TAY - THAI
Belonging to this language group are eight ethnic groups, with over 5 million people, accounting for 5.2% of the national population. The Tày, Nùng, Sán Chay, Giáy, and Bố Y mainly live in the northeastern region of Northern Vietnam, while the Thái, Lào, and Lự are distributed from the Northwest region to the western parts of Thanh Hóa and Nghệ An provinces. The ancestors of the Tày people have lived in Vietnam for over 2,000 years; other ethnic groups migrated later, some only a few hundred years ago.
The Tày – Thái language group communities are highly skilled in wet rice cultivation, using tools like plows, applying intensive farming techniques, and building irrigation systems. Several handicrafts are also well-developed, particularly textile weaving.
They follow a patrilineal family system. Early on, they developed proto-feudal social structures, such as the “quằng” system (Tày) and “phìa tạo” (Thái). They practice ancestor worship and are influenced by Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism to varying degrees.Many of their traditional cultural values have had a significant influence on other ethnic groups. In several areas, Tày or Thái languages have become the common communication means.
(Source: Vietnam Museum of Ethnology)
