Muongs

Mueong language belongs to the Viet Mueong group of the Mon Khmer branch of the Austro-Asian languages .

Both Vietnamese and Muong were influenced by the Paraty languages . The separation of Muong from Vietnamese dates from ^{[by whom? ]} VIII — X centuries.

Mueong is spoken in the north of Vietnam. There are three dialects : northern (in the vocabulary there are a large number of Thai words), central (common Mongolian vocabulary) and southern (has similarities with the more archaic Viet-Muong languages). Each dialect is divided into numerous dialects.

The grammatical system is root isolating . Analytical methods for expressing grammatical meanings prevail. There is a system of musical tones . The order of words in the sentence is fixed: "subject - predicate - addition . "

Writing on the basis of the Vietnamese Latin alphabet appeared in the XX century, but among the Muong nobility there were people studying the Confucian canons and Chinese hieroglyphics ^[3] .

There is a comic saying why the Mongs did not have a written language for a long time:

“In the old days they went for letters, they go back, and on the way there is a stream, they put letters in their mouth and swallowed them inadvertently. Therefore, now every time you have to read, you need to strain your voice so that the letters appear again ” ^{[4] [5]} .

Mueong is mainly used in everyday communication. Most speakers of this language also speak Vietnamese.

Representatives of the Muong people live in northern Vietnam, mainly in the mountainous provinces of Hoabin and Thanh Hoa . Around the city of Hoabin, there are four large settlements in which the mongs live: Mueongwang, Mueongby, Mueong Thang and Mueong Dong. Myongs are mainly settled in this area along streams and rivers.

Hunt

Since ancient times, muongs have passed for ^{[ where? ]} good hunters.

Mostly they use traps and a bow that even firearms could not displace, causing unnecessary noise, scaring away the beast.

To catch a large beast weighing up to several tens of kilograms, the muong place traps with a large stone that falls on the beast if it touches the bait attached to the trigger. There are traps made of bamboo or iron rods with or without a spring .

Mongs also use loops and nets into which they drive animals, shouting and knocking on gongs . After harvesting in the dry season, myongs arrange a hunt with dogs . For hunting small animals and birds, onions are used.

Fishing

Fish are usually caught with a net or a special basket .

Myongs fish with a net only a few times a year, while almost all the villagers participate in fishing. Nets are cast from several boats at the same time, thereby occupying a large area of ​​water. According to custom, myongs do not eat caviar , so all females with caviar are released back into the river. All caught fish are divided equally between the inhabitants of the village.

In addition to the network, mongs also use baskets of different sizes for single large fish. During high water, large fish jump up against the stream and fall into large baskets, placed across the stream of waterfalls .

Agriculture

Myongs grow corn , sweet potatoes , vegetables and other food crops. But, basically, they are engaged in rice sowing . In some areas, two rice crops are harvested per year in the fifth and tenth months of the lunar calendar ^[1] .

They cultivate the land with a variety of tools, among which the most common plow and harrow . Myongs grow rice in the flood fields. Ripe ears are reaped with the help of a scythe called Moyong Nai .

Mongs usually dry rice with ears. If necessary, take sheaves and trample them underfoot in a wooden trough with their feet to separate the grains from the straw . Rice grains are peeled by crushing in a mortar.

Irrigation system

In the process of cultivating the land, the Mueongs have accumulated rich experience in building an irrigation system. They build water wheels to supply water to high areas of the field. A water wheel consists of two main parts: a dam and a wheel.

The dam is built across the stream. First, bamboo stakes are driven into the bottom of the stream, then they are covered with non-soaking dried grass. The dam rises about a meter above the water surface, it does not completely block the flow of water, but only directs part of it to the wheel.

A wheel with a height of 5 to 10 meters is made of durable wood and bamboo like a bicycle . Hollow bamboo logs are attached along a rim with a width of 80 cm to a meter at an angle of 45 ° to the surface of rotation. With the help of such water wheels, myongs deliver water to a height of up to 8 meters. Water wheels spin for a very long time without requiring additional energy .

