The Sanchay Ethnic Group

Proper name: Sanchay

Other names: Honban, Chung, Trai.

Population: 114,012 people

Local groups: Caolan and Sanchi

Language: The language of the Caolan belongs to the Tay-Nung group (of the Tai-Kadai language family) and the language of the Sanchi belongs to the Handicrafts groups (of the Sino-Tibetan language family).

Production activities: The Sanchay are agricultural people who farm mainly wet rice paddies, but they also cultivate swidden fields which they prepare by the slash-and-burn method. They use the digging stick to make holes for seedlings. Fish catching plays an important role in their economic life as well. With their unique fishing tools, such as hand nets and woven baskets, fish catching supplies the Sanchay food and improves their daily meals.

Diet: The Sanchay eat mainly ordinary rice. They also drink a lot of wine especially during the Tet holidays or festivals. Men smoke tobacco in a water pipe. Women chew betel.

Clothing: Sanchay women wear the Cham-style skirt and long shirt or tunic which is decorated around the bottom hem and on the back. For daily wear, Sanchay women wear one Cham-style cloth belt, but on special occasions, like the New Year festival, they wear two or three silk belts of different colours.

Housing: The Sanchay live in the provinces of the northeast. They live in the stilt houses of a style similar to those of the Tay, who live in the same area.

Transportation: The Sanchay usually carry goods on a bag on their back like a backpack.

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