Sapa is popular for not only its wonderful mountainous scenery including the spectacular peak of Phanxipang, fairytale Muong Hoa, the poetic landscape of Ham Rong, the romantic scene of the terraced fields, amazing rolling hills and so much more, but also its traditional culture of ethnic minorites. Coming to Sapa, you will have chances to see how local minorities live in Vietnam. One of the largest ethnic minorities in Vietnam is the H’mong Tribe and in this article, we will explore H’mong’s culture and identities.
H’mong – the largest ethnic group in Sapa
Sapa is popular for not only its wonderful mountainous scenery including the spectacular peak of Phanxipang, fairytale Muong Hoa, the poetic landscape of Ham Rong, the romantic scene of the terraced fields, amazing rolling hills and so much more, but also its traditional culture of ethnic minorites. Coming to Sapa, you will have chances to see how local minorities live in Vietnam. One of the largest ethnic minorities in Vietnam is the H’mong Tribe and in this article, we will explore H’mong’s culture and identities.
Most visitors to Sapa definitely go to Cat Cat – San San village where mostly H’mong people live, next to each other along the mountain side and cultivate plants surrounding their homes. Like other ethnic groups in Vietnam, H’mong people are excellent at growing rice and corn, making traditional handicrafts such as twisting flax and weaving fabric.
You can see local women sitting by looms with colourful pieces of brocade decorated with designs of flowers and birds. When these pieces of brocade are finished, they are dyed and embroidered to become beautiful products.
The H’mong groups are usually identified by the characteristics of their women’s clothing. Their costume has its own character in colours and patterns compared to traditional costume of other ethnic groups.
The Black H’mong are by far the largest ethnic minority group in and around Sapa. They always dress in dark clothing, dyed black with indigo – that is why they’re called The Black H’mong.
The Red H’mong also dress in black, but the women wrap up their hair in a red scarf decorated with silver accessories. You can estimate how rich a woman is by seeing the size of her scarf. The women shave their hair and eyebrows to conform with their traditional view of beauty.
The skirts of White H’mong women are made of linen, while women of other H’mong groups wear cajuput coloured skirts with an embroidered fringe.
The Flower H’mong are undoubtedly the most colourful of all branches of H’mong to be seen in Vietnam. They wear a colorful embroidered calf-length skirt together with an embroidered jacket that can be black, blue, or green.
In addition to the brocade weaving craft, H’mong women are good at manipulating gold and silver jewelry. Their products are fairly sophisticated, especially jewelry for women.
Tourists to Sapa are always intrigued by the H’mong’s unique customs, including the custom of “Wife catching” (cướp vợ). The young man can secretly ask his friends to drag a girl who he loves to his house and keep her for three days. During these days, if the girl agrees to become his wife, a wedding will be held. Otherwise, the girl can happily go home after three days if she does not like him.
Visitors to SaPa will have a unique opportunity to experience the daily activities of the local people, enjoy special and unique dishes like Thang co, corn wine, corn cake, mèn mén and many other exotic dishes.
The rich and diverse traditional culture of H’mong people in SaPa is waiting to welcome tourists exploring this region.
Kevin Nguyen
Most visitors to Sapa definitely go to Cat Cat – San San village where mostly H’mong people live, next to each other along the mountain side and cultivate plants surrounding their homes. Like other ethnic groups in Vietnam, H’mong people are excellent at growing rice and corn, making traditional handicrafts such as twisting flax and weaving fabric.
You can see local women sitting by looms with colourful pieces of brocade decorated with designs of flowers and birds. When these pieces of brocade are finished, they are dyed and embroidered to become beautiful products.
The H’mong groups are usually identified by the characteristics of their women’s clothing. Their costume has its own character in colours and patterns compared to traditional costume of other ethnic groups.
The Black H’mong are by far the largest ethnic minority group in and around Sapa. They always dress in dark clothing, dyed black with indigo – that is why they’re called The Black H’mong.
The Red H’mong (Red Dzao)
The Red H’mong also dress in black, but the women wrap up their hair in a red scarf decorated with silver accessories. You can estimate how rich a woman is by seeing the size of her scarf. The women shave their hair and eyebrows to conform with their traditional view of beauty.
The white H’mong
The skirts of White H’mong women are made of linen, while women of other H’mong groups wear cajuput coloured skirts with an embroidered fringe.
The Flower H’mong
The Flower H’mong are undoubtedly the most colourful of all branches of H’mong to be seen in Vietnam. They wear a colorful embroidered calf-length skirt together with an embroidered jacket that can be black, blue, or green.
In addition to the brocade weaving craft, H’mong women are good at manipulating gold and silver jewelry. Their products are fairly sophisticated, especially jewelry for women.
Tourists to Sapa are always intrigued by the H’mong’s unique customs, including the custom of “Wife catching” (cướp vợ). The young man can secretly ask his friends to drag a girl who he loves to his house and keep her for three days. During these days, if the girl agrees to become his wife, a wedding will be held. Otherwise, the girl can happily go home after three days if she does not like him.
Visitors to SaPa will have a unique opportunity to experience the daily activities of the local people, enjoy special and unique dishes like Thang co, corn wine, corn cake, mèn mén and many other exotic dishes.
The rich and diverse traditional culture of H’mong people in SaPa is waiting to welcome tourists exploring this region.