The nomadic life of the Chut in Vietnam
The Chut have five branches – Sach, May, Ruc, A Rem, and Ma Lieng, who all belong to the Viet-Muong linguistic group. They are one of 16 ethnic groups with a small population in Vietnam . Dr. Kim Ngoc, who has studied the Chut, says from 1905 to 1911, French scholars and missionaries wrote the first articles about people living sporadically scattered in the mountains near the Gianh River who were called the Tac Cui, Cha Cui, or U Mo people. In 1959, Vietnamese border guards discovered a group of people wearing loincloths and clothes made of tree bark living a nomadic life and sheltering in caves. According to Dr. Kim Ngoc, the earliest French studies mentioned the Ruc and A Rem people. The ancient encyclopedia of Vietnam “Phu Bien Tap Luc” and the geography book of the central coast “O Chau Can Luc” mentioned the Sach people. Sach means a hamlet or village in a small valley. The feudal regimes called the people living there the Sach. The nomadic people living in the forests t...