The Co Tu Minority

Village life
Daily village life in Bho Hoong revolves around traditions and practices that have more or less remained unchanged since the Co Tu began interacting with modern society. The Co Tu people in general have retained more of their original culture than most other ethnic minority groups in Vietnam.

Foresters still selectively log the surrounding jungle for the most prized timbers. Weavers still construct buildings and fabrics using methods of old. Village elders guide and instruct all in the proper respect due to the forest, water and sky gods. Their nightly dance and gong performance in front of the central Goul house isn’t just for tourists but is an integral part of celebrating their culture and appeasing the spirits that demand regular tribute. Bho Hoong Bungalows offers a window on this traditional ethnic minority village life in a way that no other experience in Vietnam can.

Co To People & History
The history of the Co Tu people remains much shrouded in mystery. They are believed to have diverted from the Chinese Dong Son minority group approximately 3000 years ago as they expanded southwards from Yunnan valley. Tradition and culture is handed down in local oral folklore with very little written history in existence. Bronze Age practices from spirit worship, swidden agriculture, tattooing, crossbow hunting with poison arrows and ancient weaving techniques survive to this day. The practice of blood or head hunting was observed as recently as 1950 when the Co Tu started to interact more closely with more modern societies.

The Co Tu inhabit the mountainous regions of Central Vietnam West of Hoi An and Da Nang right up to and over the Lao border. They are now counted amongst the smallest of Vietnam’s ethnic minority groups with a total population of just 60,000 people. They live in small villages comprising of mostly wood and rattan huts with a central common, Goul and Moong houses and practice subsistence agriculture and hunting methods. The people themselves are generally small and extremely hardy due to their restricted diet and arduous lifestyles. They were seen as keen allies of North Vietnamese forces during the French and American wars and were universally respected for their knowledge of mountain survival techniques and their sheer tenacity in battle. A culture imbued with ancient hunting practices made them the ghosts of the forest.

Beliefs and ceremonies
Co Tu people follow an ancient patriarchal pattern with the men being responsible for the household, making the decisions and holding political power while the women are responsible for looking after the family and agricultural work. The Co Tu believe that souls wander the earth around them and since women are believed to be weaker, it is thought that these floating souls can permeate and talk to the women, granting them special spiritual powers. Their religion and culture is unique amongst traditional beliefs in Vietnam.
Hunting is central to Co Tu culture and the chief spirit the Co Tu worship is Comor Bar. She is the spirit of the forests and the guardian of birds, bees, fish and animals. Before a hunt commences a fortune telling ceremony is performed by villagers to determine the likelihood of success. A select portion of every successful hunt is set aside to appease this fickle spirit and to help ensure future hunting success. The spirits of the slain animals are said to take up residence in the skull hanging inside the Goul, reporting back to Comor Bar any transgressions to villagers make and thus endangering future hunts. All ceremonies and practices within the Goul pay respect to the inhabitants behind these unblinking eyes.
Every house has a special alter dedicated to Comor Bar upon which they place horns and heads of hunted animals. A yearly celebration in honour of Comor Bar is held in the late summer and is marked by the slaughtering of a sacrificial animal. During such festivals, and at other celebrations throughout the year, the Co Tu perform their traditional dances. The males dance the Tung Tung, which involves the beating of drums and gongs whilst hunters brandish ceremonial spears and swords and chant prayers to the spirits. The Ya Ya dance is performed by the women of the village and provides a graceful counterpoint to the energetic movement of the males. These dances are usually performed simultaneously around a central bonfire under the light of the stars and together they merge into a ceremony that traces its history back thousands of years.

Dress & Traditional Handicrafts
Brocade weaving has always been an essential part of the self-sufficient life of the Co Tu ethnic people. Co Tu women take charge of weaving, making attractive yet sturdy clothes and other items to use in the kitchen, decorations or for spiritual purpose for their family or as gifts to share.
The traditional dress of the Co Tu people is simple, practical and colorful. The men wear loincloths and leave their upper bodies bare except during ceremonies when they drape a longer body cloth in a cross across their chest. The women wear long skirts and short-sleeved tops. Both men and women’s outfits are made from black fabric with bands of embroidery predominately in red, white and orange.

Dhroong village, just a village a few kilometers from Bho Hoong, is home to many exceptionally skilled weavers. Girls learn to weave from the age of about 7 or 8 years old from their mother and other village women. When being free from crop-care, weaving also is a great opportunity for Co Tu women to gather and socialize.

Co Tu weavers harmoniously manoeuvre a wood and bamboo device with their body movements. Seated with her back holding the end of vertical yarns, the artisan pushes the other end of the yarns with her legs, changing tension to allow horizontal yarns to criss-cross the other, whilst simultaneously adding decorative beads. The Co Tu are the last tribe in Southeast Asia who continue to embroider their beads by hand, having yet to accept the use of glue for this process. Rattan weaving is on the main traditional handicrafts of the Co Tu people. For generations, after each planting had been completed, Co Tu men walk deep into the forest to gather rattan material. Once extracted, rattan canes are taken home, split into strips, sun-dried, and stored above the wood-fired stove to help preserve them. The men gather in the Guol, their stilted village common house and ply their craft, this also gives the men a avenue to discuss village politics and share no small amount of gossip. The dried strips are turned into useful woven household products such as mats, the iconic Co Tu backpack and other decorative items.

Bho Hoong Village
Nestled in the Truong Son mountain range and sitting astride the beautiful Kon River is the land named Bho Hoong. In the 1970’s as the American war was finishing an ethnic minority, the Co Tu, moved their people from the devastated highlands near the Laos border to this promising new location. Within a few years a traditional ethnic minority village, bearing the land’s name, came in to existence and blends in with the rugged landscape with an ease only true mountain people can muster.

Fast forward 30 or so years and now stands a village of just 315 souls whose lives are ruled by the seasons just as they have been for time immemorial. Traditional agriculture, especially the cultivation of sticky rice and vegetables dominate local life. The ancient practice of weaving can be seen everywhere, from the sturdy yet decorative clothing to buildings woven in a way that resists the very elements themselves. The largest and most decorative of these are the Guol and Moong houses. In the middle of the village common a totem pole stands as a silent witness to harvest festivals, marriages and funerals.

Those wishing for a taste of ethnic minority life in Vietnam are now welcome with the village opening its doors to intrepid travellers in 2013. A selection of stilted wood and rattan bungalows have been modernised to provide a comfortable experience and numerous traditional activities made available for those wishing for a unique getaway.

Location
Tucked away in the Truong Son Mountains, Bho Hoong is a peaceful riverside ethnic minority village seemingly untouched by time and unspoiled by modern life. Although Bho Hoong feels far, far removed from the hustle and bustle of Vietnam’s cities, it is just a short distance from Hue and Hoi An, two of the country’s most popular tourist destinations. The international airport of Da Nang lays just 80 kilometers away making this shining example of sustainable tourism accessible to everyone.

The surrounding mountains have recovered from heavy bombing during the American war and now large tracts of rainforest remain virtually untouched by modern development. The only evidence of the human hands lays in the traditional mountain agriculture of the Co Tu people whose techniques have been passed down through the centuries. This secluded ethnic minority village blends in with the landscape and is easily missed by those traveling along the main road. Access to the village is by a single suspension bridge that at first glance seems quite rickety but is in fact of very rugged construction. Visitors arrive at Bho Hoong exclusively via motorbike, jeep and minivan tours. These tours are an adventure in themselves and give intrepid travelers a great take on life and the natural beauty of this region.