Gin

族About this people

The Gin — also called Jing or Kinh — are a small Vietnamese-origin community living on three coral-sand islands (Wanwei, Wutou, and Shanxin) and the adjacent mainland coast near Dongxing in Fangchenggang city, southwestern Guangxi, close to the Vietnam border. Their language, Gin, is closely related to Vietnamese and belongs to the Vietic sub-group of the Mon-Khmer branch. Most Gin also speak Cantonese and Mandarin.

The Gin are believed to be descended from fishermen who migrated from the Ha Long Bay area of what is now northern Vietnam approximately 500 years ago, settling on the uninhabited islands and establishing fishing communities. The Vietnamese language connection and continued proximity to the Vietnamese border have given the community a cultural orientation partly distinct from other southern China minorities.

The Gin are traditionally sea fishers, and their material culture reflects maritime expertise: traditional wooden fishing boats, net-making, fish-trap construction, and the preservation of seafood by drying and fermentation. A distinctive musical instrument is the duxianqin (single-string zither), a long plucked string instrument played with a bow or plectrum and used in folk song accompaniment. The annual Hat Festival (Changha Festival) is the Gin community's most important cultural event, involving communal singing to the duxianqin accompaniment, offerings at the communal hall, and celebration of the community's fishing heritage. Catholic Christianity was introduced by Vietnamese missionaries in the 19th century and is practised by some Gin families.