The Pa Then (or Pá Hưng; Vietnamese: người Pà Thẻn) are Pa-Hng-speaking people classified as 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 Pa Then live in

Hà Giang Hà Giang () is a city located on the banks of the Lô River in the Northeast region of Vietnam. It is the capital of Hà Giang Province. The city has an area of 135.33 km2 and a population of 55 559 inhabitants. The population is compose ...

and

Tuyên Quang Tuyên Quang () is a city in Vietnam, and is the capital of Tuyên Quang Province. History The French post at Tuyên Quang was defended for four months against 12,000 troops of the Yunnan Army and the Black Flag Army by two companies of the Fre ...

provinces, located in Vietnam's

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

region. The

Pa-Hng language Pa-Hng (also spelled Pa-Hung; ''Bāhēng yǔ'') is a divergent Hmongic (Miao) language spoken in Guizhou, Guangxi, and Hunan in southern China as well as northern Vietnam. Classification Pa-Hng has long been recognized as divergent. Benedict ( ...

belongs to the Hmong–Mien language family. In 2019, there are 8,248 Pà Thẻn living in Vietnam.

Subsistence

Before 1970, the Pa Then practiced

slash-and-burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed vegeta ...

(swidden) cultivation (Vu 2013:70-71). The Pa Then began to switch to wet-rice cultivation starting in 1970, and from 1993 onwards, most Pa Then had given up slash-and-burn cultivation. Currently the Pa Then grow various kinds of rice, including large-grained

glutinous rice Glutinous rice (''Oryza sativa var. glutinosa''; also called sticky rice, sweet rice or waxy rice) is a type of rice grown mainly in Southeast and East Asia, and the northeastern regions of South Asia, which has opaque grains, very low amylose ...

, long-grained glutinous rice, red glutinous rice, and non-glutinous rice varieties. Traditionally, the Pa Then grew

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

sesame Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus ''Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cu ...

taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Africa ...

lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable, but sometimes for its stem and seeds. Lettuce is most often used for salads, although it is also seen in other kinds of food, ...

calabash Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed ...

luffa ''Luffa'' is a genus of tropical and subtropical vines in the cucumber family (Cucurbitaceae). In everyday non-technical usage, the luffa, also spelled loofah, usually refers to the fruits of the species ''Luffa aegyptiaca'' and ''Luffa acutang ...

colocynth ''Citrullus colocynthis'', with many common names including Abu Jahl's melon, (native name in Turkey) colocynth, bitter apple, bitter cucumber, egusi, vine of Sodom, or wild gourd, is a desert viny plant native to the Mediterranean Basin and A ...

, sweet gourd,

bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...

s, and Chinese peas as

food crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponics ...

s. The Pa Then also planted various spices such as

basil Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also kno ...

shallot The shallot is a botanical variety (a cultivar) of the onion. Until 2010, the (French red) shallot was classified as a separate species, ''Allium ascalonicum''. The taxon was synonymized with ''Allium cepa'' (the common onion) in 2010, as the d ...

spring onion Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, chi ...

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

crocus ''Crocus'' (; plural: crocuses or croci) is a genus of seasonal flowering plants in the family Iridaceae (iris family) comprising about 100 species of perennials growing from corms. They are low growing plants, whose flower stems remain undergro ...

, red pepper, lesser galangal, citronella,

eryngium ''Eryngium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae. There are about 250 species.Wang, P., et al. (2012)Phytochemical constituents and pharmacological activities of ''Eryngium'' L. (Apiaceae). ''Pharmaceutical Crops'' 3 99-120. The ...

perilla ''Perilla'' is a genus consisting of one major Asiatic crop species ''Perilla frutescens'' and a few wild species in nature belonging to the mint family, Lamiaceae. The genus encompasses several distinct varieties of Asian herb, seed, and vegeta ...

, and

marjoram Marjoram (; ''Origanum majorana'') is a cold-sensitive perennial herb or undershrub with sweet pine and citrus flavours. In some Middle Eastern countries, marjoram is synonymous with oregano, and there the names sweet marjoram and knotted mar ...

Sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

was also planted as well as fruit trees such as

tangerine The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in color. Its scientific name varies. It has been treated as a separate species under the name ''Citrus tangerina'' or ''Citrus'' × ''tangerina'', or treated as a variety of ''Citrus retic ...

guava Guava () is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae), native to Mexico, Central America, the ...

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

grapefruit The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink. Grapefruit is ...

lychee Lychee (US: ; UK: ; ''Litchi chinensis''; ) is a Monotypic taxon, monotypic taxon and the sole member in the genus ''Litchi'' in the Sapindus, soapberry family, ''Sapindaceae''. It is a tropical tree native to Southeast and Southwest China (t ...

longan ''Dimocarpus longan'', commonly known as the longan () and dragon's eye, is a tropical tree species that produces edible fruit. It is one of the better-known tropical members of the soapberry family Sapindaceae, to which the lychee and rambut ...

jackfruit The jackfruit (''Artocarpus heterophyllus''), also known as jack tree, is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). Its origin is in the region between the Western Ghats of southern India, all of Bangladesh, ...

