Who are the Nung and what is special about their name?
The Nung are one of Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups, with the self-name Nong. According to the List of Ethnic Groups of Vietnam published by the General Statistics Office on March 2, 1979, the Nung rank seventh in the list, alongside other names such as Nung Xuong, Nung Giang, Nung An, Nung Phan Sinh, Nung Loi, Nung Tung Slin, Nung Chao, Nung Quy Ryn, Nung Khen Lai, Nung Dyn, and Nung Inh. These names are local subgroups of the same ethnic group, not separate ethnicities.
In terms of population, according to the Survey of 53 Ethnic Minorities dated April 1, 2019, there are 1,083,298 Nung people. Previously, according to the 2009 Population and Housing Census, the figure was 968,800. The difference reflects both natural population growth and survey methodology, not two sources contradicting each other in substance.
A clear distinction is needed: Nung is an ethnic group in the official list, while names like Nung Phan Slinh, Nung Chao, and Nung An are only local subgroups. Using subgroup names to refer to the ethnic group is common in daily life, but official lookups should use the name Nung.
Where do the Nung live?
The Nung live mainly in the northeastern provinces of our country, often intermingled with the Tay. Their concentrated areas include Cao Bang, Lang Son, Bac Thai, Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Ha Bac, and Quang Ninh, along with some southern localities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Lam Dong, Dac Lac, and Lao Cai.
According to a summary report by Nhan Dan newspaper on Vietnam's ethnic communities, ethnic minorities in general live across all regions but mainly in high mountainous, border, and remote areas. The northern mountainous region concentrates about 6.7 million people from ethnic minorities. This is the general context for understanding why the Nung's territory is tied to the northeastern mountains.
Regarding housing, most Nung live in stilt houses. Some live in earthen houses built in the rammed-earth style or with mud bricks. Along the border there was formerly a fortress-style house with blockhouses and loopholes to guard against bandits. This fortress house type is tied to the specific historical conditions of the border region, not a general characteristic of all Nung groups.
Which language group does Nung belong to?
Nung belongs to the Tay-Thai language group, Thai-Kadai family, alongside Tay, Thai, and especially close to Zhuang in China. This information is consistently recorded in sources introducing the Nung people.
Regarding writing, the Nung have Nom Nung script based on Han characters, read in Nung, and Tay-Nung script built on the Latin alphabet. The coexistence of two scripts shows the complex cultural contact history of this community.
It should be noted that Nung and Tay are close but not identical. In daily life, Nung and Tay live intermingled so there is linguistic exchange, but each ethnic group retains its own identity. The reference sources do not provide specific figures on the proportion of people still using Nung in daily life, so the degree of language preservation cannot be asserted based only on the collected documents.
History of the formation of the Nung community in Vietnam
According to introductory sources, most Nung migrated from Guangxi (China) about 200 to 300 years ago. This is a relative time marker, reflecting historical migration waves rather than a single event.
Regarding social relations, before the August Revolution, Nung society had reached the same level of development as the Tay. Intensive rice fields and swidden fields had become private property, which could be sold or transferred. Landlord and peasant classes formed. This describes the social structure before 1945, not the current situation.
What occupations do the Nung practice?
The Nung work very skillfully, but because they live in areas without conditions for developing wet rice fields, in many places they must rely mainly on swidden farming. Besides corn and rice, they also grow tubers, gourds, and green vegetables.
Regarding crafts, the Nung know many trades: weaving, forging, casting, basketry, woodworking, making do paper, and making yin-yang tiles. Many trades have long traditions but remain family sidelines, usually done during agricultural leisure, with products mainly serving household needs. Today, some trades tend to decline such as weaving, while others are maintained and developed such as forging. In Phuc Sen commune, Quang Hoa district, Cao Bang province, many families have forges and almost every family has someone who knows forging.
Markets in Nung areas are developed. People often go to periodic markets to exchange and trade products. Young people, especially the Nung Phan Slinh group, enjoy going to markets to sing courtship songs. This is a cultural activity tied to the periodic market economy, not merely buying and selling.
What is notable about Nung worship customs?
The Nung primarily worship ancestors. The altar is placed in a solemn place, beautifully decorated, with a phung slan board in Han characters at the center indicating which clan the ancestors belong to. They also worship the earth god, Guanyin, the midwife goddess, door spirits, floor spirits, and spirits outside the floor (phi hang chan), and hold rituals during natural disasters and epidemics.
The difference from the Tay clearly recorded in sources: the Nung celebrate birthdays and do not hold death anniversaries. This is an important detail when studying worship customs, as many ethnic groups in the region have periodic death anniversary rituals. It should be noted that this description is based on general introductory sources about the Nung; in each local group and each clan, practices may differ in ways the collected sources do not detail.
Besides worship, the Nung follow the lunar calendar in daily life. Choosing land, determining direction, and selecting days for building and moving into a new house are also important tasks, reflecting the concept of harmonious living space.
Tet and main festivals of the Nung
The Nung celebrate Tet like the Viet and Tay. Each Tet, the Nung make many kinds of cakes, commonly cakes made from rice ground on stone mills.