Livestock and Poultry

Livestock - buffalo , pigs , poultry - chickens , ducks and others.

Utilities

Mueongs harvest wood , bamboo ; collect herbs, wild cardamom , honey , wax , and kunau - dioscorea tubers. Myongs conclude contracts for the supply of these products with state procurement organizations in Vietnam, receiving money or necessary goods for this.

Crafts

Myongs are engaged in weaving ( op baskets for collecting forest products that are worn at the waist) and making items from bronze ( drums , gongs, dishes, and so on)

Women spin, weave cotton fabrics, sew and embroider clothes. Popular motifs are deer , pigeons , flowers and dragons . Men are engaged in the extraction of vegetable oil and blacksmithing ^[1] .

Muong girls gently style their hair and then wrap it in a white scarf woven from Indian reed .

Women's costume is simple and practical, consists of a white blouse-cape without buttons and a length that fits the body of a black skirt . The main decoration is a richly decorated, wide, tight-fitting belt with bright embroidery. In costumes of the ethnic groups Mong and Mueong give great attention to skirts.

During the holidays, women put on an elegant traditional costume: a white headdress, an indigo blouse, a black skirt.

The Muong female costume is presented in the collection of Hans Meyer (1858-1926), who made a great contribution to the development of Russian ethnography . His collection has 188 individual items of clothing, of which 74 belong to the costumes of lowland vietnam, as they make up 75% of the total population. The female costume of the mongov is presented in a single copy and consists of a sweater, skirt, sash and neck jewelry. Jacket cut kimono sewn from black cotton fabric on a rough dark blue lining; the sleeve narrows sharply to the wrist. The jacket is oar, with a direct fastener, the gate is trimmed with a low rack. At the waist, the side floors expand and have slots 10 cm deep, the bottom of the jacket is cut in a semicircle. The jacket is fastened with 13 metal buttons in the form of large peas on the ears, through which rings are threaded ^[6] .

Black fabric long stitches are sewn on the right field. The gate is bordered by a strip of white fabric 3 cm wide, which is embroidered with purple, pale blue, light green and pale pink threads. The top of the border is decorated with two rows of metal beads . The edges of the sleeves and the floor are edged with a narrow green braid . Jacket length 60 cm ^[7] .

The second important detail of this costume is a hinged skirt made of black cotton fabric with a blue lining. The skirt is sewn from pieces of size 35 by 67 cm. The top is trimmed with a strip of white fabric, painted in pink. A blue belt with two loops is sewn to it, which with the help of two separate blue ribbons are pulled together at the waist. A green silk braid is sewn between the banner and the pink stripe.

The sash of the women's suit is cotton, black, warp threads are released at the ends, which are sewn into the fabric harness connecting these threads. The ends of the sash are decorated with ornaments, silk embroidery from three rows of beads: dark blue, lilac and green. This ornament is bordered with thin yellow and green lines ^[8] .

With a suit they wear our necklace in the form of a scarf made of black cotton fabric on a blue lining. In the middle upper part of the scarf, which surrounds the neck at the back, there is a decoration made of metal beads. The jewelry consists of four continuous rows of beads. The upper edge of the scarf is edged with dark green braid and sewn in two lines: light green and red silk. The scarf is 142 cm long, 7.5 cm wide, the length of jewelry is 29 cm, and the width is 4 cm ^[9] .

Op - woven wallet

An “op” is a wicker basket worn at the waist. Being an integral part of the costume of mogs, “op” can be an ornament and an indispensable bag, where vegetables, herbs and everything that can be collected in the forest or on the field are put.

In addition, “op” can serve as an indicator of the social status, age and gender of its owner. For rich people, “op” is beautifully and expensively decorated, simple toongs wear modest “op”. In adults, there is more “op” than in children. In women it is round, and in men it is square.

Sometimes op serves as a “credential” that couples in love give each other.

