AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE CHANGES IN MEANING OF THE PADIL YAYA SYMBOL IN THE KATU CULTURE

(Chake hamlet – Thuong Long – Nam Dong – Thua Thien Hue -Vietnam)
Le Anh Tuan*
INTRODUCTION
The Padil yaya symbol is very popular in the Katu hamlets and is commonly
found in their performances, sculptures, daily activities, festivals, etc. Made from
wood, cloth and engraved on the body, the symbol carries a wide variety of
meanings, ranging from spiritual, witchcraft, decorative motifs to therapeutical,
etc., but is commonly associated with religious beliefs. The symbol depicts a
dancing woman. In the Katu language, Yaya means dancing, Padil means woman,
Padil yaya means dancing woman. It functions both as a noun (a dance) and a
verb (to dance). I am trying to recollect the feeling when I encountered this symbol
everywhere: in textile products, body tattoos, drawings in the Guol house,
sculptures on the village gate, statues on graves, the sacrifice offering festival,
praying for rain and the head returning festival in the olden days.
As a matter of fact, the Katu people’s life has undergone substantial and multifaceted changes in economy, culture and society, in common with those of the
whole country under the influence of various factors, among which is the policy of
the State of Vietnam. The Padil yaya symbol has been subjected to direct and
indirect influences exerted by these self-evident changes. Prof. Ngo Duc Thinh
said that “during the renewal process of ethnic cultural traditions, under the
influence of endogenous and exogenous factors, the ultimate question is whether
those traditions correspond to the socio-economic conditions or not” (Ngo Duc
Thinh, 1991). Echoing his opinion, Dr. Pham Duy Duc wrote “adaptation is the
self-adjustment and modification of endogenous factors in order to be suited to

*
Researcher. VICA, Hue.
46 Social Sciences – 6/2004
exogenous ones”, and it is not “opportunism or loss of identity and abilities of the
nation but the development and confirmation of their cultural identity and dignity”
(Pham Duy Duc, 1996: 23-24).
In an approach to anthropology, this research focuses heavily on the
evolvement of the Padil yaya symbol under the impacts of natural factors and
cultural, socio-economic policies and find out the influences of these changes on
the cultural and religious life of the Katu thereby.
The Katu community in Chake hamlet, Thuong Long commune, Nam Dong
District, in the West of Thua Thien Hue Province, 70km from the city centre was
the destination of my field trip. Emigrating from Quang Nam in 1973, the Katu
community here has the population of 317 people in 58 households (2003). Every
year, they usually perform Padil yaya in ceremonial occasions, especially in the
festival of new rice that continues to live on today. In the hamlet, there is a newly
built Guol house, which in the past witnessed the presence of Padil yaya. Further,
a large number of elderly people have profound understanding about Padil yaya
and elder women wearing traditional costumes with the Padil yaya symbol is a
common sight in the hamlet.
THE TRADITIONAL KATU SOCIETY AND THE
PADIL YAYA SYMBOL
The Katu people number about 55,000 residing in and around the Truong Son
range, the central region of Vietnam (40,000) and Laos (15,000, Sekong, Sanavan
and Champassak provinces). In Vietnam, the Katu, for the most part, live in Quang
Nam Province (Nam Giang, Dong Giang and Tay Giang districts) and the rest in
Thua Thien Hue Province (Nam Dong and A Luoi provinces).
The Katu language belongs to the Mon-Khmer language group, which is among
the 4 groups belonging to the South Asia language family (Austro – Asiatic). The
Mon-Khmer language group consists of 9 branches: Katuic, Pearic, Khmer,
Bahnaric, Khmuic, Monic, Palaungic, Khasi, Viet Muong (Davis Thomas, 1973:
138 – 141).
The Katu people are engaged mainly in the slash-and-burn cultivation, using
simple techniques, such as hacking and burning off trees for seedlings and
rudimentary agricultural implements like knives and sticks for poking holes. They
use neither fertilizers nor tend their crops, but depend heavily on nature and the
blessing of Gods. Therefore, the crop yields are low and unstable, which is partly
remedied with everyday hunting by the young men and gathering by the women
and children.
The Vel (hamlet) is a grassroots social unit which exists independently is not
subordinate to any higher organizations. The hamlet is headed by Takoor Vel, who
is elected in democratic meetings and assigned with the tasks of administrating and
managing all of the Vel’s affairs such as moving the hamlet, production, building
the Guol, punishment, offering sacrifices, weddings, settling disputes, etc., in
accordance to customs. He is an old man who is of the highest credit in and out of
the hamlet, well learned in traditions and customs, and well experienced in
farming and fighting. The Tahar (hamlet elder) and the Takoor To (head of the
lineage) work as his advisors and assistants.
