Ta Oi ethnic group
Customs and habits
The communal house of the Ta Oi is
called the Rong. It is built at the centre of the village and is a fairly
elongated house. The children take the family name of the father and only sons
have the right to inherit the family estate. The head of a lineage plays an
important role in village affairs. Young Ta Oi men and women are free to choose
their partners. They believe in animism and organize many ceremonies for Giang.
Several years after the burial of a deceased person, the dead's lineage
organizes a ceremony to exhume the dead's remains and build a funeral house
with sophisticated decoration and statues around the fence of the funeral
house.
Culture
The Ta Oi language belongs to the
Mon-Khmer Group and is close to the Bru-Van Kieu and Co Tu languages. The Ta Oi
has managed to preserve many of their proverbs, folk songs, puzzles, and
stories. Popular folk songs include Ka loi, Ba boih, Ro in, and especially the
romantic Cha Chap song. Gongs, string zithers, flutes, trumpets, drums, and
pan-pipes are popular musical instruments of the Ta Oi.
Costumes
Women wear shirts and skirts, but
the skirt is usually knotted up to cover their chests. Men wear loincloths and
short vests, or leave their upper torsos naked. Ornaments made from copper,
silver, glass beads, and ivory are also popular.
Economy
The Ta Oi practices a slash-and-burn method of
cultivation and grow wet rice through this process. They are also good at
horticulture and fish rearing in artificial ponds.