Wedding

Muong wedding consists of the same stages as the Vietas : matchmaking , engagement , wedding.

Parents of the groom choose a matchmaker from the bride’s relatives, who should come to the bride to treat herself with treats: glutinous rice cakes, tobacco and betel nut . If the girl’s parents agree to the wedding, they immediately cut the chicken , on the legs of which the matchmaker should be told. If the results are good, then he leaves part of the treats on the altar of the ancestors. A wedding is organized only after three years, and during this time the groom must give gifts to the bride's parents; in response, she gives the groom's parents something made by her own hands ( blankets , pillows ).

On the wedding day, early in the morning, the groom with his matchmaker, friends and relatives who bring gifts to the bride should go to her house. Swat should sing a request to let him and the groom into her house. After receiving the permission of the bride, they enter the house, give gifts and worship the ancestors of the bride. After this, the bride says goodbye to the altar of her house and leaves for the groom's house, where their wedding will be celebrated.

After the wedding, the bride transfers her belongings to her husband’s family in two large boxes called bokhong .

The traditional form of social organization is a rural community led by feudal nobility. The family is small, the marriage is patrilocal ^[10] .

In the field of inheritance dominates the majorate .

Birth of a child

When a woman gives birth to a child, her family surrounds the main staircase to the house with a bamboo fence. A child is given a name only when he turns one year old.

Funeral rites

These rituals, like wedding ones, are very expensive: buffaloes or pigs are slaughtered for sacrifice , and before the August Revolution, gifts were also given to local feudal lords — lang dao (lang is the hereditary ruler of the district among the Mongs, depending on the Vietnamese sovereign and usually receiving an official from him rank) ^[11] .

Traditional dwelling

Whereas in the Vietnamese dwelling, an increase in the number of families affected the increase in the number of buildings in the courtyard, but among mountain peoples, the growth of the house in length.

So, for example, the houses of Myongs on the banks of the Red River often reach 100 m in length ^[12] . Basically, mongs build houses on the banks of the river or at the foot of the mountains so that the facade faces the river, so the house is reliably protected from behind and open to fresh air in front.

Mueong houses, usually on stilts, are wooden, rectangular. The roof is necessarily four-pitched. The length of the dwelling is twice the width. In such a house from 6 to 12 windows without glass , located near the floor. Inside the house is divided by wicker shields into several chambers located along the back of a long wall. At the entrance there is a mortar for cereals and a basket of rice . In the far corner, the hosts usually arrange an altar for their ancestors. Near the dwelling there is a platform with outbuildings, wattle and daub gardens and small orchards ^[13] .

There is a wooden deck with water and a scoop in front of the entrance: before you climb into the house, you need to wash your feet. A staircase leads to the veranda. It can be a continuation of the house in length, and can be attached to a longitudinal wall. The veranda sometimes has a canopy . The hearth (a quadrangular frame filled with earth, on which there are three stones) is located in the center of the house, closer to the window or door, in order to avoid a fire and provide air flow. Only tea water is boiled on the guest hearth.

The main building material for pile dwellings is collected in a tropical forest : wood - for poles and beams, bamboo - for walls and floors, palm leaves or grass - for roofing ^[14] .

Gongs are the most revered instrument of the mongs , without them no celebrations can take place. Polyphonic songs are performed under the gongs ^[15] .

The Vietnamese Ministry and the Institute for the Study of Music organized three festivals: in 1987 for the North, in 1989 for the South, and in 1992 for the whole country. A large number of amateur gong ensembles from different regions of the country took part in these festivals. ^[16] .

Gong can be exchanged for a buffalo or a cow. Gong is the best dowry for a daughter. Ancient gongs, which are symbols of nobility and wealth, have the greatest value. Most of the gongs are among the residents of the village of Myong Thang ( Kaofong County), whose number is approximately 2,969.

Mueong believe that inside the ancient gong is the god-angel of fate with unlimited power. The outcome of the war, the crop, the health and well-being of people ^[17] depend on it.