It is customary for the Katu to station their hamlet adjacent to waters. The
traditional Katu hamlet is arranged as an oval shape with the surrounding fences
and gate. In the Vel, the Guol, or the communal house, is situated in the middle or
end of the hamlet where higher lands provide a good observation post, and exactly
in the middle of the front yard of the Guol house stands a Sinuar (buffalo stabbing
pillar). The Guol, where all important affairs are implemented, assumes a
tremendous importance in the Katu’s mind and their everyday activities. That is
why Guol is considered as the heart of the hamlet, where Gods are worshipped and
precious objects like gongs and jars are stored, where captured prey is exhibited,
festivities and punishment take place, where the hamlet elders tell stories to his
fellows, educating them on traditions and passing on experience; where the
fighting plans are formulated and relations between clans are established, where
single and elderly men sleep, etc. Therefore, the magnificent proportions of the
Guol is their pride as it represents their power, prosperity and talents for other
communities to see.
The Katu have a copious variety of festivals which are closely related to
farming and life cycles. A large number of festivals are held on an annual basis in
families and in the whole community such as Cha avi teme (festival of new rice),
Paach Guol (inauguration of the Guol house), Prong Och (fraternization
ceremony), victory celebration, safety begging ceremony when there is outbreak of
disease, crop begging when there is starvation, celebration of young men’s
maturity, weddings, grave building ceremony Teng Ping, etc. In big festivals, they
hold the buffalo stabbing ritual, dance the Padil yaya and sing folk songs like
chachap, kaloi, babooch, co lau co lenh, etc.
According to L. Pichon (1938), the Padil yaya symbol can be found
everywhere in the hamlet; on drawings in the Guol house, statues on graves,
decorative motifs on clothing, sculptures on the gate, on the Guol house roof,
tattoos on some men’s foreheads, etc. (L. Pichon, 1938:370).
He maintained that Padil yaya is a sacred dance in crop begging, head hunting
and buffalo stabbing ceremonies. This involved 6 women spinning their bodies
and at the same time moving on tiptoe rhythmically around the buffalo stabbing
pillar anti clockwise. Meanwhile, 6 men with shields and javelins dance the
Tantung, which depicted Katu men hunting.
48 Social Sciences – 6/2004
Unlike L. Pichon, the French scholar Bazacier (1951) focuses exclusively on
forehead tattoos and stated that Padil yaya is not exactly a dancing woman, but
symbolizes the human soul. According to him, only the hamlet elders, but not
women, had tattoos of this kind. And this is exemplified by the case of the Bolo
hamlet mayor in Hien district, Quang Nam Province. (Bezacier, 1951).
Agreeing with to Bezacier, the American scholar L. Mole (1970) holds that this
symbol is the materialization of the human soul. Katu men usually have Padil yaya
tattooed on their foreheads in a belief that it is their protective spirit which
safeguards them from diseases, gives them wisdom and good fortune. (L. Mole,
1970).
Prof. Nguyen Quoc Loc (1984) also admits the popularity of this symbol. In his
opinions, in the days of old, both Katu men and women had tattoos (crosses, the
sun, etc.), the most popular was Padil yaya on the arms or foreheads, but he
doesn’t mention whether men or women had the tattoos. The tattoos were not
merely for adornment but also for protection from illness and misfortunes induced
by evils. Noteworthily, he says it was a way of marking the way home for the
spirits and ensuring the bearer would not fall sick.
Ta Duc (2002) has recently conducted his research into the dance relating to the
buffalo stabbing ceremony, and Nguyen Huu Thong (2003) in his typological
approach associates the posture of the dancing woman to the buffalo stabbing
pillar and the Cai Dromang pillar in the Guol house. They both agree that Padil
yaya, which is associated with ‘Mother Rice’, is a sacred dance in the crop begging
ritual depicting the woman’s hands facing the sky as when begging for and
receiving vitality from Gods, heaven and earth. (Ta Duc, 2002:52, 66; Nguyen
Huu Thong, 2003)
CHAKE HAMLET AND THE CHANGES
The Chake hamlet was set up in 1920 in A Vuong commune, Hien district,
Quang Nam Province with two main lineages Ta ruong and Pbling; its population
was roughly 40 people distributed in 8 households. The first hamlet mayor was
Mr. Koanh A Tuong (1920 – 1964). Chake was the name of a small stream
pouring into Thu Bon river.
Economic activities in this period were highly primitive, people were engaged
primarily in slash and burn farming, hunting and gathering for their livelihood and
were heavily dependent on nature and Gods’ blessings, which resulted in low and
unstable crop yields. They had to adhere to customs, regulations and taboos in
order to please Gods for fear that their spirits would be captured, triggering
diseases and crop failures. Therefore, when breaking new grounds, they had to ask
for Gods’ permission through dreams. They would farm the new land if the dream
was good. Conversely, the Gods didn’t grant them support and they would uproot
themselves from the new land and seek for another one to avoid the punishment of
Gods and evils.
