cultural aspects of the Dao people in Vietnam Chapter TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE OF THE DAO HO PEOPLE 2.1 Marriage’s understanding The Dao Ho people believed that marriage holds a special significance not only to each individual but also for a family, and lineage Traditional marriage is formed on two major principles: monogamy and exogamy Furthermore, groom’s parents would search for a potential bride in consultation with common moral standards The dissertation generalized traditional understandings of marriage of the Dao Ho such as the role of marriage towards family and lineage, criteria for selecting bride and groom Furthermore, it also referred to marriageable age at the community 2.2 Principle of marriage 2.2.1 Principle of the same-ethnic marriage Generally, traditional marriage of the Dao is formed between men and women of the same subgroup living in the same local area Previously, the Dao Ho parents in Bao Thang did not allow their children to get married with someone from a different ethnic group, even with the other Dao sub-groups Traditionally, the Dao’s parents shall search for a son-in law or a daughter-in-law in the same Dao subgroup at their living village This is because the elderly of the Dao Ho thought that the same subgroup marriage provides couples favorable conditions for a happy family due to easy communication, and feeling sharing since they speak the same language, perform the same traditional customs and 12 among widows, divorced persons Marital rituals, wedding dresses, ect depict fully characters of the Dao Ho However, traditional marriage has had many steps rituals, wedding offerings and a huge number of participants It is advised that some of these should be removed in accordance with the modern living styles 13 Chapter THE CHANGES OF MARRIAGE 3.1 Premises and dates for changes Since the reform policy in 1986, the social-economic development in Vietnam have created more favorable conditions for changes in cultural dimensions of the Dao Ho in Bao Thang rural district which included marital aspects Meanwhile, advocacy campaigns by mass organization and mass media, village’s regulations of building new life styles helped the Dao Ho gradually to remove customs and habits to match up to the currently modern living Radically, communication network, and the economic achievement have changed lives of the Dao Ho, which also influenced wedding customs and habits 3.2 Changing factors The study showed that together with the preservation of traditional values and customs, marriage culture of the Dao Ho was adjusted due to new modern factors However, the Dao Ho’s own characters and traditions were obviously presented from this research More clearly, backwards customs such as early marriage, a long wedding ceremony, and high values of wedding offerings were gradually removed or adjusted over time However, the scope and level of application varied among locations and classes depending on personal awareness and household’s economic conditions Although, parental consents are important to any weddings, young persons have had more voice when looking for a partner, and 14 making decision to get married Currently parents were mainly responsible for organizing a wedding ceremony Generally, changes in marriage have enriched spiritual life of the Dao Ho, and let marriage customs and habits be adjusted accordingly, resulting in popularizing mixed marriage in the local area This happened in the context of the country’s rapid economic growth and the strengthening of social-economic integration between different ethnics Mixed marriage can be considered as a factor greatly influencing traditional life of the Dao Ho community in Bao Thang Vietnam’ National Assembly passed the Law on Marriage and Family at the seventh session on June 9, 2000, and it came into force since Jan 1, 2001 According to this Law, there were specific articles directly regulating marriage of ethnic groups, which positively changed marriage culture of the Dao Ho in the context of the country’s social-economic development 3.3 Reasons for changes Customarily, culture is characterized by changes Although the core principles and forms of marriage rituals of the Dao Ho still existed, there have had changes in marriage practices in conformity with the currently living life These changes were happened due to different factors what can be listed as follows: - Political factor The resolution of the 9th Central Committee Plenum confirmed that marriage and family played an important role in establishing the cultural causes, helping to promote the country’s development comprehensively Political factor influenced greatly marriage culture 15 of all ethnic minorities, which include the Dao Ho in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province - Economic factor Economic growth can impact the living standards and conditions of local residents in Bao Thang and also other ethnic groups in Northwestern region Market mechanism influenced greatly local residents’ economic practices, and transforming the self-economic sufficiency into a mass-production system Economic improvement has allowed local communities to conduct better marriage rituals - Factor of social and culture development and integration There have many cultural traditions and communal living styles and activities well preserved in Bao Thang that were formed on principles of equality, and communal solidarity Also local ethnic minorities were open to acquire changes in their lives due to the Kinh’s influence towards tangible culture that fostered changes in cultural life, resulting in changes in marriage as well - Awareness factor It should be noted that the Dao Ho’s young people have gradually changed their understanding of marriage This was expressed not only in marriage principle and practice, the age of marriage, and matrilocal residence but also the simplification of wedding’s rituals, and offerings During the changing process, some traditional rituals were gradually removed; some new ones were introduced to These changes can obviously be seen in the Dao Ho weddings in Bao Thang rural district The introduction of the new Law on Marriage and Family, the country’s economic development, the increase in awareness of the local people all influenced