by Nguyễn Văn Tý and Hà Nguyễn

They say they could treat serious ailments like liver cirrhosis and cancer with wild herbs.

They can drink wine day and night without getting drunk.

They have unique worship and rite of passage rituals, as also folk song traditions.

These aspects of their lifestyle and culture lend the ethnic Dao an aura of mystique, but authorities are now keen on developing and preserving them.

Vũ Dương Châu, a member of the Việt Nam Motherland Front Central Committee, stresses the characteristics that are particular to the Dao, saying these are reflected in their traditional architecture, attires, cuisine, crafts, festivals and folk songs as well as herbal medicine.

Châu says that the Dao Đỏ (Red Dao) people are adept at extracting herbal medicines from forests to treat liver ailments and other diseases like cancer.

Giang Trịnh Tuân, a medicinal herb researcher in Yên Bái Province’s Văn Chấn District, says almost all Dao Đỏ adults can drink wine the whole day long without getting drunk because they drink wild herb water every day instead of tea.

Herbalist Bàn Văn Quang says the Dao Đỏ people pick wild herbs in the forests, cut them into pieces, and dry and keep them on the smoking shelf over their cooking fire. “Each day they put a handful of such dried herbs into a pot and boil it for every family members to drink all day.”

“This water ensures that very few of them suffer from any liver diseases.”

Spiritual significance: A worship ceremony of the Dao.

Quang further says that many of the traditional treatments used by the Dao Đỏ are written in books maintained by their ancestors. However, every herbalist knows very well the remedy for liver ailments.

“Some herbs that grow widely in the forest can be used to treat liver cirrhosis. Several patients with ailments that hospitals had given up on have recovered because of these medicines,” he says.

Plants on high mountains and old forests or grown on high cliffs are most valuable. These herbs may although not completely kill viruses in the liver, but they create an environment to protect the liver and prevent the viruses from growing further, Quang says.

He also says that the Dao Đỏ know very well the importance of preserving the herbs they have been using for centuries. Each time they take one, they ensure that they plant several more.

Herbalist Phạm Văn Thanh, famous in the area for his stomach-ache remedy, says the herbal water that the Dao Đỏ drink is very healthy and has no side-effects.

Powerful deities

The worshipping traditions and rituals of the Dao people have been maintained through generations, showing their importance in the lives of the community, says 90-year-old herbalist Phùng Chương Chí in Tuyên Quang’s Thổ Bình Village in Lâm Bình District.

Chí says the rituals direct people to remember their origins and stay away from evil thoughts and actions; they also strengthen the spirit of the community.

The Dao use green, red, purple, yellow, black and white coloured “worship paintings” in their rituals. For instance, for Tết (Lunar New Year) festival, they use paintings of various deities, including the Deities of Earth and Hell, who they believe protect people’s live.

Artisan Phàn Văn Phú of Tuyên Quang’s Tân Thành Village says the worship paintings are of deities who know everything and will punish all evil acts. "People thinking of doing something bad will think again while looking at these paintings," he says.

Maturity ritual

Artisan Bàn Kim Sơn, of Tuyên Quang’s Nà Cọn Village in Na Hang District, where 71 per cent of the population is Dao, says the maturity ritual (Cấp sắc) is the most special tradition of the Dao. No adult male can avoid it, because it is only after this ritual that he is seen as a grown up with the right to join all community activities. They believe what if a person does not undergo this ritual, he will never be able to meet with his ancestors after his death.

Worship ceremony: Maturity rituals of Dao ethnic group.Dao traditions of worship, herbal medicine and folk singing have been practised for generations. VNA/VNS Photo Quang Đán

The maturity ritual is held in the last two months of the lunar year, most of the time. Sometimes, it is held in the first month. After some rituals are performed in the house, the ceremony moves outside, with dancing and folk game performances.

The maturity ritual was recognised as a national intangible cultural heritage in November 2013.

Special folk song

Folk singing Páo Dung is a cultural treasure of the Dao, reflecting their sentiments and aspirations. A tradition that goes many centuries, it is classified on the basis of the activity that is sung about, including lullabies, songs sung while working, songs that praise the natural landscape and even songs about premarital sex. 

This folk singing was also recognized as a national intangible heritage in 2013.