The Chut (Vietnamese: ''Người Chứt'', Rục language: ''Cheut'' /rocky mountain) are a small ethnic group located in the Minh Hóa and Tuyên Hóa districts of

Quảng Bình Province Quảng Bình was formerly a southern coastal Provinces of Vietnam, province in the North Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Việt Nam, Vietnam. It borders Hà Tĩnh province, Hà Tĩnh to the north, Quảng Trị province, ...

, in Vietnam's

North Central Coast Bắc Trung Bộ (literally North Central Region, and often translated as North Central Coast) is one of the geographic regions of Vietnam. It consists of six provinces in northern part of Central Vietnam: Thanh Hóa, Nghệ An, Hà Tĩnh, Qu� ...

. ''Chut'' is not a distinct group but a collective name for five different Vietic-speaking groups in Quảng Bình, namely the Arem, the Rục, the Maliêng/Mã Liêng, the Mày, and the Sách. In 1973, Vietnamese researchers decided to group these peoples into a new crafted ethnic group called ''Chứt.'' In accordance with the Resolution of the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, #121/TCTK/PPCD of March 2, 1979 ''List of ethnic groups in Vietnam,'' the Chut ethnonym was recognized at the state level as the common name for five groups (Arem, Mã Liêng, Mày, Rục, and Sách). The Chut are one of the 4 main groups of Vietic speakers in Vietnam, the others being the

Kinh The Vietnamese people (, ) or the Kinh people (), also known as the Viet people or the Viets, are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to modern-day northern Vietnam and southern China who speak Vietnamese, the most widely spoken Austroa ...

, Muong, and Thổ. The nearby speakers of the Nguồn language are related to the Chut, but are classified by the Vietnamese government as Kinh.

Culture

Before 1954, the Chut were ignored by the colonial government. Traditionally, they were nomadic, living in temporary villages. However, they have now adopted a sedentary lifestyle. The name "Chut" refers to the cave and rock dwellings they once lived in. Originally, the Chut hunted small animals with crossbows and gathered fruit and fungi. They also use different traps to catch monkeys, civets, foxes, porcupines, birds and mice. Now, they grow rice, corn and tobacco, sowing the seeds with a stick. They also raise buffalo and cattle for plowing. Collective hunting is still done with dogs. When a large animal is caught, the hunter gets the back meat and the rest is divided equally among the others. They also catch fish using fishing rods, fishing nets and poisonous leaves. The Chut do not traditionally grow and weave cotton. In the past, traditional clothing was made from bark and consisted of simple loin-cloths and skirts, but now they wear modern clothing. Often, they barter with the Lao and Viet for goods such as farming equipment.

Sub-groups

There are multiple sub-ethnic groups within the Chut designation including the Rục, Mày, Arem, Mã Liêng people, and Sách.

Language

Chut sub-groups all speak the

Chut language The Chứt (Chut, Cheut) or Rục-Sách languages are a Vietic language cluster spoken by the Chứt peoples of Vietnam and Khammouane Province, Laos. Classification The following three Chứt subgroups have been tentatively identified in Bab ...

with dialects, except the Arem, which speaks the Arem language. Both languages are included in the Vietic branch of the Austroasiatic family.

Geographic distribution

The population of Chứt people in Vietnam was 7,513 according to the 2019 census. They mostly live in

(6,572 people, comprising 87.5% of all Chứt in Vietnam).

References

External links

Profile at Highland Education Development Organization
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chut People Vietic peoples Ethnic groups in Vietnam Ethnic groups in Laos