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, in Vietnam's
North Central Coast
Bắc Trung Bộ (literally North Central Region, and often translated as North Central Coast) is one of the regions of Vietnam. It consists of six provinces: Thanh Hóa, Nghệ An, Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị, Thừa Thiên–Hu ...
.
''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 ( vi, người Việt, lit=Viet people) or Kinh people ( vi, người Kinh) are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to modern-day Northern Vietnam and Southern China (Jing Islands, Dongxing, Guangxi). The native lang ...
,
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
Chứt (Chut, Cheut) or Rục-Sách is a dialect cluster spoken by the Chứt people of Vietnam, with a smaller population of some 450 speakers in neighbouring Khammouane Province, Laos. It is a Vietic language that may be most closely related ...
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
Quảng Bình Province (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