54 ethnic groups in Vietnam

There are 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam, of which the Viet (or Kinh) is the largest group (making up 86.2% of the country's population). The Viet people mainly live in the Red River Delta, the central coast region, the Mekong Delta and major cities. The other 53 ethnic minority groups are scattered over mountainous areas or plains spreading from the North to the South.

My photos in this blog were mainly taken in north west Vietnam where I've met the Thai, Red Dzao, Black H'mong and Flowery H'mong people. While traveling along the National Highway No. 9 in Quảng Trị province, central Vietnam on the DMZ tour, the guide took us to a village of the Vân Kiều Bru ethnic minority group. You may know the village of K'ho people near Đà Lạt city in the Central Highlands and tourists often go there when visiting the city. The southernmost region of Vietnam is the area where the Chinese and Khmer people live. Thus, after traveling throughout Vietnam, I've seen people of about 10 ethnic minority groups in the country.

Hà Giang, the northernmost province of Vietnam, is home of 22 ethnic minority groups. I visited the province once on a 2-day business trip, but didn't go further north to the northernmost point. There is a famous Sunday market in Đồng Văn and lots of old houses as well as beautiful mountain scenery in this area. Someday I want to go there, but I'll need travel companions to share the car rental. The best time to visit this region is April, September and October. At the other time of the year, it may be too cold, foggy or rain.

If you see many Cham brick temples in central region and Khmer temples along the National Highway No. 1 in the southernmost provinces, or Chinese shops in Sài Gòn (aka Ho Chi Minh city) and the Mekong Delta, it's very different in north west Vietnam. Sapa town is the most popular destination for tourists, as it's easy to reach the place by night train. Trekking to some villages of the Red Dzao and Black H'mong people is the main tourist activity in this region and Black H'mong people (based on their dresses) speak English and French very well, as they meet and talk with tourists everyday. They can work as guides, or sell souvenirs, or lease their houses (tourists home stay). While tourism brings income to the locals and improves their lives, there are also negative impacts on their life styles.

Some ethnic minority groups living in north west Vietnam plant rice on the terraced paddies. September is the best time for photography as the rice become yellow during the harvest. The rice terraced paddies in Sapa are one of the best 7 paddies in the world based on the votes of an American magazine. When you go toward the east, there is Băc Hà Sunday market of the Flowery H'mong people. The locals leave their home early at 4am and walk to the market. They bring their own products to sell at the market and buy necessary things for their families. It's also a chance for them to meet other H'mong people, eat their favorite food "thắng cố" (mixture of all parts of horses) and drink much corn wine. I've seen some photos of the men who were drunk after the Sunday market, but it was taken in Hà Giang province. In general, the ethnic minority people in this region are very poor, as their income is mainly based on the farming works or raising pigs and chicken.

When you travel along another side of north west Vietnam (Hoà Bình - Sơn La - Điện Biên Phủ), you'll see many villages of the Thai ethnic minority people. They live in stilt houses, do farming works and weave fabric. I'm not sure if they use the same language as the Thai in Thailand. I saw a western tourist talked with them some words in Thai language, but they didn't understand.

Vietnamese is taught at all schools in Vietnam. Other ethnic minority groups also have their own languages, traditional customs and dresses. I belong to the Viet (Kinh) group and our traditional dresses in northern Vietnam are "Áo Dài" or "Áo tứ thân" (photo No. 11). The later dress is rarely worn now and it's often used by singers when performing the folk songs or during the festivals.

I'm looking forward to my next trip in early December to the Central Highlands of Vietnam (Buôn Mê Thuột - Pleiku - Kon Tum). This region is one of the most interesting parts of Vietnam with very special culture. Some huge communal houses of the ethnic minority groups were built in this area and their gong performance is one of the four UNESCO intangible heritages in Vietnam. More photos later.

Note: The Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi is the place where you can get information and see photos of all 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam. Here is the link to Museum of Ethnology You can get to this museum by bus No. 14 from Hoàn Kiếm lake in Hanoi's center or rent a car/taxi to the place. It's closed on Mondays and national holidays. During the Lunar New Year (Tết) there are many activities at the museum. See my photos in a blog published in February 2009: New Year's activities during Tết 2009

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