ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY SERIES MINORITY GROUPS IN NORTH VIETNAM Contributors Joann L. Schrock Diane S. Marton Virginia S. McKenzie Maps, Research, and writing completed APRIL 1972 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Stock Number 0820-0424 FOREWORD This study was prepared by the Kensington Office of the American Institutes for Research (AIR/KO). It is designed to be useful to military and other personnel who need a convenient compilation of basic facts about the social, economic, and political institutions and practices of minority groups in North Vietnam. This study seeks to present as full and as balanced an integrated exposition on selected tribal and other minority groups as limitations on space and research time have permitted. It was compiled from information available in openly published material. Extensive bibliographies are provided to permit recourse to other published sources for more detailed information. There has been no attempt to express any specific point of view or to make policy recommendations. The contents of the study represent the work of the authors and AIR/KO and do not represent the official view of the United States Government. An effort has been made to make this study as comprehensive as possible. It can be expected, however, that the material and interpretations are subject to modification in the light of new information and developments. Such corrections, additions, and suggestions for factual, interpretative, or other changes as readers may have will be welcomed for use in future revisions. Comments may be addressed to— Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations ATTN: DAMO-OD Department of the Army Washington, D.C. 20310 PREFACE AIR, operating under contract with the Office of the Chief of Research and Development, Department of the Army, has developed these ethnographic studies of selected minority groups in North Vietnam. These studies were prepared in response to a request from the Directorate of International Affairs, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations, Department of the Army. The task of studying these groups is a complicated one. It is always difficult to gauge the true depth and nature of social and cultural change, especially when the groups under consideration are experiencing increasing contact with modern civilization. The studies contained in this volume are designed to provide basic background material on the fundamental social, economic, and political characteristics of the various groups. They are descriptive reports based on primary and secondary sources dealing with the cultural groups in North Vietnam, specifically, and in nearby areas of Laos and China, generally. Field research was not undertaken, although the comments of consultants knowledgeable in the area have been incorporated. It must be recognized, then, that these studies are not exhaustive. There are appreciable gaps in the information, and many discrepancies in the original sources were difficult to reconcile. Further, the information contained in these studies may be outdated even before it is published and is subject to modification in the light of new developments and information. Therefore, although they contain the latest information available, and the validity of this material has been checked as closely as possible, the user is cautioned to consider these studies as a point of departure to be checked against the current circumstances or conditions of the particular area with which he is concerned. Extensive bibliographies are included to assist one seeking more detailed information in areas of special interest. This volume contains 16 chapters covering 15 minority groups and is divided into two parts. The first part consists of one chapter providing a survey of the policies of the North Vietnamese government with regard to the tribal minorities and 13 chapters covering specific tribal groups. The second part consists of two chapters, one covering the Vietnamese Catholics and the other covering the Chinese. Except for the first chapter on governmental policies, the chapters in each part are arranged in alphabetic order. |