Who are the Chut and where do they live?
The Chut are one of Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups, with the autonym Chut and other names including Ruc, Arem and Sach. According to the official list of Vietnam's ethnic groups, the Chut comprise the local subgroups May, Ruc, Sach, Arem and Ma Lieng. Their main area of residence is the mountainous region of Quang Binh Province, specifically in Bo Trach, Quang Trach and Minh Hoa districts.
According to the Survey of 53 Ethnic Minorities dated 1 April 2019, the Chut population is 7,513 people. Earlier, according to the 2009 Population and Housing Census, the figure was 6,022 people.
Historical origins of the Chut
The ancestral homeland of the Chut lies within the residence area of the Viet people in Bo Trach and Quang Trach districts, Quang Binh Province. Because of war and heavy taxes, they fled to the mountains for refuge, and some gradually moved deeper into the western areas of Minh Hoa and Bo Trach districts. According to the genealogies of some Viet lineages in the region, the Ruc and Sach groups have lived in these mountains for at least 500 years.
Which language group does the Chut language belong to?
The Chut language belongs to the Viet-Muong language group of the Austroasiatic family. This is notable because while many ethnic minorities in Vietnam belong to other language groups such as Mon-Khmer, Tay-Thai or Mong-Dao, the Chut share a language group with the Kinh and the Muong.
Production activities and economic life
The Chut live by shifting slash-and-burn agriculture and by hunting and gathering. Except for the Sach group, who live by farming, the other groups regard gathering and hunting as an important source of livelihood, even the main one in years of crop failure. The main crops are maize, cassava, beans and rice.
Production tools include axes, machetes and digging sticks; where fields are cultivated there are also ploughs and harrows. Since settling down, the Chut have raised buffaloes and cattle for ploughing and draught power. Basketry mainly serves household consumption. In some places they also know how to forge knives and axes.
The Chut (Ruc group) are famous for their technique of climbing trees to collect honey from hives high in the canopy. They climb using rattan ropes, each step being a loop tied around the trunk with a place for the foot. As they climb, they tie each loop of the ladder.
Food and drink
Staple food is mainly maize and cassava. They eat two meals a day, at noon and in the evening. In years of crop failure they have to eat canna starch (nhuc flour) cooked in place of rice all year round.
Clothing
The Chut do not know how to weave; cloth is bought or exchanged with the Viet or Lao people in the border area. In summer, men wear loincloths and go bare-chested; women wear skirts. In winter they wear garments made from tree bark. Today they dress like the Viet.
Housing
The Chut are used to living in huts tied with ropes, using forked posts, or in rock shelters and rock overhangs. Until before 1954, the Ruc and Arem groups mainly still lived in rock caves and overhangs. Today they live together in small hamlets in valleys, and their houses are more spacious than before.
A striking feature of the Chut stilt house (Arem group) is the two khau cut ornaments placed at the two ends of the roof ridge. The khau cut is made from two pieces of bamboo or wood tied crosswise at a right angle. The upper half is sharpened to a point, the lower half is tied to the roof rafter. The khau cut not only keeps the roof end from being blown over by wind but also has a basic social meaning: a sign for recognising fellow members of the same ethnic group.
Traditional social organisation
The Chut call a village Ca Ven. Each village usually has only five to seven or ten families of one lineage. Sometimes families of one lineage live in several different villages. The head of each village is the Pu Ca Ven, who also holds the religious role. The small patriarchal family is the most common form, each household consisting only of husband, wife and unmarried children.
The most important collective activity in the village takes place on the occasions of agricultural festivals. Children love playing on swings; the Chut often make swings for small children under large shady trees, hanging them right on the branches.
Chut worship customs
Ancestors are worshipped at the house of the lineage head. When the lineage head dies, the worship passes to the next younger brother. Only when no one of the older generations remains does the worship pass to a person of the younger generation.
The Chut believe in forest spirits, stream spirits, the kitchen god and the kitchen spirit, of which the most important is the village spirit. The agricultural rituals usually performed include the sowing ceremony, the post-sowing ceremony, the rice-spirit offering and the harvest celebration.
Marriage and childbirth according to custom
Boys and girls of mature age are free to court and love. Before marriage, the groom's family must choose a matchmaker and go to ask for the girl's hand several times. The wedding is held at the bride's house, after which the bride is brought home. The most important offering that must be present is dried monkey meat. The Chut do not have the custom of the groom living with the bride's family.
Regarding childbirth, as the due date approaches, the husband usually builds a small hut for his wife out in the forest. Occasionally he visits, bringing food and drink for her. Women are used to giving birth standing up and managing everything themselves. After giving birth, the mother herself lights a fire, heats a river stone in advance and pours cold water on it to make steam for a smoke bath. After 7 days, the husband comes to bring his wife and child home.
As for funerals, rich families make coffins by hollowing out a tree trunk; poor families simply wrap the deceased in tree bark.
Arts and folk games
The Chut enjoy playing the lute and flute and singing various melodies. They have many fairy tales and myths, especially stories about the creation of heaven and earth and the birth of humankind. During festivals, children play shuttlecock made from chicken feathers and play gang; adults play the flute and sing.
Summary table of basic information about the Chut
| Criterion | Information |
|---|---|
| Autonym | Chut |
| Other names | Ruc, Arem, Sach |
| Local subgroups | May, Ruc, Sach, Arem, Ma Lieng |
| Population | 7,513 people (Survey of 53 Ethnic Minorities, 1 April 2019) |
| Language | Viet-Muong language group (Austroasiatic family) |
| Area of residence | Quang Binh |
| Main production activities | Shifting slash-and-burn agriculture, hunting and gathering |
| Main crops | Maize, cassava, beans, rice |
| Main beliefs | Ancestor worship, belief in forest spirits, stream spirits, the kitchen god, the kitchen spirit, the village spirit |
| Agricultural rituals | Sowing ceremony, post-sowing ceremony, rice-spirit offering, harvest celebration |
The place of the Chut among the 54 ethnic groups
According to the official list of Vietnam's ethnic groups issued with Decision No. 121-TCTK/PPCD of 2 March 1979, the Chut are one of the 54 recognised ethnic groups. In this list, the Chut rank 43rd, with other names Xa La Vang, Cha Cui (Tac Cui), Tu Vang, Pa Leng, and small groups including Sach, May, Ruc, Ma Lieng, Arem, Xo-lang and Umo.
Ethnic minorities in Vietnam live across all regions of the country but mainly in high mountainous, border, remote and far-flung areas. The Chut, together with other ethnic minorities in the North Central and South Central Coast regions, contribute to the cultural diversity of this land.
