Nhiến, 80, & Là, 87, Pu Péo Ethnic Group

Perched on the moun­tain­side tucked away in the fur­thest reach­es of North­ern Viet­nam is a small vil­lage with one of the small­est eth­nic groups in Viet­nam, the Pu Péo.

Nhiến (80) and Là (87) are sis­ters-in-law, each mar­ried a broth­er from the same fam­i­ly. They were both arranged mar­riages but both say they were hap­py togeth­er. They’ve out­lived their hus­bands and have remained close friends.

“She and I always hang out togeth­er from morn­ing till evening. We chat, walk around and play with our great-grand­chil­dren” Là says, describ­ing their dai­ly lives.

They are wear­ing their tra­di­tion­al clothes of the Pu Peo peo­ple. “These clothes are more than 20 years old. I made them when I was younger. Now my eyes can­not see things clear­ly” Là explains.

On the left Nhiến is wear­ing the more mod­ern ver­sion of their eth­nic clothes while Là wears the orig­i­nal ver­sion with intri­cate mosaics, each of which she embroi­dered by hand.

Nhiến, 80 years old (left)
Là, 87 years old (right)
Pu Péo Eth­nic Group
Ha Giang, Vietnam