Although the White Thai have made considerable efforts to preserve their cultural heritage, some traditions have had to change to accommodate their new living environment.

One example is Ap Hua, the traditional New Year hair-washing ritual once performed along the banks of the Da River near their former villages.

After moving to resettlement areas without a nearby river, residents could no longer perform the ritual in its traditional setting.

Other cultural practices have continued, although their locations and forms of organization have changed.

During the Lunar New Year, villagers still participate in traditional games and performances, including to ma le, xoe folk dancing and spinning-top games.

However, instead of gathering at the village head's house as they did in their former communities, residents now hold these activities at communal meeting halls.

The most significant adjustments can be seen in major life-cycle ceremonies, particularly funerals.

In their original villages, funeral arrangements were largely managed by members of the deceased person's extended family.

This system worked effectively because relatives typically lived close together, allowing them to mobilize substantial support whenever a family experienced a bereavement.

Resettlement, however, divided villages and dispersed extended families across different locations.

As a result, relatives were no longer always available in sufficient numbers to organize traditional funeral ceremonies.

To address this challenge, White Thai communities have gradually transferred some responsibilities to local social organizations, including women's associations and youth unions.

These organizations now help coordinate funeral arrangements and provide practical assistance to families.

The shift illustrates how traditional customs can be maintained even when the social structures that originally supported them have changed.

It also highlights the growing role of community organizations in sustaining social relationships and cultural practices within resettlement areas.

Through these adjustments, the White Thai in Son La have demonstrated their ability to preserve ancestral worship while rebuilding community ties in unfamiliar surroundings.

Rather than abandoning their traditions, they have adapted religious practices and communal responsibilities to meet new circumstances, creating a more stable spiritual and social life in their adopted villages.

Their experiences offer an example of how ethnic minority communities can maintain cultural continuity while responding to the profound changes brought about by large-scale development projects and population relocation.

Religious beliefs reflect broader social change

The fourth International Scientific Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities explored a wide range of subjects, from Buddhist scriptures and teachings to religion in heritage spaces, changing festivals and beliefs, and the role of religious practitioners.

Other discussions examined social relationships within migrant communities and the significance of religious beliefs in contemporary urban life.

Many presentations approached religion and belief systems not as fixed traditions but as practices continuously shaped by social transformation.

Associate Professor Nguyen Truong Giang, Dean of the Faculty of Anthropology and Religious Studies, emphasized that studying religion requires an understanding of the broader human experiences surrounding spiritual practices.

"Studying religion and belief is not merely about studying the sacred. At a deeper level, it is also about studying people, memory, power, morality, community, identity and the ways people search for meaning in constantly changing social circumstances," he said.

The experiences of the White Thai in Son La reflect this perspective, showing how ancestral traditions can remain meaningful even as communities adapt to new environments and changing social relationships.

Binh Minh