Muong people

Mường
Người Mường

Total population
1.2 million (est.)
Regions with significant populations
Vietnam
Languages
Muong
Religion
Animism, Buddhism

Muong Settlement with traditional houses near Hoa Binh

Smoking and drinking banana wine, Muong customs.

A musical instrument of Muong people

The Mường (Vietnamese: Người Mường) is the third largest of Vietnam’s 53 minority groups, with an estimated population of 1.2 million. The Muong people inhabit the mountainous region of northern Vietnam, concentrated in Hoa Binh Province and the mountainous districts of Thanh Hoa Province. They are most closely related to the ethnic Vietnamese. While the Muong are believed to be related to the Vietnamese, some ethnologists theorize the Muong remained in the mountains and developed independently while the Vietnamese moved to the low country and became influenced by Chinese culture resulting from the 111 BC invasion by Chinese Han Emperor Wu Ti. The Muong and the Tai have had a mutual influence on each other’s culture. So, today the Muong are ethnically close to the Vietnamese, but culturally and socially similar to the Tai.

Language

The Mường speak the Muong language, a close relative of Vietnamese.

Literature

Muong have many valuable epics (Muong language: mo), such as Te tac te dac (meaning: Giving birth to the Earth and the Water).

See also

• List of ethnic groups in Vietnam

External links

• http://hedo-vietnam.tripod.com/ethnic_groups/muong.htm
• (Spanish) http://www.proel.org/mundo/viet.htm

Video

• Video showing music, food, and wedding customs of the Muong people in Hoa Binh
• Government scientists work with farmers from the Muong ethnic minority to improve local rice varieties