Who are the Dao and where do they come from?
The Dao are one of Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups, self-named Kim Mien and Kim Mun, meaning forest people, and also called Man. Per the April 1, 2019 survey of 53 ethnic minorities, the Dao population is 891,151.
Historically, the Dao originated in China, with migration into Vietnam spanning from the 12th and 13th centuries to the first half of the 20th century. They consider themselves descendants of Ban Ho, also called Ban Vuong, a legendary and sacred figure widely revered among the Dao.
In the official list of Vietnam's ethnic groups, the Dao are the ninth group, with local subgroups including Dao Dai Ban, Dao Do, Dao Coc Ngang, Dao Coc Mun, Dao Lo Gang, Dao Quan Chet, Dao Tam Dao, Dao Tien, Dao Quan Trang, Dao Lan Tien, and Dao Ao Dai.
Where do the Dao live?
The Dao generally live on mid-slope mountains across most northern mountainous provinces. Some groups, such as the Dao Quan Trang, live in valleys, while the Dao Do live on high mountains.
According to Vietnam's ethnic group list, Dao residence areas include Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Cao Bang, Lang Son, Bac Thai, Lai Chau, Son La, Vinh Phu, Ha Bac, Thanh Hoa, Quang Ninh, Hoa Binh, and Ha Tay.
Dao villages are mostly dispersed and scattered, with five to seven households. Dao houses vary widely: depending on the area, they may be ground-level houses, stilt houses, or half-stilt, half-ground houses.
Which language family does the Dao language belong to?
The Dao language belongs to the Hmong-Dao language family. Most Dao villages have people who know Han characters and Dao Nom script. They learn the script to read ritual books, story books, and poetry.
The Dao habitually use the lunar calendar to calculate production and daily activities. This is an important factor in determining the timing of rituals and farming seasons.
How do the local subgroups of the Dao differ?
Dao subgroups are distinguished mainly by clothing and living area. The table below compares some local subgroups according to the Digital Transformation Center of the Committee for Ethnic Minority and Religious Affairs.
| Local subgroup | Other names | Recorded features |
|---|---|---|
| Dao Do | Dao Coc Ngang, Dao Sung, Dao Du Lay, Dao Dai Ban | Rock-hole swidden farming, living on high mountains |
| Dao Quan Chet | Dao Son Dau, Dao Tam Dao, Dao Nga Hoang, Du Cun | A common Dao group in mid-slope mountain areas |
| Dao Lo Gang | Dao Thanh Phan, Dao Coc Mun | One of the Dao groups in the northern mountains |
| Dao Tien | Dao Deo Tien, Dao Tieu Ban | Known for making ban paper |
| Dao Quan Trang | Dao Ho | Live in valleys, specialize in wet rice farming |
| Dao Thanh Y | Specialize in wet rice farming | |
| Dao Lan Ten | Dao Tuyen, Dao Ao Dai | Specialize in wet rice farming |
This division is relative, since groups may live interspersed in the same area and share overlapping cultural traits.
What livelihoods do the Dao practice?
Swiddens, rock-hole farming, and wet rice fields are common forms of cultivation among the Dao. Depending on the group and region, one or another form may predominate.
Specifically, the Dao Quan Trang, Dao Ao Dai, and Dao Thanh Y specialize in wet rice. The Dao Do practice rock-hole farming. Most other Dao groups do shifting or settled swidden farming. Main food crops are rice and maize, with important vegetables such as gourds, pumpkins, and potatoes. They raise buffalo, cattle, pigs, and chickens; in mid-slope and highland areas they also raise horses and goats.
Cotton growing and weaving are common among Dao groups. They prefer indigo-dyed fabric. Most villages have forges to repair farm tools. Many places also make flintlock and matchlock guns and cast iron bullets. Silversmithing is a hereditary craft, mainly making jewelry such as necklaces, anklets, bracelets, earrings, rings, silver chains, and betel boxes.
The Dao Do and Dao Tien make ban paper. Ban paper is used to copy ritual books, story books, song books, or for rituals such as writing petitions and spirit money. Many places press oil for lighting or cooking, and make molasses.
What is distinctive about Dao worship customs?
The Dao hold indigenous folk beliefs and agricultural rituals while also being deeply influenced by Confucianism, Buddhism, and especially Daoism. Ban Vuong is considered the ancestor of the Dao and is worshipped together with each family's ancestors.
By tradition, all men who reach adulthood must undergo the cap sac rite. This ritual is both Daoist in character and carries traces of the ancient coming-of-age ceremony.
In villages, neighborhood and clan relations predominate. The Dao have many surnames, most commonly Ban, Dang, and Trieu. Clans and sub-clans usually have their own genealogies and middle-name systems to distinguish people of different generations.
What is the cap sac rite and how is it performed?
The cap sac rite is a traditional ceremony for Dao men reaching adulthood. It marks the man's recognition as a full member of the community with a role in religious rituals.
