Hon Village, Lai Chau

Introduction to Hon Village 

Ban Hon community cultural tourist site is located in Ban Hon commune, including Ban Hon 1 with nearly 90 households and Ban Hon 2 with nearly 70 households. This is the residence of the Lu and Mong ethnic communities, of which the Lu ethnic group accounts for 90%.

Cultural information 

The Lu ethnic customs are famous for their colorful clothing, which are all handmade by the Lu women with very sophisticated and unique patterns. The women here wear indigo-colored clothes and split-chest dresses with the left flap on top of the right, decorated with colorful tassels. Lu’s favorite necklaces and bracelets are made from silver, aluminum, and copper. In addition, Via bracelets, which are made from indigo threads, are usually worn to avoid evil spirits and bad luck. They also wear earrings that are shaped like tubes with threads to hang colorful cotton buds. The Lu women also wear head scarves that are rolled up and tilted to the left to reveal beautiful embroidered patterns.

The men’s clothing is simpler with dark indigo clothes, which are split blouses with fabric straps, two pockets on the front, and one pocket on the left chest. The shoulder bag is a very valuable item, both aesthetically and in terms of traditional value for Lu’s men. These shoulder bags come in different sizes and are decorated with floral motifs and cotton buds in vibrant colors. In contrast to the fact that weaving is associated with women, for men, there is carpentry, blacksmithing, and the making of household utensils. These items are well-designed and sophisticated, for instance, baskets, fishing and tools. Women of the Lu ethnic group often dye their teeth black, with some replaced with golden teeth.

The Lu’s folk music is very rich and diverse, reflecting Lu’s daily life. When performing, they play traditional instruments such as drums, gongs, and double flutes. The Lu ethnic group still preserves their beliefs and rituals in worshipping the forest god. The forest worshipping ceremony is held in the 3rd and 6th lunar months every year to pray to the gods to protect the village, its houses, crops, and livestock. In addition, the Lu people still preserve and maintain very rich and unique traditional games such as traditional bowling, badminton, fighting, and spinning tops, as well as performing love songs on the Tet holiday.