As described by the chief hamlet elder A Vech (former hamlet mayor in the
1980s), when in Quang Nam, the hamlet had a round shape, the Guol house was
set up at the end of the hamlet, the buffalo stabbing pillar was erected in the
middle. There were surrounding fences but no gate. The Guol house was adorned
with a great many Padil yaya drawings. Buffalo stabbing and Padil yaya dancing
were an essential part in the festivals of new rice held annually. However,
regarding the Padil yaya tattoo on human bodies, he said the motifs varied greatly
from one man to another, such as round spot, three spots, the sun, etc., but only
two elder men whose names he had forgotten, had Padil yaya tattoos. Besides,
Rapat A Hong, the present hamlet mayor gave further information about this tattoo
on his grandfather’s forehead.
In face of the disturbing reality and development demand of the highlands,
home to ethnic minority groups, in conformity with the Party’s policies on
nationalities, the State of Vietnam promulgated a series of cultural, socioeconomic policies.
In 1968, the permanent agriculture and permanent settlement program was
formally launched. This was a pivotal policy that brought about extensive changes
in the residential areas of ethnic minority peoples, laying firm foundations for
socio-economic development. The policy aimed to eliminate shifting cultivation
and nomadic existence, clearing forests for new lands, eliminate poverty,
providing all households with crop lands, residential lands and gardens; to provide
electricity supply, roads, schools, medical stations, clean water supply, and to
ensure sustainable agro-forestry production for forest protection.
The permanent agriculture and permanent settlement program came into effect
in 1968, but not until the Katu community in Chake settled in Thuong Long
commune in 1973 was it put into practice. This was owing to, according to hamlet
elders, the topographical disadvantages they had to suffer in the former Chake
hamlet, lack of croplands and difficult transport, which was hardly possible in
rainy season (from October to the next February). The movement to Thuong Long
commune generated forceful changes in terms of living environment, working and
living conditions. The traditional economic activities such as slash and burn
farming, hunting and gathering were still of prime importance. However, our
compatriots acquainted themselves with wet rice cultivation. In addition, the barter
and trading system was formed following the settlement of the Kinh people, who
traded in farm produce like manioc, rice and other necessities in 1974.
In this period, the hamlet was made up of only two family lines, namely Ta
ruong and Rapat, who occupied the only two long houses, each of which
50 Social Sciences – 6/2004
encompassed 7 households who were regulated according to the number of
kitchens. That is why despite the absence of the Guol house, the control was
exerted strictly by the hamlet mayor. The regulations, traditional rules and taboos
were still observed, as the hamlet elder A Vech put it “only in buffalo stabbing
festival is Padil yaya dance performed”. The Padil yaya symbol can be found in
textile products, graves and in festivals. But this is now on the wane.
In 1985, there appeared the phenomenon of bad death, the Katu believed that
the land was punished by devils, which triggered their displacement to a new land
1km away, at the foot of Toi Aka mountain along the Aka spring. The
topographical and natural conditions in Chake caused a host of difficulties to
agriculture, transport and trading due to the separation and enclosure caused by the
spring and mountain.
Topographical characters also greatly affected the hamlet’s make-up. After
moving to the new land, the Katu didn’t live together in a large house but split up
in different households. Despite the continued existence of stilt houses, houses
built directly on the ground made their first appearance. Nevertheless, Guol house
was not built as it was, according to A Vech, unnecessary for the hamletrs.
Concentrated and interwoven residence began to take shape in Thuong Long
commune. As well, the following years saw the settlement of some other hamlets,
such as Aprung, Kadai. To the north-west of the hamlet was Toi Aka and Chavo
hills, the other side of which was Thuong Quang commune; to the south east was
the Aka stream across which lied Axang and Agol hamlets; the north east
neighbored upon Achieu hamlet where People’s Committee of Thuong Long
commune was situated, to the south west was Kadong hamlet.
Together with the development of the Thuong Long commune, household
economy was diversified. However, slash and burn cultivation, hunting and
gathering still played the foremost role. In the hamlet, a barter point was created
by the only Viet household who had settled down here since 1994 and conducted
trade in farm produce, sundry goods, rice husking service, alcohol distilling. Apart
from on the spot trading with the Pacoh from A Luoi and the Katu from Hien,
Viet, our compatriots brought farm produce and hunted animals to markets held
along provincial roads (road number 49) such as Huong Giang market (5km
away), Khe Tre (10km) or Xuan Loc (30km), La Son (48km, on the national
highway 1A).
By 2003, this Katu community had lived there for 30 years, but it was not until
mid-1990s that significant changes were made thanks to inflow of foreign
investment. More importantly, generous and comprehensive investment produced
multi-faceted changes in occupation structure, people’s intellectual standard,
management work, material infrastructure and amenities, etc.
