
Home > Vietnam > 54 Ethnic groups in Vietnam > Chut ethnic group |
Chut ethnic group
Introduction | Occasion | Beliefs | Others |
Proper name: Chut.
Other names: Rue, Arem and Sach.
Local groups: May, Rue, Sach, Arem and Ma Lieng.
Population: 2427 people.
Language: Chut language belongs to the Viet-Muong
group (of the Austroasiatic language family).
History: The native land of the Chut used to be the
two districts of Bo Trach and Quang Trach of Quang Binh
province.
Because of wars and heavy taxes, they fled to the high
mountains in Minh Hoa and Bo Trach districts, Quang Binh
province. According to annals belonging to some Viet
families, the sub-groups of Rue and Sach inhabited this
area for at least 500 years.
Production activities: The Chut live by nomadic
slash-and-burn agriculture, and hunting and gathering.
Hunting and gathering, which tend to offset bad harvests,
predominate among most Chut groups, with the exception of
the Sach people who are mainly agricultural. The main
crops are corn, manioc, beans and rice. Working tools
include axes, cutlasses, digging sticks, ploughs and
harrows. Since adopting a settled lifestyle, the Chut have
raised livestock for ploughing. Basketry is made to meet
the household demand. In some places, knife and axe
blacksmithing is practiced.
Diet: The main food crops are corn and manioc.
People eat two meals a day-at noon and in the evening. In
years of bad crops, the Chut must eat sago powder (bang or
nhuc).
Clothing: The Chut do not weave textiles, but buy
them or exchange goods for textiles with the Viet people
and Laotians on the border. In the summer, men wear loin
cloths and leave the upper body unclothed, while women
wear long skirts. In summer, they may wear, clothes made
from tree bark. Nowadays, the Chut have adopted the Viet
style of clothing.
Housing: The Chut live in makeshift dwellings
supported by a pole and tied by rope, or they may find
shelter in caves or under stone roofs.. Before 1954, the
sub-groups of Rue and Arem had lived mainly in caves.
Nowadays, they. are concentrated in small villages in the
valleys. Housing has improved over time.
Transportation: Gui (baskets carried on the back)
with straps for carrying or pulling is the chief means of
local transportation for goods and produce.
Social organization: The Chut call a village Ca Ven.
There are only about five to ten families of one lineage
living in one village. Sometimes the families of the same
lineage live in different villages. Each village is headed
by a Pu Ca Ven, who also takes charge of religious
matters. The most important public activity is the
agricultural festival. Patriarchy is more dominant in Chut
families. Each family usually consists only of the parents
and the unmarried children.
High Quality Tour Service:











Roy, Spain


Fransesca, Netherlands
A member of Vietnam Travel Promotion Group (VTP Group)
Address: Room 509, 15T2 Building, 18 Tam Trinh Str., Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi, Vietnam (See map)
Tel: +84.24.62768866 / mail[at]tuanlinhtravel.com
Visited: 1967