Types of Gongs

Gongs from 1 m to 15 cm in size are used, more often than others play on gongs 60–70 cm and 20–30 cm in diameter. Each gong has its own name depending on the sound, function and the picture depicted on it ^[18] . They beat one gong with uniform quick blows in extreme, disturbing circumstances: when they convene people to hunt or militia for war, when they see a predatory animal and so on. Small gongs hit each other, as well as large gongs held by other members of the orchestra ^[5] .

Most gongs are made by casting from a metal mixture (70-80% copper and 20-30% tin , as well as a small amount of lead , iron and zinc ; sometimes silver is added to this mixture).

The people living in Vietnam and playing the gongs cannot make gongs locally, so they buy them from the Vietas, Lao and Kampucheans. After that, they configure them themselves.

They play gongs in two ways: with sticks or with their fist. To play the gongs with a protrusion in the center, a wooden stick 25 cm long is used, the head of which is covered with a cloth or cotton . When playing, musicians hit the ledge or the center of the gong. The strength of the blow depends on the nature of the song itself ^[19] .

An ensemble of the “shak bua” type is widespread among the mongovs. The usual ensemble consists of 12 gongs with a protrusion in the center, a singer and two people with gifts for performers.

Gong Pieces

The plays are performed on holidays, each associated with a certain event of the year.

• The “buffalo sacrifice” ceremony is a celebration of victory: through the presentation of the slain buffalo to the angel god, the Mouongs express their gratitude for the victory over the enemy. This rite is accompanied by the dances “hien” (with a shield ) and “guy” (with sticks), showing the heroism, will, mind and talent of the young warriors.
• A feast of gratitude to the angel god for a peaceful and quiet life. The play is one of the oldest. During the sacrifice of the buffalo, male dances are performed - dances with a shield and a sword around the buffalo, a dance with a drum . The play is performed in fast rhythm.
• The feast of eating new green rice. The play "females" is performed in honor of the god of rice ( Nang Shori ). Young men play gongs, and girls perform a round dance "soan" around jugs with a drink in the common house and on the way to the first house.
• The funeral. The play is performed not only during the funeral, but also in any events related to the death of a person (for example, a month after death).
• “Shanbois” is a national spring holiday when everyone congratulates each other and wishes happiness in the New Year ^[20] .

In the view of the Muong, chopping a tree was a struggle with the spirits that lived in it. In support of this, one can cite lines from the work of Mueong folklore, namely the words of a worker who fell asleep near a tree that he chopped:

At midnight
I heard the talk and the groans of a pack of spirits,
The sky has turned completely black
Spirits sobbed crying in the tree.

- [Tee tat tee rac 1988, p. 355]

There are a number of works of folk epos in the muong language, recorded using the Vietnamese graphic “kuok-ngi”.

The largest epic is “The Birth of the Earth and the Birth of Water” ( Vietnamese. Te tấc te đác , te so te te dak) . It consists of more than 2,000 verses and 16,000 lines. It tells about the creation of the Earth from the point of view of the mongs. There are two versions of this work - Hoabin and Thanh Hoisk.

The flood in the “Birth of the Earth and the birth of Water” is a phenomenon that regulates chaos. In Myongs mythology, the flood is described as a spontaneous phenomenon, a natural cataclysm, and not as the punishment of the gods for misconduct ^[21] .

There are five worlds in cosmography of mongs, which are located at three levels vertically. Moreover, the word "peace" is indicated by the word "muong" ("inheritance", "district"), which is under the authority of the hereditary ruler of kun (cun) or lang (lang). In the center of the universe is the earthly world or Flat Muong, Muong pua (Muong pua). The name "flat" may have arisen from the opposition of the earthly world to the high heaven - Heavenly Mooong, Muong Kloi, where Bua Kloi, Bua Kloi (Heavenly ruler) reigns. The soul of the deceased must cross the Khang River in order to get to the Heavenly ruler ^[22] .