An Investigation into the Changes in Meaning… 51
In face of the many difficulties posed by scattered residence and shifting
cultivation nomadic residence, in 1996, the Government of Vietnam issued
Instruction 393 regarding “Population planning, infrastructure enhancement,
production arrangement in mountainous areas” which deals with 3 main issues:
population planning, infrastructure building; production rearrangement in the longterm over a 15 year plan (1996-2010). Special attention is focussed on population
rearrangement, mobilization for voluntary settlement in favorable areas in
accordance with transport system planning, raw material areas, processing
enterprises, in close coordination with the implementation of the permanent
cultivation and residence and 327 programs, etc.
In 1997, the Prime Minister inacted Decision No. 35 concerning “Building
commune complex in mountainous regions”. The goal of the program was creating
cultural and socio-economic complexes in sub-regions, progressively bridging the
gap between rural and urban areas; building material infrastructure, bringing
science and technology achievements and information to ethnic minoritiespopulated areas; promoting cultural exchange and impulsing the economic
development and economic structure shift, laying groundwork for the course of
industrialization and modernization.
In 1998, the “Socio-economic development of extremely poor highland
communes” program (Decision No. 135 is called Program 135 for short) was
enforced. The objective was to upgrade the quality of material and spiritual life in
extremely poor communes, to eradicate poverty and backwardness and to keep
abreast with whole country’s development.
One may say that it is the State’s policies and above all, the permanent
cultivation and residence program that have produced remarkable changes in the
economic and social structure, transport system, festivals and religious faiths, etc.
On the other hand, the concentrated and interwoven living pattern provide good
opportunities for interactions among people of different nationalities, which
explains the changes in folk cultural elements and adoption of new ones in
costumes, rituals, language, etc. This affected the traditional environment of Padil
yaya (festivals, sculptures and decoration) with the resultant altering of the Padil
yaya symbol in terms of both meaning and form.
In this period, the staple economic activities remained slash and burn
agriculture, but the economic structure was more multiform. Wet rice cultivation,
animal husbandry, afforestation, gardening, VAC (garden – pond – pigsty),
trading, etc. were brought into existence. In addition, hunting was still maintained
but intermittently.
Above all, the Chake hamlet has owed their all-round infrastructure
improvements to the projects “Socio-economic development of extremely poor
highland communes” and “Building commune complexes in remote areas”. From
2000 to 2003, the results were already visible: 15 reservoirs (on average, 3
households share a tap), inter-hamlets roads (linking the hamlet with the commune
centre); electricity supply, nursery schools and secondary schools for 3 communes.
The projects radically changed the living conditions of the ethnic minorities,
especially the transport system, trading, purchasing household utensils. In the
hamlet, after road building was complete, the number of motor cycles went up to
3, this figure was 28 for bicycles; more than 90% of the households had access to
electricity which they used for lighting and electrical appliances like TV (19
households), radio (30 households), cassette players (25 households); 2 houses
were strongly built thanks to good roads that facilitated the transportation of
building material. This reflected not only the betterment of the people’s life but
also their aspiration for a modern life.
With regard to social structure, contrary to the past when the Katu were
independent communities in Vels, existing apart from higher organizations, the Vel
is now a part of the contemporary State of Vietnam. The institution of the hamlet’s
governing apparatus which is under the management of the commune People’s
Committee and which pertains to the administrative system of the State of
Vietnam, is composed of hamlet mayor (Ra pat A Hong, 32 years old), hamlet
secretary (Ra pat Voi, 40) and chief hamlet elder (Ta ruong A Vech, 80), which
reveals a profound change in the management system. Besides, the hamlet has 1
Party branch committee (14 members) and 5 political organizations, namely
Vietnam Fatherland Front, Youth League (18 members), Women Association,
Farmer Association and War Veteran Association who constitute a major
contributing factor in economic development, law abidance, population
administration, promotion of literature and art, etc. The role of “Council of hamlet
elders” is not as important as it used to. However, when it comes to religion
(making offerings), it still plays an essential part. Nowadays, the chief hamlet
elder is elected after two meetings of the hamlet’s Executive Committee and an
enlarged meeting attended by 5 social groups, which is followed by an
announcement to the public. Chief hamlet elder is more a symbolic title than
reality. However, he enjoys the respect of the young because he is an elder man
who has a good reputation and a broad knowledge of customs and traditions.
The Chake hamlet now contains only two ethnic groups, which are the Katu (in
a majority) and the Viet (1 household) with 5 lineages of Ta ruong, Rapat, Pbling,
Arat and Nguyen. Nowadays, beside Katu names used everyday, many of the
names used in administrative documents are borrowed from the Kinh people since
the 1980s such as Ho (Ta ruong), Tran (Arat), Pham (Pbling), etc.
