Ethnic Group Mong

Name of ethnic group: Mong (H’Mong, Mong Do, White Mong, Mong Lenh (Variety Mong), Mong Si (Red Mong), Mong Du (Black Mong) and Mong Sua (Man Mong)

Population: 787,604 people (Year 1999)

Locality: The Mong are concentrated in Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Lai Chau, Son La, Cao Bang and Nghe An provinces.

Customs and habits: Each lineage lives in a group setting. The head of the village assumes the common affairs of the lineage. Young Mong men and women are free to choose their partners. Marriages are absolutely forbidden between men and women of the same lineage. Matrimonial life of the Mong is very harmonious and divorce is very rare.

Culture: Mong language belongs to the Mong-Dao Group. The Traditional Tet (New Year’s Day) of the Mong is organized every December. They refrain from eating green vegetables during the three days of the Tet Holiday. The musical instruments of the Mong include various kinds of “khen” (pan-pipes) and lip organs. After a hard working day and to celebrate spring, the young men and women often play “khen” and lip organs to express their feelings for their partners.

Costumes: The Mong make their clothes from linen. Women’s attire consists of a skirt, a blouse that opens at the front and has embroidery on the back, an apron to cover the skirt at the front, and leggings.

Economy: The Mong live mainly on slash-and-burn cultivation. They also grow rice and corn on terraced fields. Their principal food plants are corn, rice, and rye. Apart from these crops, they also grow medicinal plants and linen plants to supply the fibers for cloth weaving.