VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY,HA NOI INSTITUTE OF VIETNAMESE STUDIES AND DEVELOPMENT SCIENCES DUONG THUY LINH CULTURAL CHANGES IN MARIAGE AND FUNERAL CUSTOMS OF SAN DIU PEOPLE IN PHU BINH DISTRICT, THAI NGUYEN PROVINCE MASTER THESIS Major: VIETNAMESE STUDIES Hanoi – 2012 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY,HA NOI INSTITUTE OF VIETNAMESE STUDIES AND DEVELOPMENT SCIENCES DUONG THUY LINH CULTURAL CHANGES IN MARIAGE AND FUNERAL CUSTOMS OF SAN DIU PEOPLE IN PHU BINH DISTRICT, THAI NGUYEN PROVINCE Master thesis, major: VIETNAMESE STUDIES Code: 60 31 60 Supervisors: Duong Thuy Linh Associate. Hoang Luong Hanoi - 2012 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 LIST OF TABLES. Reasons for choosing this issue.
Background information on this issue. Purposes, objects and scope of the research. Purposes of the research. Objects and scopes of the research.
Theoretical bases and research methods. Contribution of the thesis. Layout of the thesis. 14 Chapter 1: GENERAL GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION OF PHU BINH DISTRICT – THAI NGUYEN PRIVINCE AND THE SAN DIU ETHNIC GROUP.
Geographic location and natural conditions. Social and economic situation. San Diu People in Phu Binh District - Thai Nguyen Province. The people’s name, historical origin and population.
32 Sub - conclusion for chapter 1. 35 3 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Chapter 2: TRADITION AND CHANGE IN MARRIAGE CUSTOMS OF SAN DIU PEOPLE IN PHU BINH DISTRICT, THAI NGUYEN PROVINCE. The concept of marriage .The ritual of marriage. Changes in marriage customs.
65 Sub- conclusion of Chapter 2. 75 Chapter 3: TRADITION AND CHANGE IN FUNERAL CUSTOMS OF SAN DIU PEOPLE IN PHU BINH DISTRICT, THAI NGUYEN PROVINCE. The concept of human agency, worldview. The ritual of the funeral.
Changes in funeral customs. 93 Sub - conclusion of chapter 3. 97 Chapter 4: CULTURAL VALUES IN MARRIAGE AND FUNERAL CUSTOMS OF SAN DIU PEOPLE IN PHU BINH DISTRICT. 98 THAI NGUYEN PROVINCE.
The cultural value of traditional marriage customs. The cultural value of traditional funeral customs. Some causes of changes and solution to preserve and promote the values of marriage and funeral customs of the San Diu people in Phu Binh district, Thai Nguyen. Causes of changes.
A number of suggestions and proposals to preserve and promote the values of marriage and funeral customs of the San Diu people in Phu Binh district, Thai Nguyen. 111 Sub-conclusion of Chapter 4. 123 4 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1: Population Phu Binh district divided by ethnicity, gender, and urban and rural areas.2: Population of the San Diu in Phu Binh district, Thai Nguyen province.1: Comparison of changes in the role of grandparents each wedding in San Diu - Phu Binh Thai Nguyen.2: The comparison table shows the changes over the years in the wedding the San Diu - Phu Binh Thai Nguyen.3: The comparison table shows the change in the person's wedding San Diu - Phu Binh - Thai Nguyen by age.4: The table shows a principle than inner hair San Diu some hooks of the distance that you put - Phu Binh Thai Nguyen.5: Comparison table shows the change in the marriage customs of the San Diu - Phu Binh Thai Nguyen in the Media and now Table 4.6: Comparison table shows the change in the funeral customs of the San Diu - Phu Binh Thai Nguyen in traditional and today. 5 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
Reasons for choosing this issue Vietnamese culture is the culture of “diversity in unity ". It is the convergence of cultural values of the 54 ethnic groups living in the territory of Vietnam. During their history and development, each group has created typical traditional cultural values for themselves. Each ethnic group has their own cultural values; and through history these cultural values become their cultural identities, contributing to the multi-nuanced culture of Vietnam.
Cultural identity is one out of three criteria to determine the ethnic structure in Vietnam. So, the existence of each group is attached with their cultural characters. The loss of the cultural values of a nation will gradually lead to the disappearance of that nation. Particularly, in the context of current integration, the issue of national cultures is paid more and more attention.
An urgent need is that to integrate does not mean to dissolve the culture. We integrate with the international trends, but still reserve our traditional national values. National values are our cultural characters. Vietnam cultural characters are the cultural values of every ethnic group living on the territory of Vietnam, in particular the Kinh people and 53 ethnic minorities.
The research and studies on Vietnamese characters can not be separated from studying the cultural characters of each of the 54 peoples in Vietnam. Our Party and Government also attach great importance to conserving and promoting cultural values of ethnic groups. In 1991, in the "Platform for national construction in the period of transition to socialism" the Party has stated to respect for the interests of cultural traditions, languages, customs and beliefs of the peoples, and at the same time, to reserve and promote moral, ethic, aesthetic values and the cultural and artistic heritages of every people. 6 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com In the huge family of Vietnam’s ethnic groups, San Diu people, also known as Son Dzao people (Dzao people in the mountains), mainly live in the provinces of Quang Ninh, Hai Duong, Bac Giang, Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang , Yen Bai, etc.
