The Katuic peoples live mainly in central

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

's Truong Son region and the highlands of south eastern

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

and speak the

Katuic languages The fifteen Katuic languages form a branch of the Austroasiatic languages spoken by about 1.3 million people in Southeast Asia. People who speak Katuic languages are called the Katuic peoples. Paul Sidwell is the leading specialist on the Katuic ...

. The peoples include the

Katu KATU (channel 2) is a television station in Portland, Oregon, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside La Grande–licensed Univision affiliate KUNP (channel 16). Both stations share studios on NE ...

, Ta Oi, Pacoh, Bru (Van Kieu) in Vietnam and the

Kuy Kuy, also known as Kui, Suay or Kuay ( th, ภาษากูย; km, ភាសាកួយ), is a Katuic languages, Katuic language, part of the larger Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic family spoken by the Kuy people of Southeast Asia. ...

. The Katuic groups in Laos include the

, Bru, Ta'oih,

Kantu Kantu or k'antu is an ancient style of music and circle dance which is widespread since incaic or even preincaic epoch on the Peruvian and Bolivian highlands. Modern versions of this style still use the Quechua or Aymara language and the siku ...

, Dakkang, Triw, Chatong and Ngeq. They subsist mainly on

shifting cultivation Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily, then abandoned while post-disturbance fallow vegetation is allowed to freely grow while the cultivator moves on to another plot. The period of cul ...

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

. They traditionally lived in small villages centered on a communal house. Their religion revolves around the spirits of the forest, the Rice Mother and ancestor spirits. Even today, these groups retain most of their traditions and spirit beliefs. However, they have been heavily affected by the newly constructed

Ho Chi Minh Highway Ho Chi Minh Road or Ho Chi Minh Highway ( vi, Đường Hồ Chí Minh, links=no) is a highway in Vietnam. It runs from the north to the south of Vietnam, west of National Route 1. The highway was named after Hồ Chí Minh. History The route ro ...

, which cuts straight through the homeland of the Vietnamese Katuic groups. The

French military The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces. France ...

officer Le Pichon, who was stationed among the Katu in 1938, wrote a short book about entitled ''Les Chasseurs de Sang'' (''The Blood Hunters'') about the (now non-existent) practice of the Katu to hunt people to please certain spirits.

External links

The Katuic Ethnography Project
* http://projekt.ht.lu.se/rwaai RWAAI (Repository and Workspace for Austroasiatic Intangible Heritage) * http://hdl.handle.net/10050/00-0000-0000-0003-6712-F@view Katuic languages in RWAAI Digital Archive Ethnic groups in Vietnam Ethnic groups in Laos {{Asia-ethno-group-stub