The religious practices have also went through many changes. Some abstention
and taboos ceased to exist; some liturgies relating to slash and burn farming
practiced when seeking croplands, sowing seeds, harvesting and in new rice
festivals, etc. have been simplified (time, venue, attendants, etc.). A change in the
An Investigation into the Changes in Meaning… 53
new rice festival: held in May (summer rice harvest) and in individual families
instead of October (winter rice harvest) and the whole community, may serve us a
typical example. The newly introduced means of production (tools, strains,
techniques, etc.) have advantages of productivity. As a result, new farming
methods are brought into existence, leading to changes in the traditional harvest
cycle. Furthermore, some religious practices have been adopted from the Kinh
such as New Year festival, year-end offering, offering to Mr. Tao, setting up
ancestral altar or Uncle Ho altar, etc., which means the role of deities has
diminished, so has a system of religious conceptions regarding the god of rice, the
god of earth, the god of rivers and springs, guardian angel, etc. It can be inferred
that the religious environment (rituals) of Padil yaya has changed.
However, these changes proclaim the Katu’s awareness of their falling behind
economically, and therefore, all the State’s policies are fully implemented and is
accepted enthusiastically, which is launching a massive innovation movement
across the ethnic minorities-populated regions. It is taking an accelerating trend
that strongly affects all aspects of their life, including that in Chake, especially in
the recent years.
The reality shows that there exist two culture adaptation tendencies in the new
context. First, the ethnic minorities conserve and enhance appropriate traditions,
making them their exclusive coloration (For example, the Padil yaya symbol is
used in some materials as an expression of their demands for a new life. On the
other hand, they invent many new Padil yaya motifs). Second, they liquidate
inappropriate traditions, adopting new ones and enriching their cultural stock.
(During the war time, the Katu, in response to the call of soldiers, they wore their
hair short, kept livestock away from their house, cultivated wet rice, etc.).
However, these trends don’t manifest themselves clearly, and the integration of the
two can be found in Chake.
This is how the Katu in Chake hamlet has preserved their ethnic identity in the
current context. Because in the past, the Katu’s ethnic identity was shaped and
conserved in isolation from the external world, but now it is conserved and
promoted by the economic, cultural, social policies of the Vietnamese State.
Therefore, it is noticeable that these changes vary greatly among Katu groups
according to where they live.
It is common knowledge that traditions are vulnerable in the tide of
overwhelming changes, especially in underdeveloped ethnic minority groups and
where development is urgently needed. It is not without reasons that hamlet elders
are worried about the traditional standards being torn down, especially among the
youth, who are sensitive to new ideas. In the hamlet, most of the youths model
themselves on the Kinh’s way of dress; they wear watches, drive motorbikes, drink
coffee; they lose interest in traditional costumes and are ignorant about taboos in
54 Social Sciences – 6/2004
hunting, building houses and hesitant to sing chachap, babooch, etc.
Contradictions arise in the sense of tradition protection and modern way of life. It
is impossible to preserve terraced field culture when people turn to wet rice
cultivation for their livelihood; it is difficult to keep traditional cultural activities
alive if they always dream for devices like TV, radio, motorbikes, etc. for a decent
life.
It is notable that the Katu’s confidently proclaim their awareness of folk culture
conservation, which is conducted side by side with the needs of development and
integration. They are attired with modern clothes that make it easy for them to do
everyday activities and engage in social intercourse. But in festivals or art
performances attended by other ethnic groups, they favour traditional attires.
In 1998, the policy “Building and development of the advanced Vietnamese
culture rich in cultural identity” was promulgated by the Government of Vietnam
(the Central Resolution 5, session VIII). This is one of pivotal cultural strategies
which has made potent impacts on the cultural life of minority nationalities
including the Katu. The centerpiece of the policy is the conservation and
expansion of ethnic minorities’ culture such as language and script; investigation,
research and dissemination of cultural values; building up a civilized way of life
and highly cultured families; socio-economic development, poverty alleviation,
improvement of the quality of life, illiteracy eradication, improvement of people’s
intellectual standards, liquidation of corrupted customs. One of the big movements
initiated by the Vietnamese Government is “The whole population unite to build a
cultured life” which is meant to enhance the Central Resolution No. 5 as well as
socialize the preservation and promotion of the national cultural identity.
The coordination of socio-economic policies and the movements “The whole
population unite to build a cultured life” and “building cultured hamlets” brought
many changes to life in Chake (under the project 135) to meet the demands of
people’s economic and cultural life such as inter-hamlets roads, water supply,
establishment of 3 art performance teams, planning of volleyball field, some
families buying more traditional costumes, 39 households now have toilets, 15
have bathrooms, building more breeding facilities, not letting cattle wander, etc.
These are criteria laid down for the “cultured hamlet” title.
