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The Cúng Yêu Tinh Funerary Rite Among the Bố Y People in Vietnam: Finishing the Unfi nished
https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2026.54.3.123-129
Abstract
The article outlines the results of long-term ethnographic field studies in the Hà Giang Province of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, focusing on the small ethnic group Bo Y, which has retained the foundations of traditional culture. The objective is to assess the Bo Y funerary practices. Original findings bearing on the traditional Bo Y ideas of life and death are introduced. Rituals of animal sacrifice relating to the ancestor cult are described. Despite all the transformations, such rituals remain necessary for regulating social relations, which do not end after the person’s death. Under modern conditions, they acquire a new form while preserving the traditional content—maintaining the continuity between the living and the dead and making social life more harmonious. Bo Y traditions in north Vietnam and southwest China, where the large part of this people lives, are compared. It is concluded that the stability of the Bo Y ritual system contributes to the maintenance of cultural identity, securing the unity and integrity of this small ethnic group.
About the Author
T. Q. Viet
Hanoi Metropolitan University
Viet Nam
Viet Nam
Viet T.Q., Lecturer
Vietnam Đại học Thủ đô Hà Nội, 98 Dương Quảng Hàm, Cầu Giấy, Hanoi, 100000
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Review
For citations:
Viet T.Q. The Cúng Yêu Tinh Funerary Rite Among the Bố Y People in Vietnam: Finishing the Unfi nished. Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia. 2026;54(3):123-129. https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2026.54.3.123-129
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