Rice is the principal food, and they obtain a very delicate flavor by steaming it through a bamboo tube. Smoking is indulged in to a considerable extent.
These people are, generally speaking, somewhat careless, apathetic, and without fear for the morrow. Hence, they live in a sort of hand-to-mouth fashion, confining themselves to the cultivation of the narrow strips of land at the foot of the mountains. The fields are very small, and water is frequently brought to them by means of canals. The men work the fields with a light plow, but often dispense even with that, and use a harrow, the teeth of which are made of bamboo. Ordinarily there are two harvests, excepting in certain districts, where the winters are too severe.
The men rise at daybreak at all seasons of the year, smoke their pipes, lounge about the house for a time, then work in the fields until about ten or eleven o'clock, when they return for breakfast. A short sleep is then indulged in. The afternoon is spent in roaming about the mountains, fishing, hunting, or gathering bamboo. The evening is passed at home. At about eight o'clock the only other meal of the day is partaken of. Their dress resembles that of the Annamites.
The women here, like those of most other wild tribes, are the real laborers. They pound and gather in the rice, bring fire-wood from the mountains, spin cotton, make cloth, prepare the meals, and, in a word, do almost all that is to be done. Each member of the family, however, works at his or her pleasure. The result of this freedom is a lasting friendship between the members of the same family, and frequently the children, even after marriage, will remain under their parents' roof; thus, three or four families are often found living together in perfect harmony. The women are usually very poorly dressed, and make a less agreeable impression than the men.
Great affection is shown toward their children, so much so that paternal authority is apt to suffer. "When a child is born, a string is suspended near the mother and the infant to prevent the devil from carrying it away. Bits of rice are also put into the child's mouth with the words: "If thou art of the devil, let the devil slay thee; if thou art of Heaven, let Heaven protect thee."
Marriage does not take place until the men have reached the twenty-fifth year, as it is necessary to have a considerable sum of money for the bride's parents before the event can take place. The fathers and mothers manage the affair almost entirely themselves. Three visits are made between the parents of the contracting parties; on the fourth, the bridegroom accompanies his parents, carrying the money, a pot, a pig, and a jug of wine. He invites the parents of his future wife to feast; they furnish a pig and a jug of wine also, and the two families make their repast in common. A chicken and an egg are now prepared; each is cut into two equal parts, wishes for their future happiness are expressed, and the couple invited to eat.