According to mythological representations of mongs underground, there is the Low Flat Mueong (Muong Pua tin), which is a copy of the Flat Mueong, but everything is reduced in size there: people are dwarfs , buffalo are no more than a dog , bulls are no more than a cat . According to myth, this strange world was once associated with the Flat Mueong, but then for some reason this transition was closed.

There is also a mong of the Ruler of water snakes (Muong Bua Khu) - this is the water element, the "underwater kingdom" ^[23] . From the master of water snakes, the fairy tale hero receives a reward and often marries his daughter. Water snakes can easily turn into humans ^[24] . There is one Moyong tale on this plot:

One combed snake turned into a young man and went for a walk in the earthly world, where he met a girl from the Moyong village and fell in love with her. The serpent in the form of a young man clung to her. At the wedding, the groom’s relatives traveled from the underwater kingdom on the waves. Of course, during the wedding, guests from the underwater world took a human face. But when night fell, each of them asked himself as a mat a large round lid woven from bamboo shingles - they usually put rice, corn, greens , vegetables on them for drying. At midnight, one of the bride's relatives woke up and saw a large snake in each of the wicker caps. Frightened, he began to scatter the wild bow , which the combed snakes are afraid of. Then the snakes began to dive into the water that surrounded the bride’s house, and got away. Since then, no one has come from the underwater kingdom for the bride ^{[25] [26]} .

Also in the mythical and epic cycle "The Birth of the Earth and the Birth of Water" includes the legend of the battle between Cancer and Tien ("guy- toad " and "guy- frog ") with the Heavenly ruler. Cancer and Thien demanded rain from him, since people and animals have suffered from heat and drought for a long time. They took with them a large bow , which “seven cannot pull” ^[24] .

Shot - pierced high sky. Oooo!
Pierced the high sky - touched the rainbow!
Downed nine suns, nine moons.
Only one sun left , one moon
Like now.

- Phan Dang Nhat 1974, p. 266

Cancer and Tien threw a cry, people, snakes, bears , owls began to run to them to fight with the Heavenly ruler. In the end, he was defeated. A similar myth is common among different peoples living from the Red River to the Amur .

Toad and frog in Mueong folklore and beliefs are the spirits that regulate the amount of rainfall.

Among the Muongs, the oral cycle “Ascending to Heaven” is also known, which, like the “Birth of the Earth and the birth of Water”, is performed during a funeral.

Mooongs draw a clear line between the soul of a living person and the soul of a dead person or a ghost ^[27] . The soul of the deceased travels to different worlds, one of which is the world of ghosts. The purpose of this journey is to prepare for eternal life. The ghost world is very similar to the ordinary earthly world. The soul of the deceased lives there together with the dead ancestors, it, like in the earthly world, plows the land, plants and grows rice, for which it is allocated a field. Nevertheless, the world of ghosts differs from the earthly world, primarily in the time of day: the dark night in that world is a bright day, and vice versa.

"The bird there is a dog, / A Owl is a rooster . " The opposition of the owl, the nocturnal bird, and the rooster announcing the morning is also nothing but the opposition of night and day, darkness and light. The bird is opposed to the dog, presumably due to the fact that the earthly world and the world of ghosts are opposed to each other and in space ^[28] .

It is possible that earlier ghosts were in the neighborhood with people, but at different times (night for ghosts is day, and day is night) ^[29] .

One of the important holidays is the New Year and agricultural holidays. During the New Year's Eve, the mongs pray for their ancestors. Similar prayers are held on revolutionary holidays, after which the whole village is treated to pre-prepared dishes.

Mostly Mongs profess Buddhism and Christianity ( Catholics ), but animistic views are also present in their beliefs ^[10] . They believe in the existence of harmful spirits ( mother , mother and others). Sorcerers used fear of spirits against people who displeased them, declaring them to be carriers of the spirit mai chai . The deceived peasants beat and sometimes killed innocent people ^[30] .

Shamanism is widespread among the Mueongs, people with physical disabilities become shamans, which, according to popular beliefs, frighten supernatural forces ^[31] .

