The Mnong or Munong people ( Vietnamese: ''người Mơ-nông'') are an ethnic group mainly living in Central Highlands and Southeast regions of

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 ...

, and Eastern region of

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...

. They are made up of many smaller groups: Mnong Gar, Mnong Nông, Mnong Chil, Mnong Kuênh, Mnong Rlâm, Mnong Preh, Mnong Prâng, Mnong Ðíp, Mnong Bhiêt, Mnong Sitô, Mnong Bu Ðâng, Mnong Bu Nor, Mnong Bu Ðêh. Every group speaks a variant of the Mnong language, which along with

Koho language Koho or K'Ho is a South Bahnaric language spoken by the Koho people and Mạ people, mainly in the Lâm Đồng Province of Vietnam. It is very close to the Mnong language. The autonym of the Kơho people is ''kon cau'' () while Koho () is a Ch ...

, is in the South Bhanaric group of the

Mon–Khmer The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family in Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. These languages are scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China and are th ...

family.

Population

The Mnong in Vietnam can be subdivided into three main groups: *Central Mnong: around 39,000 people in Đắk Nông and west Đắk Lắk provinces, 75% population are

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...

. *Eastern Mnong: around 36,000 people in Đắk Nông, east Đắk Lắk and

Lâm Đồng Lâm is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Lin in Chinese and Im in Korean. Lam is the anglicized variation of the surname Lâm. Lam is also a commonly held surname of Cantonese speakers of Chinese descent. Large populations in ...

provinces, 25% population are Christians. *Southern Mnong: around 36,000 people in Đắk Nông,

and Bình Phước provinces, 70% population are Christians. A number of Mnong live in the eastern

n province of Mondulkiri where they are known as Bunong (alternatively spelled Phnong, Punong, or Pnong).

History

The Mnong people have been widely persecuted and discriminated against because they were thought to have aided

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

in its civil war against

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

and the United States of America during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. They were brutally massacred and have been neglected for decades for their unproven "Engagement" with the

Việt Cộng , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

Culture

Epics (Mnong language: Ot N'rong - Ot: telling by singing, N'rong: old story) take an important part in Mnong people's life. Many of these epics, such as ''Con đỉa nuốt bon Tiăng'' (Mnong language: Ghu sok bon Tiăng, English: The leech swallows Tiăng village), or ''Mùa rẫy bon Tiăng'' (English: The farming season of Tiăng village) are quite long.

Notable persons

*Y Thu Knul (1828 – 1938), a

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

- Mnong person, a chieftain who established Buôn Đôn, a famous elephant hunting and taming village, in Đắk Lắk Province. He caught a

white elephant A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, construction project, sch ...

and gave it as a present to the Thai royal family in 1861, leading the king of

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

to bestow upon him the name "Khunjunob" (literally "King of Elephant hunting"). *N'Trang Lơng, a tribal chief who led villagers against French colonizers in a 24 years uprising from 1912 to 1935. One of the most well-known action of N'Trang Lơng was the assassination of - a French writer, explorer cum colonizer - who was famous with the adventure book ''Les Jungles Moï'' (English: Montagnard in Jungle, Vietnamese: ''Rừng Người Thượng'') as well as brutal actions against the Mnong people. *Điểu Kâu - an ethnologist, Điểu Klứt and Điểu Klung - two epic tellers, are three brothers in a family, who collected, recorded and spread M'nong epics. In August 2008, folk artist Điểu Kâu died of old age. This was a great loss for the M'nong people because they consider Điểu Kâu as the keeper of their cultural identity.

References

Mnong at www.peoplesoftheworld.orgMnong and elephant in Vietnam
{{Authority control Ethnic groups in Vietnam

Population

History

Culture

Notable persons

See also

References