A noticeable change is found in the lay-out, outline, structure and building
material of houses in the hamlet. In Chake, there are 5 thatched cottages, 2 tiled
roof houses, 1 stilted house (belonging to the chief hamlet elder), the rest are tiled
roof wooden houses or iron roofed wooden houses, 4 of which consist of 3
compartments and 2 lean-tos and were built by Northern workers in the 1990s. The
mighty, spacious Guol house of the hamlet was constructed in 2001 to which the
villagers contributed manpower (for logging and building) and subscriptions
(50,000VND/person x 312), which were spent on the buffalo for the inauguration
ceremony and food for the party.
It is the common view of managing cadres in charge of cultural matters in the
hamlet that the restoration of Guol depends on the budget for building. However,
what I noted during the field trip was that the strong individuality of households
pulled them away from traditional activities in the Guol house. Besides, the
impotent role played by hamlet elders in the re-building of Guol was a matter of
concern. The interviews revealed people’s longing for a Guol house, but not a
pressing need to use it (only 3/8 hamlets in Thuong Long commune, hamlets 2, 6
and Chake, have Guol houses). The driving force behind the birth of the Guol
house in Chake is that it is one of the criteria set forth for the “cultured hamlet”
title. Therefore, it is understandable that it has no attachment to the people. This
points to different trends in the reinstatement of Guol houses in particular and
cultural communal houses in general.
The first trend, a representative of which is Mr. A Vech, a former hamlet
mayor, who was more intimate with Guol than his own home, shows hamlet
elders’ desire for the restoration of traditional architecture. The second trend,
which is gaining currency among minority people in the Truong Son region, is
building Guol, which has acquired new functions, as a response to the “building
cultured hamlet” movement. Moreover, Guol is now no longer the index of
strength and pride of the hamlet. Therefore, the presence or absence of Guol house
as well as its decoration and upkeep have no longer attracted people’s attention,
which affected the building of a new Guol, evidenced by the vanishment of Padil
yaya in the interior and on the Guol house top, etc. This can only be accounted for
by the modification or disappearance of role, functions and structure of Guol
house.
Guol in Chake hamlet today is different from the traditional ones to a large
extent. The top of Guol is still attached with a cockered, a universal symbol in
Nam Dong district, but which has been stylized into a yellow star. In the interior,
the decorative designs generally have 3 basic colours of black, white and red,
which are now diversified with chemical paints. Noteworthily, a wide range of
new designs such as airplane, soldier, motorbike, red flag and yellow star, etc.
have come into being.
THE CHANGES OF THE PADIL YAYA SYMBOL
IN CHAKE HAMLET
The changes in the Padil yaya symbol were recorded based on different
memories of Chake people about its meanings, forms, existence environment, etc.
According to the hamlet elders A Vech (80 years old), A Keu (66 years old) and
the managing cadres A Hong (hamlet chief, 32), Voi (hamlet secretary, 40), Padil
56 Social Sciences – 6/2004
yaya is a sacred dance in sacrifice offering rites of the Katu which expresses the
villagers’ happiness and gratitude to deities’ help. The Katu only dance Padil yaya
on occasions of new rice festival, seedling festival, fraternization ceremony,
successful hunting and head returning victory celebration, Guol house
inauguration and grave building ceremony, etc. In compliance with Katu statutes,
buffalo stabbing is always coupled with Padil yaya. Otherwise, gods will capture
the villagers’ spirits and send diseases, bad deaths and bad harvests. However, in
different existence environments (rites, decoration), disagreements broke over the
meaning of Padil yaya.
As far as the seedling ceremony is concerned, the Padil yaya dance is meant to
implore gods for successful crop growing and harvest. Therefore, in the festival of
new rice, rice seeds are placed on Padil yaya dancers’hands as an offering to gods,
especially the god of rice/ Mother Rice. As to the meaning of head returning
victory celebration, Padil yaya is thanks sent to gods who helped prevent
hamletrs’ casualties. This view met with no protest, because only a handful of
people knew about it. In safety begging ceremony in case of disease or evil deaths,
Padil yaya is intended to placate gods and evils.
In grave building ceremonies (Teng ping), Padil yaya expresses people’s joy as
they have enough wine, rice, meat and money to build a large, beautiful grave for
their ancestors, fulfilling filial piety. There was an unanimous agreement on this
because the ritual is still thriving. At the turn of, or in difficult hunting seasons,
when large animals (about 6 spans large plus), are brought down, people will
perform buffalo stabbing ritual and Padil yaya is danced in celebration on the
Guol yard. But some held that only a few elder women took part in the event in the
Guol.
Opinions differ on the number of Padil yaya dancers in each of the rituals. In
the fraternization ceremonies between 2 hamlets (Prongooch), most of those
interviewed said that the number of people joined the dance was unlimited, but the
hamlet elders said that the number was 6 women. Similarly, regarding head
returning victory ceremonies, the opinions divided: unlimited and 6 women.
