Culture and Customs of the Cơ-ho (K’Ho) Ethnic Group:
Social Structure: The Cơ-ho (K’Ho) live in villages (bon/bòn). They reside in longhouses (hìu jòng) built next to each other in the village. The Cơ-ho(K’Ho) village structure is tight-knit, led by a village head (kuang bòn/quăng bon/khoa bon), who is highly respected and followed by the community. In densely populated areas, voluntary alliances between villages are formed, led by an M’drông.
In Cơ-ho(K’Ho) society, there are two types of families: extended families and nuclear families, organized under a matrilineal system.
Housing: The Cơ-ho (K’Ho) live in long stilt houses and ground houses.
Religion and Beliefs: The Cơ-ho believe that all aspects of life are governed by supernatural forces. Therefore, their belief system includes gods (Yang) who always protect humans and spirits (Chà) that often cause harm. Thus, for any significant event such as farming, weddings, funerals, illness, etc., the Cơ-ho(K’Ho) conduct rituals to worship the gods. Their belief in the supernatural is polytheistic.
However, similar to many indigenous groups in the Central Highlands, after converting to Catholicism and Protestantism, the Cơ-ho(K’Ho) no longer worship the rice god and other deities as frequently as before, leading to the abandonment of some traditional beliefs.
Clothing: Cơ-ho(K’Ho) men traditionally wear loincloths, while women wear short skirts. The loincloth is a piece of cloth 1.5 to 2 meters long, adorned with vertical patterns. The skirt is a piece of cloth wrapped around the body with a black base color and white vertical patterns. In cold weather, the Cơ-ho(K’Ho) wrap themselves in a blanket (ùi).
The Cơ-ho(K’Ho) are fond of stretching their ears with wooden rings (khoen), and wealthy women stretch their ears with ivory. The custom of blackening teeth is also quite common among Cơ-ho(K’Ho) women.
Cuisine: The main staple for daily meals is sticky rice and plain rice. During festivals, they prepare mixed dishes by putting meat, bones, intestines, and liver of the sacrificed animal into a large bronze pot with various spices. The Cơ-ho(K’Ho) widely use can wine, especially during festivals. Additionally, they have the custom of chewing betel and smoking tobacco.
Education: In the early 20th century, the Cơ-ho (K’Ho) had a script based on the Latin alphabet, but it has not been widely popularized.
According to the survey of 53 ethnic minorities on April 1, 2019, the literacy rate of people aged 15 and older is 75%. The primary school enrollment rate is 99.8%, the lower secondary school enrollment rate is 80.3%, the upper secondary school enrollment rate is 34.3%, and the rate of out-of-school children is 22%.
Festivals: The Cơ-ho(K’Ho) celebrate numerous festivals throughout the year, with the largest being the rice harvest festival (li rơ bong). Besides this, they also hold the buffalo stabbing ceremony, organized after 3 or 7 cropping seasons.