marriage of the Dao Ho 16 Summary of chapter Similarly to other ethnic groups, political changes, socialeconomic-scientific development, healthcare and education advancement greatly influenced marriage rituals in general, and wedding practice of the Dao Ho in particular Currently, wedding ceremony was shortened but main steps still remained unchanged It is noted that changes varied within and between locations and classes Deep changes can be seen among young people, teachers, and State officials However, old persons still wanted to preserve traditional customs and habits that formed the core of spiritual culture of each ethnic group Above all, current life of each Dao Ho’s family is more or less affected by the Dao’s traditional customs and habits Obviously, marriage changes can be easily observed but difficultly to be explained thoroughly since each change varies between locations, levels of awareness, age, ect 17 Chapter RESULT AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Result The dissertation on marriage of the Dao Ho people in Bao Thang pointed out that there have had many traditional marriage rituals needed to be preserved and promoted among the local community However, I only focused on some specific features 4.1.1 Human value of marriage The Dao Ho’s marriage is strictly connected with family’s traditions in which people were educated to care for each other, to perform rituals and understand customs and habits correctly as agreed within the sub-group The performance of marriage rituals can reflect daily activities that are regularly resulted from different relationships within a local community and family of the Dao Ho These could be between family members, or between a family and community, or between villages 4.1.2 Social value of marriage This value not only enriches the cachet of the Dao Ho, but also promotes the integration of the local sub-group with other ethnic groups living around It could be said that marriage changes of the Dao Ho in Bao Thang are naturally corresponding to the process of building a healthy society in Vietnam The establishment of suitable marriage shall provide a solid foundation for building a happy and sustainable family, which eventually promotes the advancement of the Dao Ho people, and the whole society as well 18 4.1.3 Cultural value of marriage Marriage of the Dao Ho obviously reflected the features of social system in history This is to imply about patriarchy, and features of marriage culture of the Dao Ho and other Dao sub-groups as well For instance, bloodline is formed on paternity, children bear the father’s surname, and fathers will be the family’s decision maker The Dao Ho’s marriage showed a communal dimension in which many individuals participate at different levels and steps of wedding rituals The performance of marriage principles and rituals indicated the process of preserving and promoting cultural dimension of the Dao Ho in the form of both tangible and intangible cultures 4.1.4 Religious value of marriage Marriage of the Dao Ho expressed the belief of polytheistic religion, the theory of animism, meaning all creatures have souls The practice of worship of the third ancestors in a wedding ceremony, or marriage tie expressed the gracefulness to the previous generations Marriage rituals helped people to better understand traditional world outlook of the Dao Ho, strengthening relationships within/between families, lineage, and community 4.2 Discussion - According to this research, the majority of the Dao Ho have had a very limited awareness of current legal regulations Thus, law enforcement was not fully implemented in the local community For example, many young couples did only obtain marriage certificate when started applying the birth certificate for their first child 19 The development process of any village’s regulations should consult with customs and habits of each ethnic in order to preserve and promote precious advanced values - Local residents should be provided with basic knowledge of legal age of marriage, adolescent’s reproductive health, damaging effects of early marriage, ect People should be encouraged to use contraceptive methods in which a special attention should be for young people living in the remote areas where mass media and advocacy materials are seldom available - Conduct advocacy campaigns in terms of the country’s history, and ethnicity, ect that can help to strengthen the confidence of local people to the leadership of the Party and State, and local authorities Based on these, people shall be encouraged to increase their living standards and conditions, speeding up the process of building a strong nation - Obviously it is critical of how to detect and promote positive values/traditions, and hinder backwards ones concerning marriage Some rituals may be considered not suitable to the modern living life but still remained as necessary part of an ethnic’s culture Thus, as my understanding the decision of removing and maintaining any rituals is fairly a difficult process Increase in mixed marriage in the Dao Ho can be easily seen in different locations since young people are open to the selfdetermining process of looking for a partner, and marriage decision as stipulated in the current law on Marriage and Family of Vietnam - Based on research results and discussion, the dissertation proposes some recommendations as the following: 20 Firstly, it is necessary to speed up the process of social-economic development in the remote areas in which more efforts should aim at diversifying economic industries, and activities among the local people Secondly, social-economic-cultural development should be conformed to the promotion of traditional values and practices of each ethnic, encouraging the integration among different ethnic minorities, eventually enriching cultural heritage of the Dao Ho At the same time, there should have policies developed that advocate, educate, and promote fine cultural traditions including marriage culture Thirdly, the Government should have a strategic investment in producing advocacy campaigns with publications, audio or/and video programs, ect in ethnic languages such as the Dao Ho Advocacy materials should be suitable for each ethnic minority in terms of living conditions, customs and