The Pula or Phù Lá are an ethnic group of
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. Most Pula live in
Xichou County and
Maguan County of Wenshan Prefecture of
Yunnan
Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...
and the bordering
Lào Cai Province of the
Northeast region of Vietnam. Their population in Vietnam is 12,471 in 2019.
There are also approximately 4,200 Phù Lá in China, where they are classified as members of the
Yi ethnic group.
The Phù Lá speak various
Loloish languages
The Loloish languages, also known as Yi (like the Yi people) and occasionally Ngwi or Nisoic, are a family of 50–100 Tibeto-Burman languages spoken primarily in the Yunnan province of Southwestern China. They are most closely related to Bur ...
, though many are shifting to the
Vietnamese language
Vietnamese () is an Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic language Speech, spoken primarily in Vietnam where it is the official language. It belongs to the Vietic languages, Vietic subgroup of the Austroasiatic language family. Vietnamese is s ...
br>
The Phula sing ''Êmê kha bá'' and play the ''ma nhí'' (bamboo mouth organ), ''pi tót'', and ''cúc kẹ'' (nose flute) musical instruments. They celebrate the Gù Shư Mu festival and Ga Ta Ma Chu festival.
Subdivisions
According to Edmondson (2003), a 1978 Vietnamese report called "Ethnic minority peoples of Vietnam" had described 6 groups of peoples belonging to the Phù Lá ethnic group. However, since 1978, the statuses of many of these groups had changed considerably.
*Phù Lá Hán (Phu Kha, Phu Khla, Chinese Phù Lá, autonym ' or '): Lùng Phình Commune, Bẳc Hà District, and Tả Chu Phùng,
Mường Khương District, Lào Cai Province, Vietnam. The Phù Lá Hán are said to have arrived in Vietnam in two waves, once in the 15th century, and later in the 18th century. Mai (1995)
[Mai Thanh Son. 1995. "Some materials about the history of the Phu La people (work based on the perspective of their names)."] reported that the Chù Lá Phù Lá and Phù Lá Trắng are regarded as part of the Phù Lá Hán as of 1995.
**Chù Lá Phù Lá: Lùng Phình Commune,
Bắc Hà District, Lào Cai Province, Vietnam.
**Phù Lá Trắng (White Phù Lá):
Mường Khương District, Lào Cai Province, Vietnam.
*Phù Lá Lão (Xá Phó,
Laghuu): southwest bank of the
Red River in
Sơn La and
Lai Châu provinces.
*Phù Lá Đen (Black Phù Lá): A Lù Commune,
Bát Xát District, Lào Cai Province. Mai (1995) reports that they have returned to China, where they had originally immigrated from.
*Phù Lá Hoa (Flowery Phù Lá): Nàn Xỉ,
Xin Mần District, Hà Giang Province; A Lù Commune,
Bát Xát District, Lào Cai Province; some living with the Xá Phó of
Bảo Thắng District, Lào Cai Province. Mai (1995) reports that they have returned to China, where they had originally immigrated from.
References
*Edmondson, Jerold A. 2003
''Three Tibeto-Burman Languages of Vietnam''
External links
Ethnologue entry*https://web.archive.org/web/20120321121833/http://cema.gov.vn/modules.php?name=Content&op=details&mid=525
54 ethnic groups in Vietnam
Ethnic groups in Vietnam
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