If in hamlet-wide festivals (fraternization, head returning), people usually
attended in large numbers or 6 at least, in family-scale festivals (wedding, grave
building), the number of dancers was very small. In weddings (Pooi), there was an
identity of opinions that only 2 elder women of the two families performed the
dance and to add to the fun, young boys and girls in the hamlet joined in: 6 boys
and 6 girls. In Teng ping, in that sense, almost all of opinions highlighted the role
of the eldest daughter-in-law in the performance of Padil yaya as her honor and
duty.
The number of people involved in the dance varies according to different
festivals and regions. However, most of the opinions agreed on the exact number
An Investigation into the Changes in Meaning… 57
of 6 men dancing Tantung, 6 women dancing Padil yaya. These changes are
shared by varied opinions of the members of art performance teams: the middleaged and the adolescence. The main source of information provided by the middleaged (in the Youth League and Fatherland Front) is their father and grandfather’s
accounts of monumental events of the community and lineages. Therefore, their
impressions about Padil yaya differ in extents. The adolescent members have little
knowledge about Padil yaya, but they are keen participants in festivals, where they
wear traditional costumes and join the dancing team.
A Vech called my attention to the hands, which faced the sky, of Padil yaya
dancers. According to him, in the olden days, the Padil yaya was danced in
sacrifice offerings, that’s why the hands were faced up, which evinced offering to
gods and pray for favours. However, others agreed on a Padil yaya featuring
dancers putting their hands on the hips instead of holding them up. According to
them, when both men and women joined the dance, the women had their hands on
the hips, and when only women did, the hands were held up and faced the sky.
This was due to, according to Rapat A Hong, the Katu’s wish to diversify the
dances other than Padil yaya. Moreover, this changed was made in order to tailor
the dance according to people’s dancing ability.
Addressing this change, A Vech said the Katu’s criteria set for a good dancer
were: facing the hands upwards in a way that the seeds wouldn’t drop; making soft
and lissom movements on the tiptoes; holding the arms on a level with the
shoulders, not too low or too high; gathering the fingers but stretching the big one
a little and throwing out the chest, etc. Together, these formed an excellent and
solemn dance before gods.
As to the meaning of Padil yaya patterns on traditional costumes, in the Guol’s
interior or tattoos on forehead, etc., there was an unity of opinions on their
aesthetic value. The Padil yaya tattoo on forehead, according to them, derived its
virtues from adornment, protecting its owners from spells, saving their health and
also serving as an indication of acquaintances and relatives. However, unlike the
Katu in the past, no one in Chake was found having Padil yaya tattoo, only one
women had a large round spot tattoo on her forehead to be protected from spells.
Five people in the whole commune were discovered to have tattoos, but not Padil
yaya.
Taking into account the correlation between the buffalo stabbing pillar Sinuar,
the main pillar in the Guol, Dromang and the symbol of the Grooc bird on the
Guol roof with the Padil yaya dance, all those asked didn’t have sufficient grounds
to assert that they were the simulation of a dancing woman in sacrifice offerings.
But they gave no counter arguments. They showed great concern and interest in
the Sinuar, Dromang pillars, with the symmetrical Guong and the woman’s hands
upheld. This correlation led me to a judgement that the most considerable change of
Padil yaya was in world outlook and philosophy of life. In the Katu’s taste of art,
symmetry, which is indicative of dialectical thinking, is crucially important. In
Katu language, there are no equivalents of East, West, South, North. There are
only 2 directions where the sun rises and sets, it has become a spirit axe:
orientation of gravesite, distinguishing neighbouring groups, aspect of the gables,
and especially on the Sinuar and Dromang pillars, Guong must be symmetrical in
sun-rising and sun setting directions.
In Chake, the Padil yaya symbol was found in 3 different places: designs on
traditional costumes, statues in the grave and dances in festivals.
Padil yaya statues in different poses are made of wood and are placed in the
grave after the grave building ceremony. There have been many changes in
material and structure of the statues, which are now absent from some graves. 8
out of 11 graves in the graveyard of the Ta ruong line were surveyed. The Padil
yaya statue stood next to 3 others in different postures such as playing a wind
instrument, playing drum, gong, offering wine, wearing back basket, etc. and was
placed on a square plate (20 x 20cm) on the coffin. As A Vech explained it, these
statues were designed to give the dead respect and send off through the above
forms of entertainment.
Weaving products also provide Padil yaya with a good environment of
existence, which, however, has experienced many changes in materials, colours,
decorative styles, etc. In Chake, only a small portion of families (15/58) have
traditional costumes. Surveys conducted in 10/15 households revealed that only
10/66 loin cloths, dresses and shirts of 8/10 households had Padil yaya patterns of
many variations. This amount rose as some families bought new clothes in
preparation for the cultured hamlet building ceremony held in December, 2003.