During Tet, festivals, and holidays, there are usually games such as con throwing, badminton, spinning tops, and tug of war. These are collective games tied to the festive atmosphere, not mandatory rituals.
Regarding performing arts, Sli is the courtship singing of young men and women in collective performance form, usually pairs of men and pairs of women singing responsively in two vocal parts. People often sing Sli together during festivals, holidays, market days, even on trains and buses. Sli is not only a singing form but also a social communication space for young people.
Marriage, childbirth, and funerals according to Nung customs
Regarding marriage, men and women are free to love and court, and when in love they often exchange keepsakes. Boys give girls carrying poles, baskets for cotton (hac li), and baskets for thread (com lot). Girls give boys embroidered shirts and bags. However, marriage is entirely decided by parents, based on whether the two families are of equal status and whether the couple's horoscopes are compatible. The bride's family often demands wedding gifts of meat, rice, wine, and money. The more gifts, the higher the value of the girl. Marriage involves many rituals, the most important being the ceremony bringing the bride to the groom's house. After the wedding, the bride still lives with her birth parents until she is about to have a child, then moves permanently to the groom's house.
Regarding childbirth, besides the ceremony of setting up the midwife goddess altar and the full-month celebration, some Nung groups also hold a naming ceremony for children when they reach adulthood. Note the scope: the source says "in some Nung groups," meaning not all local groups have this custom.
Regarding funerals, there are many rituals whose main purpose is to send the soul of the deceased to the other world. The collected sources do not go into detail on each ritual step.
Clothing and cuisine of the Nung
The traditional clothing of the Nung is quite simple, usually made of self-woven coarse fabric, indigo-dyed, with almost no embroidery decoration. Men wear stand-collar shirts, chest-split, with fabric buttons. Women wear five-panel shirts, buttoned on the right side, usually only extending past the hip. Compared to some neighboring ethnic groups with elaborate costumes, Nung clothing is described by sources as simpler in patterns, but this is a description of characteristics, not an evaluation of better or worse.
Regarding food, in many Nung areas people eat corn as the main staple. Corn is ground into flour to cook thick porridge like banh duc. Food is usually prepared by frying, stir-frying, or boiling, rarely by steaming. Many people abstain from buffalo, beef, and dog meat. The degree of abstinence may vary between clans and localities; sources only record generally that "many people abstain."
Quick reference table on the Nung people
| Aspect | Main information |
|---|---|
| Self-name | Nong |
| Other names | Nung Xuong, Nung Giang, Nung An, Nung Phan Sinh, Nung Loi, Nung Tung Slin, Nung Chao, Nung Quy Ryn, Nung Khen Lai, Nung Dyn, Nung Inh |
| Population | 1,083,298 (Survey of 53 Ethnic Minorities, April 1, 2019); 968,800 (2009 Census) |
| Language | Tay-Thai language group, Thai-Kadai family |
| Writing | Nom Nung script based on Han characters; Tay-Nung script based on Latin alphabet |
| Territory | Cao Bang, Lang Son, Bac Thai, Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Ha Bac, Quang Ninh, Lao Cai, Ho Chi Minh City, Lam Dong, Dac Lac |
| Housing | Mostly stilt houses; some rammed-earth or mud-brick houses |
| Worship | Primarily ancestor worship; altar with phung slan board in Han characters recording clan name; worship of earth god, Guanyin, midwife goddess, door spirits, floor spirits, spirits outside the floor |
| Difference from Tay | Celebrate birthdays, do not hold death anniversaries |
| Tet | Celebrate Tet like the Viet and Tay; follow lunar calendar |
| Games | Con throwing, badminton, spinning tops, tug of war |
| Courtship singing | Sli, responsive singing in pairs of men and women, two vocal parts |
| Crafts | Weaving, forging, casting, basketry, woodworking, do paper making, yin-yang tile making |
Why distinguish local subgroups from the ethnic group?
In the official list, Nung is one ethnic group, while Nung Phan Slinh, Nung Chao, Nung An, and Nung Inh are local subgroups. This distinction matters for two reasons. First, legally and statistically, local subgroups are not counted as separate ethnic groups. Second, culturally, subgroups may differ in details of customs, clothing, and speech, but those differences do not make them different ethnic groups.
Reference sources also show different presentations. The General Statistics Office list enumerates other names and subgroups in separate columns. The Digital Transformation Center's introduction page calls these names "local subgroups." The terminology may differ, but the classification is consistent: Nung is one of Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups.
Conclusions when studying the Nung people
The Nung are a community with a migration history, its own language and customs, and much exchange with the Tay and neighboring ethnic groups in the Northeast. The highlight in worship customs is ancestor worship with the phung slan board recording the clan name, along with celebrating birthdays and not holding death anniversaries, a trait recorded by sources as different from the Tay. The highlight in cultural life is Sli courtship singing and folk games during festivals. When looking up information, use the official ethnic name Nung, while names like Nung Phan Slinh or Nung Chao are only local subgroups. Population figures may differ between surveys, so citations should specify the year and data source.
