The unique culture of people of Ba Be Lake area

Ba Be National Park, Bac Kan province is a pristine area where all the noise of the modern world has not really reached. Ba Be is beautiful with peaceful and quite scenery, with the vast green of the lake forest ecosystem, in the unique cultural characteristics of the peoples of Ba Be Lake area.

Ba Be National Park is home for more than 3000 residents of 5 different ethnic groups. Over the past 2000 years, Tay people have settled in this place and become the majority in Ba Be. The Nung and the Dao came to live here about 100 years ago. Meanwhile, Kinh and Mong people have only migrated to Ba Be area recently.

In the Ba Be National Park area, there are a total of 13 villages, some of which there’s only one ethnic group living in. Normally, Tay people reside in low-lying strips along rivers and streams. Dao people live halfway up the mountains. Mong people live on high mountains.

Nung and Tay ethnic people groups

 The Tays and Nungs belong to the Tay-Thai language family and have many cultural similarities. Traditionally, both the Tay and Nung people built their stilt houses with 4 to 7 rows of pillars, forming two distinct areas, the upper part of the floor as a reception place, a stove and a sleeping area. The lower part of the floor is used to store farm tools cages for livestock and poultry. Typically, the roof of a stilt house has a two-roof or four-roof structure made of straw and palm leaves. This type of roofing is very popular in Ba Be, although many families now have renovation when building houses directly on the ground.

For a long time, Tay people in the northern mountainous areas of Vietnam have a tradition of cultivating wet rice along valleys, along rivers and streams, and they also cultivate many other seasons. The seasonal calendar is marked by the festival “Cage” – Festival down to the field. This is an occasion to gather people to end the harvest to give thanks to the gods of the gods who have supported the villagers to do their business well and pray for the season, together with the rain for the next year, the harvest is good and the people are healthy. warm. Cage Festival is one of the best festivals in the region held right next to Ba Be Lake on the 10th day of the Lunar New Year every year. On the occasion of the festival, visitors will enjoy all kinds of rice cakes, heavenly cakes, five-color sticky rice, red green duck eggs, watching the bird’s nest, beating, watching bullfights, catching ducks and racing wooden boats ..

Tay people are famous for their brocade weaving and embroidery. They often use textile products to make room curtains, windows curtains, sling, armrests and tablecloths. Brocade holds a significant position in the spiritual and emotional life of the Tay people. It is a wedding gift that the bride brings home to her husband, a gift for a boy and girl in love, a gift for a child’s full month … The main material of brocade textile is yarn dyed in different colors. . The Tay’s weaving frame is the largest and most complex in size compared to others found in Vietnam. Currently many households inside and outside Ba Be National Park still maintain the traditional brocade craft to create extra income for the family, while contributing to preserving cultural identity for future generations.

Tay people have their own musical traditions, these traditions still play an important role in the regional culture. The national park encourages the local tradition of music and dancing. They are often performed by groups of local villages. The Tay’s most distinctive instrument is the “Dan tinh”, a long string instrument with a semicircle sound box at the end. Arriving in Ba Be, in the ecological lodges of Pac Ngoi village and Bo Lu villages, visitors get to breathe the fresh air and listen to the Then song, listening to the local people ‘s  Dan Tinh – this is the current tourism development trend of the local community.

Dao and Mong ethnic people groups

 The ethnic groups of Mong and Dao belong to the same linguistic group, so there are many cultural similarities. In the Ba Be National Park area, they often live in high mountains, mainly cultivating agriculture on the previously exploited slope lands, but still rely heavily on forest resources to support their living activities.

In Ba Be, houses of Mong people are often built directly on the ground. The main agricultural products of the Mong people are corns. Next to the fire is a picture of a H’mong girl who is grinding corns to make a “Men Men”. Other popular foods are pumpkin, soybean, ready and upland rice.

In Ba Be National Park area, Mong villages are more isolated than other ethnic villages but their community is very strong. Mong people have a very high cultural sense, especially through their unique costumes. There are 3 branches of Mong in Ba Be, White Mong, Black Mong and Green Mong.

The spiritual life of the Dao focuses on worshiping ancestors and Ban Vuong – their common ancestor. This is closely related to the elements of Buddhism. Dao Lao, and Confucianism.

Most Dao villages in Ba Be National Park have Tao masters who act as a bridge between the human world and the spiritual world. Tao masters play an important role in the religious life of the Dao ethnic group, which is a solid spiritual foundation for the whole community. Tao masters often conduct rituals for important events of the Dao such as Cap Sac ceremonies, weddings, births, groundbreakings, new homes, seasonal prayers , funerals or on the day of death anniversary, Tet.

Speaking of Ba Be, it is impossible not to mention corn wine – a special mark of the Dao people here. In the stories of the Dao old men, the craft of making corn wine has been here since corn became a staple of food for the people of the ethnic. For many years, corn wine has been beloved not only by locals but also by many outsiders.

Although in recent years, eco-tourism has started to be focused on developing in Ba Be Lake area, the number of tourists coming to the National Park is increasing, the unique and very special cultures of ethnic groups are still preserved, creating the uniqueness of Ba Be Lake area.

|If you are planing a trip to Ba Be National Park, don’t forget to read our travel guide