The La Ha (Vietnamese: người La Ha) are an ethnic group of
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. Most La Ha live in the
Yên Bái
Yên Bái () is a city in Vietnam. It is the capital of Yên Bái Province, in the north-east region of Vietnam. The city borders Yên Bình District and Trấn Yên District. The city is a settlement along the banks of the Red River, approxim ...
and
Sơn La
Sơn La (; Tai Dam: ) is a city in the north-west region of Vietnam. It is the capital of Sơn La Province. It is bordered by Thuận Châu District, Mường La District, and Mai Sơn District.
History
In the era of the Sip Song Chau Tai, Sơ ...
provinces, and numbered 10,157 people in 2019. They speak the
Laha language
Laha () is a Kra language spoken by approximately 1,400 people out of a total population of 5,686 Laha. It is spoken in Lào Cai and Sơn La provinces, Vietnam. Laha dialects had been documented in 1986 by Russian linguists and in 1996 by Amer ...
, which is part of the
Tai–Kadai language family.
The La Ha celebrate the Pang A Nụn Ban Festival to show deep gratitude to their doctors. They offer them bitter bamboo and Mạ Rệ flower, both of which are popular drugs.
History
According to the ''Black Tai Chronicle'',
[Chamberlain, James. 1992.]
The Black Tai Chronicle of Muang Mouay Part I: Mythology
, pp.46-47. In The ''Mon-Khmer Studies Journal'', 21: 19-55; Phattiya, ''Prawattisat sipsong chutai'', p.147-152; Quoted in Baker, Chris, and Pasuk Phongpaichit. 2017. A History of Ayutthaya. Cambridge University Press. the Black Tai (
Tai Dam people
The Tai Dam (Tai Dam: , lo, ໄຕດຳ, th, ไทดำ) are an ethnic minority predominantly from China, northwest Vietnam, Laos, Thailand. They are part of the Tai peoples and ethnically similar to the Thai from Thailand, the Lao from Laos ...
) had gained control of Muang Mouay in the
Red River valley from the Laha people via deceit and murder. After fighting the Laha chief Am Poi (also named Khoun Piên) for a long time, the Black Tai leader Lang Cheuang asked to marry the Laha chief's daughter Hao, and went to the wedding feast. However, the Laha chief brought fifty bodyguards with him as he distrusted the Black Tai. The Laha bodyguards were persuaded to put down their weapons, and Am Poi became drunk at the feast. The Laha chief was then killed, and the other Laha escaped as the Black Tai took over the Red River valley.
{{Ethnic groups in Vietnam
References
Ethnic groups in Vietnam