Socialist Republic of Vietnam

A Swedish professor has dedicated his time to researching the ethnic minority Katu group in Vietnam in a desire to help the world gain a truthful and sufficient understanding of the ethnic group.
Kaj Arhem is a renowned ethnographer and anthropology professor at the Goteborg University in Sweden. Some years ago, Mr. Arhem was motivated to study the Katu group after reading the book “Les Chasseurs de Sang” about the ethnic minority group at a U.S. library.

After reading the book, Mr. Arhem had doubts about the accuracy of author Le Pichon’s depiction of the Katu people, particularly the traditional customs that included barbaric blood hunting. The book was first published on the Bulletin des Amis du Vieux Hue (BAVH) magazine in 1938.

In a search for the truth, Mr. Arhem then convinced his university to cooperate with the Vietnam Ethnography Museum to conduct an overall research project about the Katu people.

The project unveiled an updated portrayal of the Katu people, debunking the book’s distorted views.

Apart from your professional research project, is there anything else in Vietnam that has captivated you?

Mr. Kaj Arhem: I am extremely impressed with the way the Vietnamese people have treated me since 1996. I have traveled to many countries in Africa and America, but I feel a particular attachment to Vietnam. I am also touched by the enthusiasm of the people at the Vietnam Ethnography Museum.

Le Pichon, in his book published more than 50 years ago, depicted the Katu people as kind, but benighted people. What were your impressions of the Katu people when you visited their villages in central Quang Nam province?

When I visited their villages, I witnessed a very modern lifestyle. The Katu people wore clothes similar to the Kinh (the majority ethnic in Vietnam) people. They had electricity and owned TVs, bicycles and motorcycles. Their lives were modern, which was not described in Le Pichon’s book. Also, there were no traces of the blood hunting tradition described in the book.

Interestingly, beneath the people’s modern appearance was also a strong basis of traditional customs. I was very intrigued to see that the Katu people go into the forest holding “a spiritual leaf”, which is believed to bring good luck. They also talk to the floating souls which they believe live all around them. The Katu women also have a special position in their communities.

It’s a special and simple lifestyle in which the Katu people believe they are living with souls. Have you discovered any similarities between the souls and the Katu women?

It is a patriarchal society in the fact that the men do have most of the political power. But, women have the spiritual power. The Katu people believe that because women are weaker, souls can easily integrate with women. The women can talk to the souls as they are seen as a source of comfort. In that way, women are very highly respected.

Your desire and affection for Vietnam and the Katu people has spread to your entire family. You have left behind the comforts of a country with high living standard to climb mountains in the dry and flooding seasons, to bath in the river and to eat strange food. Are you attracted to the country and the Katu people because it is so strange and new?

Once you really want to study something, it is desire that motivates you. Vietnam is very attractive to me and I am happy when I live in Vietnam. I always think about the Katu people who are friendly and simple. Whenever I go back to Sweden, I find myself yearning for Vietnam. And when I am in Vietnam, I firmly believe that I don’t wholly belong to Sweden. I don’t think I will spend my whole life with Sweden.

The project will be completed in late 2005. Apart from writing preliminary reports and taking pictures, I am also writing a book about the Katu people.

But after that, I hope to have more chances to return to Vietnam as my entire family has developed a great connection to this country.

Reported by Vo Thi Hao - Translated by T.H.
Story from Thanh Nien News
Published: 11 January, 2005, 00:18:44 (GMT+7)
Copyright Thanh Nien News