It should be noted that in Chake, brocade weaving, the products of which are
bought from the Pacoh (A Luoi district) who market their commodity locally or
bring them to Chake, is not developed. In addition, among the selection criteria of
costumes, Padil yaya is not attached much importance. It is the price and quality
that people are really concerned with. The majority of the Katu in Chake, with the
exception of some aged people, don’t wear traditional costumes every day. They
do so only in cases of big events like festivals and art performances, which are
attributable to inconvenience and high cost.
The traditional costumes of the Katu people, which act as their heirloom and
marriage offerings, are made of natural cotton and decorated with precious glass
beads made of lead. However, the weaving products I encountered had been
modified to a considerable extent: they are woven from synthetic fiber, dyed with
chemical colours and decorated with plastic beads, and their value changed
An Investigation into the Changes in Meaning… 59
accordingly. For adornment, people used old motifs beside new creations of
weavers. In Chake, I collected more than 18 Padil yaya designs.
Padil yaya is a mere pattern of decoration on clothes, but in festivals, it carries
a loftier meaning: conveying ethnic identity which constitutes their own colouring
on the integration path. Nowadays, the dance has been widely used in Chake’s
cultural activities. It is no longer subject to the rules of Katu statutes: Padil yaya
performance must be conducted together with buffalo stabbing. That means, there
have been changes in the environment and meaning of this sacred dance, which
results in many other changes with respect to this symbol.
The change from a sacred to a normal dance, performed in a modern context
such as in New Year Festival, Middle of August Festival, anniversary of Youth
League’s foundation 26 March, the National Day 2 September, the “building
cultured hamlet” movement launching ceremony, receiving distinguished guests,
etc., is the most sizeable. Everyone can go in for the event. I am not a woman, but
I took part in the dance to the villager’s delight. This is because, as far as I
understand it, Padil yaya is one of the only 3 dances of the Katu (Padil yaya,
Tantung, Yazon), therefore it appears in every big event of the hamlet and is
quickly gaining in popularity. On the other hands, this change has blown fresh
vitality to Padil yaya in its new environment, especially when decoration,
sculpture and weaving have lost their grip on people and buffalo stabbing is not
always feasible. Besides, the guideline for socialization of culture and art activities
have greatly influenced this change with a view to preserving immaterial cultural
values.
On observation of a dance performance, it is immediately obvious that the
motions are made freely from all the rules. When dancing, the woman spins her
body only halfway round the circle, advancing around the pillar; her arms are not
held up on a level with her shoulders; she is attired in a dress and a shirt instead of
a long dress. These observations in Chake hamlet speak undeniably to one fact that
the Padil yaya dance is now very different from what was described by L. Pichon
60 years ago (1938).
CONCLUSIONS
Under the influence of the State’s policies, the social, economic, cultural and
environmental situation in Chake hamlet has gone through vast changes and the
consequent changes in many other traditional values, which have made strong
impacts on the environment of Padil yaya’s existence. Moreover, given the
overwhelming globalization and innovation, modernization policies of the
Government, those changes are irreversible. It is gaining strength to become a
powerful wave in Vietnam’s mountainous regions and we can feel its growth
everyday. These changes, among which is Padil yaya, are self-evident as the
traditional social background has changed.
60 Social Sciences – 6/2004
Firstly, there is a generation gap in the awareness of Padil yaya in Chake. The
impressions of the young about Padil yaya are not deep enough to draw their
attention to its disappearance. As for the elderly, their memories of Padil yaya, the
most forgettable of which is festivals due to rules of the statutes and the sacredness
of the dance in their spiritual life, differ in its meanings and existence
environment.
Secondly, the scope of Padil yaya’s existence has been narrowed. Today, Padil
yaya can only be seen in weaving products (decorative figures), festivals (dance)
and in graves (statues).
Thirdly, the change from a sacred dance that can be seen only in buffalo
stabbing rituals and that conveys people’s wish for a plentiful and peaceful life to a
dance used widely in festivals of all kinds for aesthetic purpose. The passage from
a sacred dance in a narrow environment (religion) to an art form practiced in a
large environment (popular culture) that frees itself from restrictions of time,
space, subjects and objectives is the biggest change of this symbol. The changes of
Padil yaya itself are also the changes of thinking, awareness, perception of the
people about traditions, customs, abstention and adaptation in the contemporary
context.
The changes in Padil yaya’s meanings in festivals reflect the changes in
conceptions about gods, abstention and taboos in the traditional religious faiths:
they point to a loosened relationship between man and gods and a not-so-important
role of gods in their life. What is more, they point to the shift from passiveness and
dependence to initiative and independence from the supernatural g