Hanhi ethnic group

Proper name: Hanhi Gia.

Other names: U Ni, Xa U Ni.

Local groups: Hanhi Co Cho, Hanhi La Mi, Hanhi Den.

Population: 12,489 people.

Language: The Hanhi speak a language that belongs to the Tibeto - Burmese language group (Sino - Tibetan language family), but closer to Burmese language.

History: Hanhi people have been living for a long time in South China and Vietnam. Ancient books, since the 8th century, had mentioned of their presence in Northwest Vietnam. However, the majority of the ancestors of the present Hanhi migrated to Vietnam within the last three hundred years.

Production activities: Since very early in their history, the Hanhi have cultivated rice, planted on steep terraces. They are very skilled at turning mountain slopes and hill sides into terrace fields and to employ a complex irrigation system. They use manure and ashes as fertilizers for wet rice cultivation. They use dry fields to plant corn, beans, pumpkins, cotton, and indigo. Cattle are raised in free-range style. Especially there are water buffalo herds, which is as big as several hundreds, freely raised in the forest. Cotton growing and textile weaving provide their needs for traditional clothing. However, in places where it is too cold to grow cotton, then it has to be exchanged for indigo, knitted items, or livestock. Women weave on a little loom, about 20 centimeters wide. They enjoy quality textiles, thanks to good looming and dyeing technique. Growing and dyeing indigo are distinctive activities of the Hanhi. Fruit picking still plays an important role in their everyday life.

Diet: The Hanhi eat both sticky and regular rice in their daily meals. Hunting, fishing, and the gathering of fruit supplement the diet. On holidays, they make many kind of cakes. They are fond of grilled or stir-fried meat, and they especially like to eat rice soup cooked with chicken or pork.

Housing: The Hanhi live mainly on the Vietnamese- Chinese and Vietnamese-Lao borders, in Bat Xat district (Lao Cai province), and in Muong Te district (Lai Chau Province). Those who work on step-terraces have been living permanently in one place for quite some time. Many villages are over a hundred years old, and have around 50 to 60 families. With those who practice slash and burn cultivation, their villages are spread among their fields. The majority of Hanhi live in adobe type of house, with very solid walls, about 30 to 40 centimeter thick, which makes it suitable for the cold mountainous areas. Depending on location, there are verandas either in front of or inside the house to prevent wind. They use a wok to cook on an oven that is built on the earthen floor.

Transportation: Baskets, which are carried around the forehead, are popularly used to carry things. In some places, horses are used to transport people and goods.

Social organization: Strong community ties are evident not only in production activities, but also in cultural, spiritual, and religious life. Small patriarchal families are common; however, the women are still highly respected in Hanhi society. There are many different family surnames, and each is divided to small branches. These branches are named after their ancestors. The Hanhi do not have the custom to hold religious rituals within a kin line. Rather, they worship in small family groups only. The eldest son of the eldest branch in the kin line takes care of all the ritual activity. If there is no eldest son, then this work is passed down to the youngest son. Even for those who have moved away, it is common practice for the corpse of the deceased to be brought in front of the parent's altar in the village. Only after doing this, can the spirit of the deceased be worshipped together with the rest of the family ancestors.
Every year, on New Year's eve, there is a very important ceremony in each family called "the re-calling ancestors ceremony." Each ancestor's name is read and repeated out loud by every family member. The names are called in father-and- son order, which makes it easier to say and remember. There are cases in which more than 70 names are called; in some places, this ceremony is also done when putting the deceased into the coffin.