Ta Van Village

The Zay people of Ta van village are very unique in the way they live. Many elements of their culture are particular only to them.
The Zay live in the mountain region of Lao Cai, near the northern border of Vietnam and China. The Zay make very beautiful clothes and buildings. The Zay people also practice the cultivation of terraced rice paddies. All of these elements combined create the basis of Zay life.

The Zay cultivate wet rice and visitors could see the teraced rice paddies all around Ta Van. In her the mountain side helps the irrigation of the paddies, the water travels from high levels to the lower ones and water the rice paddies during the crop, moreover the terraced rice paddies create the great view of Ta Van Village.

The Zay lead simple yet colorful, the Chinese have influenced Zay clothing, because the Zay live so close to the Chinese boder. They wear very bright clothing. All of the fabric is made by hand, from hemp that is grown in the region. They also use plants that have grown, like indigo, to dye their fabric beautiful shades of pink, green, and blue. The only clothes that are not made in Ta Van are the plastic sandals they wear when it’s too cold.

The houses in Ta Van mostly stilted, using bamboo or wood. They are stilted to keep the houses dry from the minor floods, and keep them safe from wild animals.
For the roof, they use tiles or palm leaves. In typical Zay home, there is main room, which contains the family altar, a kitchen, and a mezzanine, where they sleep, The Zay use the local resources to make clothes and houses.

The Zay have many traditional customs. Then folk song and Thin guitar are just some of them. hey also perform a kind of traditional dance called Ta Chai Xoe. They have many traditional dishes, like bamboo tube rice, fish and cabbage dishes.