Who are the Co Ho and where does their name come from?
The Co Ho are one of the 54 ethnic groups recognized in Vietnam, with the self-designated name Co Ho. According to the List of Ethnic Groups of Vietnam, this group is also known as Co-ho, and includes the local subgroups Xre, Nop (Tu Nop), Co Don, Chil, Lat (Lach) and To Ring (Tring). It is important to distinguish clearly: these are local subgroups within one ethnic group, not separate ethnic groups.
Historically, the Co Ho have a long history of residence in the Central Highlands. This is information recorded consistently in sources on the Co Ho people.
What is the current population of the Co Ho?
According to the Survey of 53 Ethnic Minorities dated 1 April 2019, the Co Ho population is 200,800. Earlier, according to the 2009 Population and Housing Census, the Co Ho population was 166,112. The difference between the two figures reflects both natural population growth and changes in survey methodology between the two periods.
Where do the Co Ho live?
The Co Ho live mainly in Lam Dong. According to the list of ethnic groups of Vietnam, the residence area of the Co-ho includes Lam Dong, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan and Khanh Hoa. Thus, beyond the central area of Lam Dong, the Co Ho also live in several coastal provinces of the South Central region.
What is special about traditional Co Ho housing?
The Co Ho live in long stilt houses with two curved thatched roofs, with woven walls leaning outward and bound with thatch to protect against cold, and a ladder at the front entrance. Inside, on the rear wall opposite the entrance, are rows of jars, baskets for belongings and an altar. All family activities such as eating, resting and receiving guests take place around the hearth.
Which language family does the Co Ho language belong to?
The Co Ho language belongs to the Mon-Khmer language group, Austroasiatic language family. This is one of the language groups present early and widely distributed in mainland Southeast Asia.
In the early 20th century, a Co Ho script was created using the Latin alphabet. Although it has been revised many times and used for teaching in some schools, this script has not become deeply widespread in the community.
What activities did the traditional economy of the Co Ho rely on?
Except for the Xre group, who practice wet rice farming as their name indicates (Xre means wet field), the other groups practice swidden farming (mir) in cycles. Overall, the techniques and tools of Co Ho swidden farming do not differ from other ethnic groups in the Central Highlands, but the Chil group uses a different tool called P'hal for dibbling seeds. The P'hal has a long wooden handle, a flat iron blade about 28 cm long and about 3 to 4 cm wide, used when one person both makes the hole and drops the seed.
In Xre areas, the characteristic soil-working tool is the wooden plough (ngal) with a flat base, wooden blade (later iron blade) and a wooden-toothed harrow (Sokam). The plough, harrow and Kor (a tool for leveling the field surface) are all pulled by two buffalo. Rice is the main food crop and main cultivated plant, but usually on a swidden plot people also plant maize, cassava, gourds, pumpkins, luffa and beans.
The Co Ho raise livestock manually. Since practicing rice farming, they have raised buffalo and cattle for draught power, while most livestock are raised for sacrifice in rituals. Basketry and blacksmithing are practiced by someone in almost every family, but weaving is common only among the Chil group. Hunting, fishing, gathering and forest products remain very common.
How do the Co Ho dress and go about daily life?
Families usually eat three meals. Previously, rice and soup were cooked in bamboo tubes, later in clay, copper and cast-iron pots. Dishes are prepared dry to suit the habit of eating with the hands. Soup is a dish of vegetables mixed with rice fragments, often with added chili, salt, and meat or fish that is braised, boiled or cooked with young banana. Drinks are spring water stored in gourds and jars. Rượu cần (tornom) is much favored at feasts and festivals, made from rice, maize and cassava mixed with yeast from forest plants. Tobacco is dried leaves rolled together.
In terms of clothing, men wear loincloths and women wear short skirts. The loincloth is a long piece of cloth 1.5 to 2 m wide, with vertical stripe patterns. The skirt is a piece of cloth wrapped once around the body and tucked at the waist, with a black background and white patterned stripes running along the body of the skirt. When it is cold, people wrap themselves in a blanket (ui). Jewelry includes necklaces, bracelets, beads and ear-stretching earrings. Baskets are used for going to the fields, going to market, and storing rice and maize, with lidded and unlidded types, tall large ones for adults and small low ones for children.
What is notable about the traditional social organization of the Co Ho?
The village (bon) is a rural commune still bearing strong traces of the matrilineal clan commune. The head of a village is the village chief (Kuang bon). In densely populated areas, a voluntary alliance between villages forms, headed by a leader called M'drong.
The Co Ho still maintain two forms of family: large family and small family. However, the large family is currently in the process of dissolution and the small family form is becoming increasingly common, especially in prosperous areas, along national highways, and near towns and townships.