For the performance of rituals, shamans received a fee. Rituals are performed in the dark, as shamans turn to the soul of the deceased, and in the world of spirits night is the day. Usually the ceremony lasts three nights, in rich families - seven nights, the poor - one. Three shamans were invited to the ceremony in the houses of the local nobility - one chief and two helpers, who repeated phrase after phrase after shaman, this reinforced the sacred effect of the pronounced. Mueongs believe in the power of shamans, so even if hundreds of people gather for the ceremony, complete silence reigns in the house ^[32] .

In order to make an even greater impression, as well as increase his magical power, the shaman carries a bag of amulets with him: it can include the peacock or another bird’s beak, a tiger’s fingernail, as well as a sword to fight against evil spirits and sheath made of cloth or skins. A shaman’s wand with peacock feathers (symbol of heaven and sun) is decorated with flags that depicted a fish (symbol of water element) and doe (symbol of earth).

The profession of a shaman ( oong mo ) was usually passed from father to son, but the disciples flocked to famous shamans from all sides. Over a long period of study, students had to memorize large texts by ear ^[5] .

Students with the shaman went to all ceremonies. According to Kwat Kong Tiam, during the funeral ceremony, when the coffin is brought, the shaman sings about the tree of which he is made, the son of the deceased leads a buffalo to the slaughter - the shaman tells the legend of how buffaloes became pets. Before striking a bronze drum and turning to the soul of the deceased, the shaman tells a myth about how bronze drums appeared ^[33] .

Shamans not only performed ceremonies, but also, as a rule, were engaged in peasant affairs, and also treated the sick ^[11] .

After the August Revolution, the Mueong lifestyle changed, a large family gave way to a small one. Married brothers no longer live with their parents, but form separate families ^[13] .

Peasants received communal allotments ranging in size from 1 to 3 Mau per family, production began to develop. Most villages have elementary schools ^[30] .

• Leskinen A.N., Ngo Duc Thinh Muong // Peoples and religions of the world / Chap. ed. V.A. Tishkov . M.: Big Russian Encyclopedia, 1998. S. 360—361.
• Mukhlinov A.I.Peoples of Vietnam. National minorities. Mooongs. // Peoples of Southeast Asia / Ed. A. A. Huber, Yu. V. Maretina, D. D. Tumrkin, I. N. Cheboksarov. M.: Nauka, 1966.S. ​​127-129.
• Leu Thi Kim Thanh. Gong ensembles in Vietnam (Mueong and North Tay Nguyen) / abstract for the degree of candidate of art history. M.: Publishing House of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation State Institute of Art Studies, 1996.
• Nikulin N.I. Cosmological representations of Mueongs based on folklore and visual materials // Folklore and Mythology of the East in comparative typological coverage / Ed. N.R. Lidova, N.I. Nikulin. M .: Heritage, 1999.S. 161-177.
• Nikulin N. I. The Vietnamese myth of the world tree and the formation of literature // Mythology and Literature of the East / Ed. E.S. Kotlyar, B.L. Riftin . M .: Heritage, 1995.P. 126-147.
• Nikulin N.I. Myth-epic legends of the peoples of Vietnam // Specifics of genres in the literature of Central and East Asia / Ed. S. Yu. Neklyudov. M .: The main edition of the oriental literature of the publishing house Nauka, 1985. S. 7-38.
• Mukhlinov A. I. Clothing of the peoples of Vietnam and Laos // Clothing of the peoples of Foreign Asia. Vol. XXXII: Sat Art. / Ans. ed. D.A. Olderogge. L .: Nauka, 1977.S. 80-111.
• Cheboksarov N. N. Types of traditional rural dwelling of the peoples of Southeast, East and Central Asia. M .: Nauka, 1972.P. 27-29.

• Traditional gong music of mongs (rus.)
• Viet-Mueong languages (Russian)
• The beauty of women's costumes of the peoples of Vietnam (rus.)
• Page about Mueong