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

, and

papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus ''Carica'' of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and ...

. In traditional Pa-Then

cultivation, crops that are to be harvested earlier are planted on the outside of the field, while later crops are planted in the middle. Seeds are sowed in the 2nd

lunar month In lunar calendars, a lunar month is the time between two successive syzygies of the same type: new moons or full moons. The precise definition varies, especially for the beginning of the month. Variations In Shona, Middle Eastern, and Europ ...

, and harvests take place in the 7th lunar month or the late 10th lunar month. When rice ripens, pincers are used to cut each ear of rice. The Pa Then raise various animals such as

water buffalo The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called the domestic water buffalo or Asian water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also found in Europe, Australia, North America, So ...

es,

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

s, and

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

s (Vu 2013:86).

Religion

Cosmology

The Pa Then believe that the universe was created by the god ''Quơ Vo'' and the goddess ''Me Quơ O'' (Vu 2013:122-127). Pa Then cosmology divides the universe into four parts. #''The sky'', where the sun, moon, stars, ancestors, God of Thunder, God of Lightning, Great Buddha, and others gods and spirits reside. The sky is ruled by the god Quơ Vo. #''The earth'', where human beings, plants, animals, ancestors, and various ghosts and spirits (soil, forest, stone, plants, etc.) reside. The earth is ruled by the goddess Me Quơ O. #''The water'', where there are various

naiad In Greek mythology, the naiads (; grc-gre, ναϊάδες, naïádes) are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water. They are distinct from river gods, who ...

s, dragons, and gods of rivers and springs. The water is ruled by the goddess Me Quơ O. #''The underworld'', where Me Quơ Lê and various spirits live. The underworld is ruled by the devil goddess Me Quơ Lê. Benevolent spirits include the ancestral ghosts, the Stove god, the Room god, the Door god, the Soil god, Quơ Vo, and Me Quơ O. However, these spirits can also cause disease and crop failures when upset. Malevolent spirits include ghosts of people who die sudden deaths, the Forest spirit, the Cliff spirit, and plant spirits. Each god is worshiped using different rituals (Vu 2013:122-127). *The ''Stove god'': Worshiping the Stove god takes an entire day, starting from 9 AM until 11 AM of the next day. Pigs, chicken, sticky rice, and cakes are offered. *The ''Room god'': After a child is born for 3-4 days, or if the Pa Then believe that the Room god needs to be fed, chicken, liquor,

joss stick Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also be ...

s, and

joss paper Joss paper, also known as incense papers, are papercrafts or sheets of paper made into burnt offerings common in Chinese ancestral worship (such as the veneration of the deceased family members and relatives on holidays and special occasions). Wo ...

are arranged in a tray and put in the bed of the mother. The priest then burns joss paper and attempts to placate the Room god. *The ''Kitchen god'': A pig head, liquor, rice, joss paper, and joss sticks are offered at the main door. *The ''Village god'': Many Pa Then villages build shrines in the forest for their gods. Families bring meat, liquor, cakes, joss sticks, and joss paper to the priests who carry out the rituals, and the food is then eaten at the shrine. Strangers and women are allowed to join in the ceremony.

Ancestral worship

Most Pa Then families have two altars dedicated to

ancestral worship The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...

, namely a primary altar and a minor (subordinate) altar. Ancestral worship is carried out on the following occasions (Vu 2013:122-127). *The 15th day of the 1st

*The 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month *The 14th day of the 5th lunar month *The 27th day of the 9th lunar month *Name-giving ceremonies *Entering a new house *Funerals

Fire Dancing Festival

The Pa Then for celebrate the Fire Dancing (or Fire Jumping) Festival from the late 10th lunar month to the mid-1st lunar month (Vu 2013:130-131). A priest (sorcerer) plays the ''Tầy nhậy'', a wooden plank about 30 cm wide and 1 meter long that is played using a small bamboo stick and balanced by an iron ring (Vu 2013:169). Five to seven dancers usually participate. The priest calls out the following gods to induce the dancers into trances. *Hông Lơ Cho *Vù Lơ Chí *Psi Lơ Chí *Me Lơ Chí *Pa Lơ Chí *Ơ Lơ Chí *Pu Lơ Chí *Pọ Lơ Chí *Xí Ca Dình *Co Tả Chồng Di (Fire God)

References

*Vũ Quốc Khánh. 2013. ''Người Pà Thẻn ở Việt Nam

he Pa Then in Vietnam He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

'. Hà Nội: Nhà xuất bản thông tấn.

External links

Ethnologue entry for Pa-Hng language
{{Ethnic groups in Vietnam Ethnic groups in Vietnam