habits, language, and awareness, ect Fourthly, the enforcement of the Law on Marriage and Family to ethnic minorities in general and the Dao Ho in particular should be corresponding to the level of understanding of local residents, avoiding imposing legal coercion Obviously, any administrative decision that is formed without consultation of ethnic characters may result in unexpected consequences Summary of chapter Departing from the above-mentioned chapters with the literature review, the theoretical framework, and the introduction, the dissertation provided general information of concepts, principles, characteristics and rituals of traditional weddings, changes in 21 marriage of the Dao Ho living in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province since the introduction of the Doi moi policy Each part of the dissertation is presented in accordance with the objectives of the outline mentioned before This chapter mainly explained the results obtained from previous chapters It also analyzed some key issues and proposed recommendations to preserve and promote cultural values of marriage 22 CONCLUSION Study results of the Dao Ho’s marriage in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province partly indicated both similar and different characters between the Dao Ho and the other Dao sub-groups The resolution of the fifth session of the Central Committee Plenum confirmed that: “Vietnam is a nation of different ethnic minorities… each ethnic has its own identity, forming the diversification and plentifulness of Vietnam’s cultural system…” This was reaffirmed in the resolution of the ninth session of the Central Committee Plenum It pointed out that the culture of ethnic minorities, including the Dao Ho in Bao Thang rural district in particular and the Dao in general, is a necessary component to the cultural development of the country Thus, the study of marriage of the Dao Ho people in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province provides not only a theoretical contribution, but also result-based evidences to preserve traditional values concerning marriage industry in Vietnam Scientifically, the research results introduced a record on the Dao Ho in Bao Thang, Lao Cai, and also for the Northwestern region which helped ethnologists and anthropologists to have a broader view on this topic The research results can be used for comparing with the academic papers to evaluate marriage rituals of the Dao subgroups in different locations Departing from the anthropological/ethnological approaches, I realized that marriage of the Dao Ho people consists of highly distinguished cultural features They deeply imply concepts, principles, and features of the local people, which were developed and preserved by each local group Marriage rituals of the Dao Ho 23 can be used not only for distinguishing the different Dao sub-groups but also contributing to the diversification of the culture of the Dao in Vietnam Obviously, the Dao Ho in Bao Thang has had their distinguished cultural identity However, due to both subjective and objective reasons, many traditional values were gradually lost in oblivion Thus, there is a need of further investigation of all-aspect of marriage, promoting precious traditions and removing backward customs and habits is an important movement nowadays This process will help to create a solid foundation for building up a village’s regulations for a new life style, and maintaining the living conditions and the identity of the Dao Ho in particular and the Dao in general Systematic investigation of marriage and its changes in the context of the rapid economic growth and social-economic integration is a necessary assignment, which shall provide scientific evidence to preserve and promote the cultural dimensions of the ethnic As a result, it helps to enrich the cultural values of all ethnic minorities in Vietnam The study on traditional marriage of the Dao Ho in Bao Thang provides more in-depth understanding of the history of the ethnic development, the interference and acculturation between the Dao and the other ethnic groups, the manifestation of tangible and intangible cultural values concerning marriage ritual, philosophy and destiny of each individual, responsibilities and duties of each family member and with the community, the values of consolidating all members within family and village Therefore, it can be concluded that further investigation of the Dao Ho’s marriage should be implemented soon 24 Since the application of the reform policy in 1986, marriage culture of the Dao Ho in Bao Thang has changed greatly Basically, these changes happened in accordance with economic and social improvement and introduction of the new Law on Marriage and Family, the guideline and policies of the Party and the Government of Vietnam However, living conditions and life styles of the Dao Ho people are actually influenced by a set of their own customs and habits These could be principles and conception of love, criteria for selecting a partner in life All these things have been long cultivated and accepted in the mindset of the Dao Ho over time Thus, it cannot be expected a sudden change in behavior and practice in their living activities Thus, it needs more thought to set up a comprehensive development process for the local residents but still maintaining precious traditional values of each ethnic During the cause of the social-economic development in the Dao-dominated area in general and the Dao Ho’s area in particular the Government of Vietnam should know how to preserve and promote traditional heritage and acculturation among different ethnics which enrich the cultural characters of ethnic minorities Furthermore, there should have policies and solutions to advocate, educate and encourage local communities to preserve values of traditional culture, including the dimensions of marriage culture It is also necessary to promote the performance of traditional dressings in the major events at household and community levels, to maintain rituals based on the human identity, spread folk-songs and beautiful hints concerning marriage to younger generations to strengthen the harmony, solidarity, and carefulness, and mutual supporting between/within family and community 25 The government should adequately