Funeral rites for the dead take place after several years and are often combined with a cap sac rite for a living man in the family. The ceremony lasts three days: the first day is the breaking of hell and releasing the soul of the dead; the second is bathing the dead with fragrant flowers before bringing the soul to the family ancestor altar; the third is the cap sac rite. The dead are worshipped and their souls sent back to the old homeland in Yangzhou.
The tao priest holds an important position in funerals and funeral rites. When a family has a death, the children go to the priest's house to invite him to preside over rituals and find land for the grave.
What are Dao marriage and childbirth customs?
In marriage, a young man and woman who wish to marry must have their ages compared and chicken feet divined to see if they are compatible. There is a custom of string tying and antiphonal singing between the groom's and bride's families before entering the house, and singing at the wedding. When welcoming the bride, she is carried out of the bride's house and must step over scissors enchanted by the ritual master before entering the groom's house.
Regarding childbirth, women give birth sitting, right in the bedroom. Newborns are bathed in warm water. When a household has a woman in confinement, people hang green branches or banana flowers at the door to mark that strangers should not enter, for fear that harmful spirits may affect the baby's health. Three days after birth, a ritual for the midwife is held.
What is distinctive about Dao clothing and patterns?
In the past, men wore long hair tied in a bun at the nape or a long topknot on the crown with shaved sides. Dao groups usually have different ways of wearing headscarves. There are two types of shirts: long and short.
Dao women dress very diversely, often wearing long tunics with bibs, skirts, or trousers. Their clothing is very colorful. They do not follow pre-drawn patterns on fabric but rely entirely on memory, embroidering on the reverse side so the pattern stands out on the right side. Many motifs appear, such as the swastika, pine trees, birds, people, animals, and leaves.
The method of printing patterns on fabric with beeswax among the Dao is very distinctive. To create a design, they use a drawing pen or dip a printing block into melted beeswax and print it on the fabric. After indigo dyeing, the pattern appears light blue where the beeswax layer prevented the indigo from penetrating. Dao Do women coil their hair and wrap a scarf on the crown; their clothing has colorful embroidered patterns on the collar, and the chest bib is decorated with eight-petaled flowers embossed in silver.
What folk arts and games do the Dao have?
The Dao have a rich folk arts heritage, with many ancient tales, songs, and poetry. In particular, the story of the Gourd and the great flood and the Legend of Ban Vuong are very popular among the Dao. Dance and music are used mainly in religious rituals.
The Dao enjoy playing swings, spinning tops, and walking on stilts. For transport, highland Dao are accustomed to using a carrying frame with two shoulder straps, while lowland Dao carry goods with a pair of baskets on a pole. Cloth bags or net bags worn over the shoulder are very popular.
How do the Dao eat and go about daily life?
The Dao usually eat two main meals a day, lunch and dinner. Only during busy harvest days do they add breakfast. The Dao mainly eat rice; in some places they eat more maize than rice or eat porridge.
The rice mill commonly used is a wooden mill studded with bamboo slats. There are many types of mortars, such as cylindrical wooden mortars, trough mortars pounded with hand pestles, foot-powered mortars, and water-powered mortars. They like boiled meat, dried and sour-marinated meat dishes, and sour bamboo shoot soup. After eating, people avoid leaving chopsticks across the bowl rim because that is a sign of a death in the house.
Distilled liquor is common; in some places they drink hoang, an undistilled liquor that is sour and only mildly spicy. The Dao often smoke cigarettes and pipe tobacco with a pipe or a small bowl pipe.
How do the Dao choose land for building a house?
To build a house, the Dao must examine the ages of family members, especially the household head. The land-choosing ritual is considered important.
In the evening, they dig a hole the size of a bowl mouth, arrange grains of rice representing people, buffalo, cattle, money, rice, and property, then cover it with a bowl. Based on that night's dream, they determine whether the omen is bad or good. The next morning they check the hole; if the grains of rice remain in place, the land is suitable for building.
Origins and local subgroups of the Dao in the official list
In the official list of Vietnam's ethnic groups, the Dao are one ethnic group with many local subgroups. It is important to distinguish clearly: groups such as Dao Do, Dao Quan Trang, and Dao Thanh Y are local subgroups within the Dao ethnic group, not separate ethnic groups.
This classification is consistent with Decision No. 121-TCTK/PPCD dated March 2, 1979 of the General Statistics Office, according to which Vietnam has exactly 54 ethnic groups. Names such as Man, Dong, Trai, Diu, Mien, Kiem, and Kim Mun are other names that have been used to refer to the Dao.
What to note when learning about the Dao
Information on the Dao population differs between surveys. According to the 2009 Population and Housing Census, the Dao population was 751,067. According to the April 1, 2019 survey of 53 ethnic minorities, the figure is 891,151. The difference reflects natural population growth and different survey methods.
When learning about Dao customs, note that descriptions in sources are often based on records from certain localities or specific groups. One should not attribute all the customs mentioned to every Dao group in every area, because practices differ between groups and regions.
