Along with the Kinh people, there are many ethnic minority communities living together in Dong Nai province including Choro, Ma, S'tieng, Dao, Khmer, Tay, Nung, etc.
In addition to familiar customs, ethnic minorities in Dong Nai have currently preserved many interesting customs and spiritual beliefs, of which an outstanding custom is the ancestor worship of the Khmer in Dinh Quan district, the custom of transferring children and surnames, and the granting certificate of maturity ceremony of the Dao people, etc.
Living with many other ethnic groups, along with their languages and writings, the Khmer people in Dinh Quan district now regularly practice many cultural practices that are closely associated with Theravada Buddhist pagodas, including the custom of ancestral worship (death anniversary and worshiping ceremonies).
The death anniversary is often held on occasion of 100 days or one year after the death of a family member. To organized a death anniversary, the family must invite a monk to pray for the deceased in the presence of all family members. However, nowadays, some disadvantaged families in Dinh Quan district do not hold separate own death anniversaries but combine them with Sel Dolta (grandparents worship) ceremony in order to save money.
In the polytheist worship, the Dao people in the province believe there are existent spirits in all things. In order to avoid misfortunes encountered in life, the Dao people implement a way of "destiny change" by transferring their child and his surname (by inviting a shaman to find a new family or new clan for the child to register to be part of that family). This form of practice spiritual implications and is a private convention between two families, clans, and communities, not actually taking place on legal papers or proceedings.
The granting certificate of maturity ceremony is a typical ritual in the life cycle of the Dao people. According to customs, all Dao men from seven years old and above must participate in this ceremony to be recognized as an adult by the community and the spirit world.
In addition, the Choro indigenous people in Dong Nai has preserved typical traditions such as the Sayangva festival (rice god worship), Sayangbri (forest god worship), etc.
Dong Nai has currently 37 ethnic groups with over 3 million people living together, of which ethnic minorities number 189,000 people, accounting for 6.1% of the province's population and living scattered and interspersed in 11 districts and cities, but mainly concentrated in remote areas such as Thanh Son and Phu Tuc communes of Dinh Quan district, Ta Lai commune of Tan Phu district.
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