invest in developing advocacy campaigns suitable to the Dao group and other ethnic groups in the remote areas Priority should be given to small subgroups in which communication materials should have lively and attractive pictures, warnings of negative consequences of closeblood line marriage, and early marriage, high-valued wedding challenges, ect This work can be done when having the active involvement of different agencies and mass organizations such as Women’s Union, Youth’s Union, Farmers’ Union, and village’s head, ect Furthermore, women and girls should be given more opportunities to participate at social work and education/training, and family planning services All these practices not only empower women’s and girl’s status, but also acknowledge for their contribution Referring to practical knowledge and the results obtained from this dissertation, I would like to suggest some research topics for further investigation in the future as the following - Continue examining marriage of the Dao Ho in the other locations in both Yen Bai and Lao Cai provinces that shall bring about scientific evidences for preserving and promoting traditional wedding values in the process of creating a new-modern life in the regions of the Dao Ho people - Conduct in-depth analysis and comparative study between the Dao Ho and the Dao Quan Trang, and some other Dao sub-groups, which allowed explaining the diversity and plentifulness of the Dao’s culture 26 AUTHOR’S PUBLICATIONS CONCERNING RESEARCH TOPIC Chu Quang Cuong (2015), “Some marriage customs and habits of the Dao Ho people in Son Ha commune, Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province”, Social Sciences Information Review, No 390, p 43-48 Chu Quang Cuong (2015), “Traditional marriage rituals of the Dao Ho people in Son Ha commune, Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province”, Culture and Arts Review, No 376, p 34-39 Chu Quang Cuong (2015), “Some changes in marriage of the Dao Ho people in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province”, Regional Sustainable Development Review, No 2, p 85-93 [...]... reaffirmed in the resolution of the ninth session of the Central Committee Plenum It pointed out that the culture of ethnic minorities, including the Dao Ho in Bao Thang rural district in particular and the Dao in general, is a necessary component to the cultural development of the country Thus, the study of marriage of the Dao Ho people in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province provides not only a theoretical... commune, Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province , Social Sciences Information Review, No 390, p 43-48 2 Chu Quang Cuong (2015), “Traditional marriage rituals of the Dao Ho people in Son Ha commune, Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province , Culture and Arts Review, No 376, p 34-39 3 Chu Quang Cuong (2015), “Some changes in marriage of the Dao Ho people in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province ,... promoting cultural dimension of the Dao Ho in the form of both tangible and intangible cultures 4.1.4 Religious value of marriage Marriage of the Dao Ho expressed the belief of polytheistic religion, the theory of animism, meaning all creatures have souls The practice of worship of the third ancestors in a wedding ceremony, or marriage tie expressed the gracefulness to the previous generations Marriage. .. Referring to practical knowledge and the results obtained from this dissertation, I would like to suggest some research topics for further investigation in the future as the following - Continue examining marriage of the Dao Ho in the other locations in both Yen Bai and Lao Cai provinces that shall bring about scientific evidences for preserving and promoting traditional wedding values in the process of. .. dimensions of the ethnic As a result, it helps to enrich the cultural values of all ethnic minorities in Vietnam 3 The study on traditional marriage of the Dao Ho in Bao Thang provides more in- depth understanding of the history of the ethnic development, the interference and acculturation between the Dao and the other ethnic groups, the manifestation of tangible and intangible cultural values concerning marriage. .. in marriage principle and practice, the age of marriage, and matrilocal residence but also the simplification of wedding’s rituals, and offerings During the changing process, some traditional rituals were gradually removed; some new ones were introduced to These changes can obviously be seen in the Dao Ho weddings in Bao Thang rural district The introduction of the new Law on Marriage and Family, the. .. creating a new-modern life in the regions of the Dao Ho people - Conduct in- depth analysis and comparative study between the Dao Ho and the Dao Quan Trang, and some other Dao sub-groups, which allowed explaining the diversity and plentifulness of the Dao s culture 26 AUTHOR’S PUBLICATIONS CONCERNING RESEARCH TOPIC 1 Chu Quang Cuong (2015), “Some marriage customs and habits of the Dao Ho people in Son... philosophy and destiny of each individual, responsibilities and duties of each family member and with the community, the values of consolidating all members within family and village Therefore, it can be concluded that further investigation of the Dao Ho s marriage should be implemented soon 24 4 Since the application of the reform policy in 1986, marriage culture of the Dao Ho in Bao Thang has changed... culture of the Dao Ho and other Dao sub-groups as well For instance, bloodline is formed on paternity, children bear the father’s surname, and fathers will be the family’s decision maker The Dao Ho s marriage showed a communal dimension in which many individuals participate at different levels and steps of wedding rituals The performance of marriage principles and rituals indicated the process of preserving... in establishing the cultural causes, helping to promote the country’s development comprehensively Political factor influenced greatly marriage culture 15 of all ethnic minorities, which include the Dao Ho in Bao Thang rural district, Lao Cai province - Economic factor Economic growth can impact the living standards and conditions of local residents in Bao Thang and also other ethnic groups in Northwestern