TL;DR: The Lô Lô are one of Vietnam's 54 recognised ethnic groups, with a population of 4,827 recorded in 2019, living mainly in Đồng Văn and Mèo Vạc (Hà Giang), Bảo Lạc (Cao Bằng) and Muong Khương (Lào Cai). They speak a Tibeto-Burman language closer to Burmese, and are divided into two local groups, the Flowery Lô Lô and the Black Lô Lô. They worship ancestors using wooden figure tablets with faces painted in black charcoal, celebrate Lunar New Year, the New Rice festival, Doan Ngo and the fifteenth of the seventh lunar month, and are notable for keeping bronze drums in funeral rites.
Who are the Lô Lô people and where do they live?
The Lô Lô are one of the 54 ethnic groups recognised in Vietnam under the List of Ethnic Groups issued with Decision No. 121-TCTK/PPCD dated 2 March 1979. Their self-name is Lô Lô, and they are also known by other names such as Mùn Di, Di, Màn Di, La La, Qua La, O Man and Lu Lộc Màn. The Lô Lô have two main local groups, the Flowery Lô Lô and the Black Lô Lô. These are local groups of the same ethnic group, not separate ethnic groups.
According to the Survey of 53 Ethnic Minorities dated 1 April 2019, the Lô Lô population is 4,827. Earlier, the 2009 Population and Housing Census recorded 4,541.
In terms of residence, the Lô Lô live mainly in the districts of Đồng Văn and Mèo Vạc (formerly of Hà Giang province, now part of Tuyên Quang province), Bảo Lạc (Cao Bằng province) and Mường Khương (Lào Cai province). They are among the earliest inhabitants of the far north of Hà Giang. The list of Vietnam's ethnic groups published by the Government Portal also records the Lô Lô's residence as covering Hà Giang, Cao Bằng and Lào Cai.
What types of houses do the Lô Lô live in?
Depending on the locality, the Lô Lô live in three types of house: ground houses, stilt houses, or houses that are half stilt and half ground. Most Lô Lô live in ground houses with walls, residing in separate family compounds. Each compound has its own kitchen and livestock pen. Today, each compound is surrounded by a stone wall with a gate.
What is special about the Lô Lô language and script?
The Lô Lô language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman branch (Sino-Tibetan family), and according to CEMA, it is closer to Burmese. This is a notable linguistic feature, since most ethnic minorities in Vietnam's northern mountains belong to other families such as Austroasiatic, Tai-Kadai or Hmong-Mien.
As for writing, around the 14th century the Lô Lô had a pictographic script with 140 radicals. They combined radicals to express meaning. The script was written on thin wooden boards, animal skins or thick, coarse paper. Today only a few families still keep a few fragments with that script, and few people can read it.
What do the Lô Lô worship?
The Lô Lô worship ancestors, parents and deceased relatives. On the altar are wooden figure tablets with faces painted in black charcoal. Spirits hold an important place in the spiritual life of the Lô Lô.
A clear distinction should be made between religious practice and claims about efficacy. These are cultural practices tied to beliefs about ancestors and the spiritual world, described as part of the community's spiritual life.
Clan relations and the role of the community
The Lô Lô live in relatively stable villages, and their ethnic community spirit is clearly expressed. There are more than 30 different clans. Each clan usually gathers within one village, worships a common ancestor and has its own burial area within the common cemetery of the commune.
The Lô Lô favour marriage within their ethnic group and apply the principle of exogamy between clans. This means marriage takes place within the Lô Lô ethnic group but must be between different clans. Regarding wedding customs, CEMA records that Lô Lô weddings were heavily transactional, with high bride prices (silver, alcohol, meat and so on). After marriage, the bride resides with the husband's family. A woman's son may marry her brother's daughter, but not the reverse.
What role does the bronze drum play in Lô Lô funerals?
Lô Lô funerals involve many unique rituals such as disguise, dancing and wrestling. Traces of headhunting are still fairly visible in the practice of a person always carrying a cloth bag containing a piece of wood or a gourd painted with a human face during funerals.
The most distinctive feature of Lô Lô culture is the use of the bronze drum. They are one of the few ethnic groups in the country today that still use bronze drums in daily life. The bronze drum is a traditional instrument of the Lô Lô, linked to the myth of the great flood. The story goes that long ago there was a great flood, and the water rose up to the sky. Two sisters were saved by heaven, the elder entering a large bronze drum and the younger a small one. The two sisters survived because the drums floated on the water. When the flood ended, they lived on the mountain and became husband and wife. They are the ancestors of reborn humanity.
As a musical instrument, the bronze drum is used only at funerals, keeping the rhythm for the community's folk dances. The concept of yin and yang and of fertility is perhaps most clearly preserved in the practice of playing two drums, male and female, at the same time. The drums are hung on a frame placed at the feet of the deceased, with the faces of the two drums turned toward each other. The drummer stands in the middle, holding a stick and striking with both ends, one end striking one drum. Only men who are unmarried or whose wives are not pregnant may play the drum.
The bronze drum is not only a precious asset and a unique instrument but also a religious implement. In Lô Lô belief, only with the sound of the bronze drum can the soul of the dead find its way back to the original birthplace of the ancestors. The bronze drum is played only at funerals. On ordinary days, people bury the drum in the ground in a clean, discreet place.
What festivals do the Lô Lô celebrate?
