- Mnong people
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Mnong Total population 219,000 (est.) Regions with significant populations Vietnam: Dak Lak, Lam Dong, Binh Phuoc; Cambodia Languages Mnong, others
Religion Christian, Theravada Buddhism, Animist
Mnong women near Buan Ma Thot
Mnong's elephant carerThe Mnong or M'nong (Vietnamese: M'Nông) are an ethnic group from Vietnam (92,451 in 1999). They can be subdivided into three groups:
- Central Mnong: around 88,000 people in the Dak Lak and Lam Dong provinces of the Central Highlands, mostly of the Christian religion
- Eastern Mnong: around 76,000 people in the Dak Lak and Lam Dong provinces of the Central Highlands
- Southern Mnong: around 55,000 people in the Binh Phuoc province of southeastern Vietnam
A number of Mnong live in the eastern Cambodian province of Mondulkiri.
Contents
Language
Every group speaks a variant of the Mnong language, which is in the Bahnaric languages group of the Mon–Khmer language family.
Literature
Epic
Epics (Mnong language: Ot N'rong- Ot: telling by singing the poem, N'rong: old story) take an important part in Mnong people's life. Many of these epics, such as Ghu sok bon Tiăng, are quite long.
Notable people
- N'Thu K'Nul, a Lao-Mnong person, a chieftain who established Bon Don, in Dak Lak province- a famous elephant hunting and taming village. He caught a white elephant and gave it as a present to the Thai royal family in 1861, leading the king of Thailand to bestow upon him the name "Khunjunob" (literally "Elephant Hunting King").
- N'Trang Lơng, hero who led villagers against French colonizers.
- Điểu Klung, epic teller.
External links
Ethnic groups in Vietnam by language family Categories:- Vietnamese people
- Vietnam geography stubs
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