The Cong Ethnic Group of Northern Vietnam

Origins and Identity

The Cong people, also known as Xa, Mang, Cong Bo Kham, Xam, Khong or Mang La, are one of Vietnam’s smallest Tibeto-Burman communities. According to the 2019 census, their population stands at around 2,700. Almost all of them live in the north-western highlands of Lai Châu and Điện Biên provinces, with the largest concentration in Tang Nga village of Nam Cha commune, Nam Nhun district. In this village, just over 110 households preserve and pass on the community’s cultural and spiritual heritage.

Scholars trace the Cong’s ancestral origins to the Ha Nhi (Bach Kong) people of Mang La in Yunnan, China. Over time they migrated southwards, settling in the rugged valleys and high ridges of northern Vietnam. Their language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman branch of the Sino-Tibetan family, sharing affinities with the tongues of the La Hu, Phu La and Si La peoples. In daily life, many Cong also speak Thai as a common language for trade and wider interaction.

Their houses are built on stilts, usually with three or four compartments, a single entrance and a modest window. A narrow ledge runs along the front wall inside, more symbolic than practical, yet it marks continuity with the ways of earlier generations. Socially, the Cong are patriarchal. Each lineage is led by a recognised head and many social rules and taboos differ according to family line. Ancestor worship is central, with each household maintaining an altar where offerings are made and the presence of past generations is honoured.

Traditional clothing is distinctive in its simplicity and meaning. Women wear short shirts of white or indigo, often with long sleeves and a black collar that wraps from right to left. This is accompanied by a skirt tied with a belt and bib, and further adorned with headscarves and silver ornaments. Each element is made with care, and the chosen fabrics and designs speak quietly of heritage and belonging.

Agriculture is at the heart of their livelihoods. Slash-and-burn farming is still practised in some areas, though draught animals such as buffalo and oxen are sometimes used to plough the land. Gathering from forests provides additional sustenance and materials. Cotton is cultivated but not woven, being exchanged for textiles produced by neighbouring groups. The Cong are skilled in rattan and bamboo craft, producing red-dyed mats and finely made baskets, containers and back-carriers.

Festivals give rhythm to the year and strengthen bonds between households. In the third lunar month, villages mark boundaries by constructing colourful gates. This is followed by a day-long ritual in the fields, an offering to the earth and a plea for a harvest safe from insects and birds. Another important celebration, Min Loong Phat, takes place in the tenth lunar month after the crops are gathered. In Tang Nga, this event expresses gratitude to the land and to ancestral spirits for their protection and blessing, and it remains the most important collective ceremony of the year.

To encounter the Cong is to see a people rooted in mountain terrain and in the cycles of field and forest. Their houses, clothing, rituals and crafts hold knowledge shaped over centuries. Their resilience rests on humility and endurance, yet their culture is rich in creativity and meaning. In the quiet of a highland village, within the warmth of a stilt house or among fields wrapped in mist, one senses how identity is preserved through language, memory and ceremony.

If you would like to visit the Cong and learn more about their community and culture, please see our multiday motorbike loops.