The Lô Lô celebrate Lunar New Year like the Han and the Vietnamese. They also have the New Rice custom, the Doan Ngo festival and the fifteenth of the seventh lunar month. As for their calendar, they use an oral calendar dividing the year into 11 months, each corresponding to an animal.
The use of an 11-month calendar is a notable difference from the 12-month lunar calendar common among many other ethnic groups. This is a cultural feature specific to the Lô Lô, reflecting how they observe and organise time through oral experience.
What are Lô Lô clothing and cuisine like?
In terms of clothing, Lô Lô women in some groups wear round-necked, front-opening shirts, while others wear square-necked pullover shirts, short-legged trousers, and in some places wrap leggings outside. Clothing is decorated with patterns made by piecing together large coloured fabric panels. They also use beeswax-printed patterns. Lô Lô women's clothing is decorated with many different motifs. A feature common to both groups is the heavy use of fabric appliqué and a preference for bright colours.
Lô Lô men wear a single indigo colour, with a turban wrapped many times around the head. Many are in the habit of smoking with a pipe.
As for cuisine, the Lô Lô mainly eat corn, ground into flour and steamed. A meal must include soup. They often use wooden bowls and spoons.
How do the Lô Lô make a living?
The Lô Lô mainly practise wet rice farming and fixed swidden with main crops such as glutinous rice, ordinary rice and corn. Family livestock raising is relatively developed and is a considerable source of income.
As for transport, the Lô Lô are used to using baskets woven from rattan and bamboo, with two straps for carrying. They also carry children on their backs when travelling far or while working.
Summary table of basic information about the Lô Lô people
| Criterion | Information |
|---|---|
| Self-name | Lô Lô |
| Other names | Mùn Di, Di, Màn Di, La La, Qua La, O Man, Lu Lộc Màn |
| Local groups | Flowery Lô Lô, Black Lô Lô |
| Population (2019) | 4,827 |
| Language | Tibeto-Burman branch (Sino-Tibetan family), closer to Burmese |
| Residence | Đồng Văn, Mèo Vạc (Hà Giang); Bảo Lạc (Cao Bằng); Muong Khương (Lào Cai) |
| House types | Ground house, stilt house, half stilt half ground house |
| Main crops | Glutinous rice, ordinary rice, corn |
| Worship | Ancestors, parents, deceased relatives; wooden figure tablets with faces painted in black charcoal |
| Festivals | Lunar New Year, New Rice, Doan Ngo, fifteenth of the seventh lunar month |
| Distinctive instrument | Bronze drum (used at funerals) |
| Calendar | Oral 11-month calendar, each month corresponding to an animal |
What are Lô Lô childbirth customs and taboos?
Pregnant Lô Lô women must observe many dietary and work taboos. The mother gives birth at home with the help of a village midwife. After 12 days, a naming ceremony is held for the child, and the name may be changed if the child cries often or grows slowly.
These are customs tied to folk beliefs about the health and development of young children. These customs are recorded in materials from the Centre for Digital Transformation, Ministry of Ethnic Affairs and Religions (formerly the Committee for Ethnic Affairs).
Where do the Lô Lô fit among Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups?
According to information published by the Government Portal, on 2 March 1979 the General Statistics Office of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam announced that the country has 54 ethnic groups. Of these, the Kinh (Viet) make up more than 85.4% of the national population. The remaining 53 groups are called minorities, accounting for about 14.6% of the national population.
The Lô Lô are among these 53 ethnic minorities. With a population of nearly 5,000, they are one of the smaller groups within the community of 54 ethnic groups.
Some ethnic minorities live mainly in the plains and cities (such as the Khmer, Cham and Hoa in the Central and Southern regions), while most other minorities, including the Lô Lô, live mainly in mountainous areas with complex, divided terrain and difficult transport.
What should you know before learning about the Lô Lô?
When researching the Lô Lô, it is important to distinguish clearly between local groups and separate ethnic groups. The Flowery Lô Lô and the Black Lô Lô are two local groups of the same Lô Lô ethnic group, not two different ethnic groups. This is similar to the branches of the Hmong (Flowery Hmong, White Hmong, Black Hmong) or the groups of the Thai (White Thai, Black Thai).
Different sources may record the Lô Lô population at different times. The figure of 4,541 is from the 2009 Population and Housing Census, while 4,827 is from the Survey of 53 Ethnic Minorities dated 1 April 2019. This difference reflects different survey times, not a contradiction in data.
As for customs relating to childbirth, marriage and funerals, these are traditional cultural practices recorded in ethnographic sources. These customs may have changed somewhat over time and vary between localities. Describing these customs is intended for cultural understanding, not to evaluate or rank them by any criterion.
Conclusion
The Lô Lô are one of Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups, with a population of nearly 5,000 according to 2019 data. The Lô Lô live mainly in the districts of Đồng Văn and Mèo Vạc (Hà Giang), Bảo Lạc (Cao Bằng) and Muong Khương (Lào Cai). Their language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman branch, closer to Burmese. The ethnic group has two local groups, the Flowery Lô Lô and the Black Lô Lô.
In terms of spiritual culture, the Lô Lô worship ancestors with wooden figure tablets with faces painted in black charcoal. They celebrate Lunar New Year, the New Rice custom, Doan Ngo and the fifteenth of the seventh lunar month. The most distinctive feature is the use of the bronze drum at funerals, linked to the flood myth and the concept of yin and yang. The bronze drum is seen as the means by which the soul of the dead finds its way back to the original birthplace of the ancestors.
