*Other Names: Xá Puộng, Xá Khao, Pụa, Khlá-phlạo.

*Language: The Laha language belongs to the Kadai language group.

*Population: The Laha ethnic group has approximately 1,400 people.

*Residency: in Sơn La and Lào Cai province

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*Economy: The Laha people primarily practice shifting cultivation. Gathering is more important and frequent compared to hunting and fishing. Nowadays, many villages have adopted rice farming, learned to build embankments to prevent soil erosion, and some use fertilizers. They raise pigs, chickens, and now also cattle and buffalo for plowing. The Laha do not weave fabric themselves; they grow cotton and trade it with the Thai for cloth, so their clothing resembles that of the Black Thai.

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*Housing: Laha villages usually consist of ten houses. The Laha people live in stilt houses with two entrances at opposite ends: one for receiving guests and the other for family activities.

*Marriage: Laha men and women have the freedom to get to know each other without parental pressure, though marriage must be approved by the parents. To express his intentions, a suitor visits the girl’s house and uses a flute, a fiddle, and songs before engaging in regular conversation. After the initial engagement ceremony, if the bride’s family does not return the betel leaves given by the groom’s matchmaker, a "staying with the bride" ceremony is organized, where the groom must live with the bride’s family for 4 to 8 years. Only after this period can the wedding ceremony take place, and the bride will move to her husband’s home. The wife must take her husband's surname.

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*Funerals: According to Laha customs, the deceased are buried with both money and rice. The Laha believe in various types of spirits, such as forest spirits, water spirits, field spirits, and household spirits. Each person is believed to have eight souls; after death, these souls typically become household or field spirits. Every household has an altar for the household spirits, but only one spirit, that of the father, is worshipped. Annually, during the blooming season of the ban flowers, families hold a ceremony to express gratitude to their ancestors.

Translated by Huyen Vu