Having immigrated to Vietnam and settled in Thai Nguyen for just about 3 centuries, but they still reserve their available cultural values, together with other groups’ cultures they have absorbed simultaneously, to create their own tradition cultural characters. It is affirmed that life cycle rites are the profound expression for ethnic culture characters, especially spiritual, psychological life and customs of each group. Besides, these are exceptional cultures well reserved and hardly changed for a long time, because they themselves contain meaningful humane values, which is ground for prosperity of every group’s culture. Every San Diu person, from birth till death, goes though their group’s life cycle rites, which helps building their cultural values.
Studying their life cycle rites is a must if we want to study their cultural values. The major milestones in each person’s life are marked by following rituals: marriage, giving birth and funeral, which are the turning points of his (her) life. They enable development inside each person in accordance with natural laws and under impact of social ones. The issue of studying San Diu people’s cultures in general and the issue of explaining the changes in life cycle rites in particular remain unsolved.
Thinking of that we decided to choose to do research on this issue “Cultural changes in marriage and funeral customs of San Diu people in Phu Binh District, Thai Nguyen Province” with which we aims to show significant changes in marriage and funeral customs of the local San Diu People, firstly to contribute to the study of cultural characters of ethnic minorities in Vietnam, and finally to make ground for the study of Vietnamese cultural characters. 7 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com We hope that this research upon completion will help understanding more of San Diu People’s culture, as well as cultures of all the ethnic groups in Vietnam; and basing on that to propose suitable policies about preserving and promoting cultural values of marriage and funeral customs, two of the life cycle rites of San Diu People in Phu Binh District, Thai Nguyen Province in particular and San Diu People all around the country in general. Background information on this issue In the last few years, the trend to study and research on traditional ethnic cultures has become more and more popular. Although the ethnic minorities only cover about 13% total population, each of them owns unique culture and customs, which creates the national diversified-but-unified culture, the progressive and well reserved culture of Vietnam.
The San Diu ethnic group in Vietnam is also an interesting issue which has been attracting many ethnologists and writers. There has been many deep researches done on their culture published into books or writing on magazines. The book Nguoi San Diu o Viet Nam written by Ma Khanh Bang, published in 1983, is an overview picture of life of San Diu people in Vietnam. The author has researched and presented a general overview of the San Diu people: the name, foundation and development history, as well as the social organization, material and spiritual cultures, and their tradition customs which make up their own cultural values.
He concludes that San Diu group is a minority who continuously absorbs other groups’ cultures, but still keeps in mind that they are a people. Writer Diep Trung Binh, in Phong Tuc va Nghi Le Chu Ky Doi Nguoi cua Nguoi San Diu o Viet Nam (2005), describes in details most customs of San Diu People during their life cycle from birth to death. Besides, he also shows his 8 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com opinions about their cultural values and changes in these values shown in their life cycle rites. In Tri Thuc Dan Gian trong Chu Ky Doi Nguoi San Diu o Viet Nam, published by National Culture Press in 2011, Diep Trung Binh also mentions cultural values of the San Diu people through their folk knowledge in giving birth, raising children, growing up, marriage and funeral.
He also collects, studies and translates San Diu people’s folk songs in their everyday life and corresponding singing in weddings. All is published in the book Dan Ca San Diu by National Culture Press in 1987. The book “Cac Dan Toc It Nguoi o Viet Nam (Cac Tinh Phia Bac)”also gives a general overview of the San Diu people in Vietnam. The authors briefly describe history of the people and the living cultures, including material cultures in their houses, costumes, food, and spiritual cultures in their rituals like marriage and funeral, etc.
“Dan Toc San Diu o Bac Giang”, written by Ngo Van Tru and Nguyen Xuan Can (main editor), by National Culture Press, Hanoi, 2003, is a full picture of San Diu people in Bac Giang, presenting in details from history, name, living territory, etc., to traditional economic activities, food, traditional costumes, rituals and customs related to life cycle. The author Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, in his book “Van Hoa Truyen Thong San Diu o Tuyen Quang”, published in 2011, also gives the most general overview of the history of this people, as well as their residence and cultural identities in Tuyen Quang Province. These above mentioned researches provide a useful theoretical ground and comparative object for me to objectively study the cultural changes of the San Diu minority in Phu Binh through their customs of marriage and funeral. 9 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
Nguyen Thi Que Loan has deeply studied the eating habits of the people, and reflected the result in her doctorial thesis “Tap Quan An Uong cua Nguoi San Diu o Thai Nguyen”. This thesis discusses in details about the traditional sources of their foods, their traditional methods of preparing foods and drinks, as well as changes of these customs when the people exchange and learn from other groups. Related to the above issue, Dr. Nguyen Thi Que Loan also wrote a post on the Ethnology Magazine, “Bien Doi Trong Tap Quan An Uong cua Nguoi San Diu Tinh Thai Nguyen”.