Who are the O Du and where do they live today?
The O Du are one of Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups. Their self-name is O Du or I Du, also known as Tay Hat. According to the 2019 survey of 53 ethnic minorities on April 1, 2019, the O Du population is 428 people. Earlier, according to the 2009 Population and Housing Census, the figure was 376 people.
Historically, the O Du lived along the Nam Mo and Nam Non rivers, most concentrated along the Nam Non. Due to successive historical upheavals in the region, they had to move elsewhere or blend with newcomers. Today, the two hamlets with the largest O Du populations are Xop Pot and Kim Hoa, Kim Da commune, Tuong Duong district, Nghe An province. In Laos, the O Du merge with the Tay Phoong group living in Sam Neua province.
In the list of Vietnamese ethnic groups published by the Government Portal, the O Du are numbered 54, with the alternative name Tay Hat, and their residence listed as Nghe An.
What language do the O Du speak?
The O Du language belongs to the Mon-Khmer group of the Austroasiatic family. Today, the O Du only retain their mother tongue, and most use Kho Mu and Thai as daily communication tools. This is a notable linguistic feature: an ethnic group with its own language of the Austroasiatic family but using neighboring languages in daily life.
Production activities and economic life of the O Du
The O Du live mainly by slash-and-burn farming and some wet rice fields. Each year they cultivate only one crop: clearing, burning, and sowing from April to May of the lunar calendar, harvesting in September to October. Farming tools include axes, knives, and digging sticks.
Besides rice as the main crop, the O Du also grow cassava, gourds, pumpkins, corn, Job's tears, and beans. Gathering and hunting remain important. Livestock raising of buffaloes, cows, pigs, chickens, and goats is fairly developed. Buffaloes and cows are used for draft power; pigs and chickens for weddings, rituals, and spirit offerings. The O Du weave household items from bamboo and rattan, partly for consumption and partly for exchange. They once knew how to weave fabric.
Regarding diet, the O Du usually eat a light breakfast and two main meals at noon and evening. Previously they ate steamed glutinous rice, now also plain rice; in poor harvests they eat wild tubers or cassava and corn instead of rice. They enjoy drinking alcohol and smoking tobacco.
In clothing, both men and women now dress in the style of the Thai and Vietnamese in the region. Traditional costumes are very few.
Traditional houses and means of transport
Previously, the traditional house of the O Du was a stilt house, which had to be oriented with its head toward the mountain, i.e., built lengthwise. When erecting pillars, a certain order had to be followed. Today this type of house no longer exists; the O Du live in stilt houses similar to Thai stilt houses, with four roofs thatched with bamboo or straw.
The most common means of transport is a basket carried with a strap across the forehead. The O Du basket is noted as very beautiful and durable. This is also the most specialized transport means of this ethnic group.
Social and family relations of the O Du
Due to their small population and intermingling with the Kho Mu and Thai, the O Du's social and cultural relations are heavily influenced by these two groups. The O Du take surnames according to Thai and Lao customs. Clan organization is very faint. The clan head is a prestigious person, respected and playing a major role in the clan.
The O Du family is a small patriarchal family. Men decide all household matters. Women do not inherit. The custom of uxorilocal marriage is common. Wedding offerings must include squirrel meat, dried rat meat, and salted fish.
Regarding childbirth, women give birth sitting in the corner of the house in the women's compartment. The placenta is placed in a bamboo tube and buried right under the floor. The child's age is counted from the day thunder is heard in the year. At that time, the child is considered one year old and the parents hold a naming ceremony.
How are the O Du's worship customs practiced?
The O Du believe that when a person dies, the soul becomes a spirit. The body soul resides at the cemetery, while the root soul at the top of the hair remains as the house spirit. The house spirit stays with descendants for only one generation, in order from the eldest son to the younger sons. When all sons have died, a ceremony is held to send the house spirit back to the ancestors. The house spirit altar is placed at the corner of the second compartment. The altar is simple, hung high near the roof.
This understanding shows that the O Du's concept of the soul distinguishes two parts: one attached to the body and remaining at the cemetery, one attached to the top of the hair and remaining in the house for worship. The house spirit worship lasting one generation, after which a ceremony sends it back to the ancestors, is a notable point in this ethnic group's worship customs.
Main festivals and celebrations of the O Du
The O Du celebrate Lunar New Year and the new rice festival. The biggest festival is the thunder welcoming ceremony of the year. On that day, people from everywhere gather to hold a heaven worship ceremony, slaughter buffaloes, cows, and pigs to celebrate in Xop Pot hamlet, Kim Da commune, Tuong Duong district, Nghe An province.
It can be seen that thunder plays a special role in the cultural life of the O Du: it is both a marker for counting children's ages and the occasion for the biggest festival of the year. This shows the close connection between religious life and natural cycles in this ethnic group's conception.
Arts and folk games
The O Du are proficient in using musical instruments of the Kho Mu and Thai such as flutes, panpipes, gongs, and drums. They know Kho Mu and Thai folk songs and tell historical stories.
Regarding games, the O Du have games such as khang (a game with sticks), spinning tops, con throwing, and mancala.
Summary table of basic information about the O Du ethnic group
| Criteria | Information |
|---|---|
| Self-name | O Du or I Du |
| Other names | Tay Hat |
| Population | 428 people (Survey of 53 ethnic minorities, 1/4/2019); 376 people (2009 Census) |
| Language group | Mon-Khmer, Austroasiatic family |
| Main residence | Xop Pot and Kim Hoa hamlets, Kim Da commune, Tuong Duong district, Nghe An |
| Number in the list of 54 ethnic groups | 54 |
| Main livelihood | Slash-and-burn farming and some wet rice fields |
| Biggest festival | Thunder welcoming ceremony of the year |
| House spirit altar location | Corner of the second compartment, altar hung high near the roof |
| Specialized transport means | Basket with forehead strap |
Why is O Du culture influenced by neighboring ethnic groups?
The answer lies in population size and settlement patterns. With a population of only a few hundred, the O Du live intermingled with the Kho Mu and Thai. This leads to their taking surnames according to Thai and Lao customs; using Kho Mu and Thai in daily communication; using musical instruments and folk songs of the Kho Mu and Thai; and now both men and women dress in the style of the Thai and Vietnamese in the region.
It is important to distinguish: this is mutual influence in the context of intermingled living, not a judgment of superiority or inferiority between ethnic groups. The O Du themselves still retain distinctive features such as the house spirit worship with a one-generation term, the thunder welcoming festival, counting children's ages by thunder, and the basket with a forehead strap.
Points to note when learning about the O Du ethnic group
First, population figures differ between surveys: 376 people according to the 2009 Population and Housing Census, and 428 people according to the Survey of 53 Ethnic Minorities on April 1, 2019. When citing, the corresponding source must be clearly stated.
Second, some information in reference sources has minor discrepancies in presentation, such as how hamlet, commune, and district names are written. This article follows the writing of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs source: Xop Pot and Kim Hoa hamlets, Kim Da commune, Tuong Duong district, Nghe An province.
Third, the cultural features mentioned in the article are records already present in reference sources. In some areas such as marriage, childbirth, and worship, the sources do not note differences between localities, so the article does not add its own interpretations.
Fourth, learning about an ethnic group with a small population like the O Du should be placed in the general context of Vietnam's 54 ethnic communities, in which ethnic minorities live in communities, interwoven with each other and with the Kinh people.