Family organization follows the matrilineal system. Women play the active role in marriage; after the wedding, the son goes to live with his wife's family; children take their lineage from the mother's side. Co Ho young men and women build families quite early (women usually 16 to 17 years old, men 18 to 20 years old), and according to sources, this is one of the reasons the Co Ho birth rate is quite high, with an average woman bearing about 5 to 6 children.
How are the worship customs of the Co Ho carried out?
The Co Ho believe that all aspects of life are decided by supernatural forces. In their conception, one side is the deities (Yang) who always protect people, and conversely there is also a side of spirits (Cha) who often cause disasters. Therefore, for almost any work or event (farming, marriage, funerals, illness), the Co Ho often must make offerings to pray. People believe the gods very much enjoy eating meat and drinking wine, but depending on the importance of the ceremony, people sacrifice live buffalo, pigs, goats or chickens along with wine.
The altar (nao) is usually placed in the most solemn and respectful place in the house. Altars formerly made of carved wooden planks almost no longer exist; today people can still recognize the worship place thanks to branches and rice ears hung on the roof opposite the entrance.
Among Co Ho rituals, those related to each farming task such as sowing rice, when rice flowers, threshing rice and storing rice in the granary are the most important and are conducted more frequently.
What is the main festival of the Co Ho?
Every year, when the harvest is finished (usually December in the solar calendar), the Co Ho hold a New Year celebration. Usually, families take turns each year to offer a buffalo for the village to hold the buffalo-stabbing ceremony on this occasion. The ceremony is held outdoors in front of the offering family's house, in front of the village chief's house or on a large, flat, high piece of land of the village, with a brightly decorated ceremonial pole, and everyone dances to the sound of gongs. The buffalo meat is divided among each family, while buffalo blood is smeared on the foreheads of participants as a blessing. The New Year festival lasts 7 to 10 days. During the festival days, villagers visit each family to celebrate together. After the festival, people may eat new rice and carry out necessary tasks such as building houses and moving villages.
What features does Co Ho folk art and culture have?
The Co Ho folk literary and artistic heritage is very rich. Poetry is lyrical and full of musicality. Some traditional dances are often performed at festivals. Traditional musical instruments such as the set of 6 gongs, the gourd pipe (Komboat), the bamboo tube zither (Korla) and the drum (Sogor) can harmonize with singing or be played solo.
Summary table of basic information about the Co Ho people
| Criterion | Information |
|---|---|
| Self-designated name | Co Ho |
| Other name | Co-ho |
| Local subgroups | Xre, Nop (Tu Nop), Co Don, Chil, Lat (Lach), To Ring (Tring) |
| Population | 200,800 (1 April 2019 survey); 166,112 (2009 census) |
| Language | Mon-Khmer language group, Austroasiatic language family |
| Residence area | Lam Dong, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Khanh Hoa |
| Social organization | Village (bon), village chief (Kuang bon), village alliance (M'drong), matrilineal system |
| Worship | Deities (Yang) and spirits (Cha), altar (nao) |
| Main festival | Post-harvest New Year festival, buffalo-stabbing ceremony, agricultural rituals |
| Musical instruments | 6 gongs, gourd pipe (Komboat), bamboo tube zither (Korla), drum (Sogor) |
How do the Co Ho relate to other ethnic groups in the Central Highlands?
The Co Ho are one of the ethnic groups with a long history of residence in the Central Highlands, alongside other groups such as Gia Rai, Ede, Ba Na, Mnong, Ma and Xo Dang. These groups live intermingled in the same large territory, with many similarities in farming techniques, worship systems and festivals tied to the agricultural cycle. However, each group still retains its own characteristics in language, social organization and specific rituals.
A notable point is that despite many similarities, the local subgroups within the Co Ho also have certain differences, for example the Xre practice wet rice farming while other groups practice swidden farming, or weaving is common only among the Chil. These differences are natural features of an ethnic group with many local subgroups living in different areas, not a matter of superiority or inferiority.
Challenges and changes in the lives of the Co Ho today
According to sources on the community of Vietnamese ethnic groups, some ethnic minorities face many challenges such as social stratification, wealth gaps, traditional cultural values tending to fade, and low quality of human resources. This is the general context of many ethnic minorities, including the Co Ho.
Culturally, some traditional elements of the Co Ho have changed over time. For example, altars formerly made of carved wooden planks almost no longer exist, and today the worship place is recognized only by branches and rice ears hung on the roof. The large family form is in the process of dissolution, giving way to the small family. The Co Ho script was created in the early 20th century but has not become deeply widespread.
These changes should be viewed as a natural process of social movement, not as an evaluation of the cultural value of this ethnic group compared with others.
