Who are the Ma people and what is notable about their name?
The Ma are one of the 54 ethnic groups recognised in Vietnam under the List of Ethnic Components issued with Decision No. 121-TCTK/PPCĐ dated 2 March 1979. Their self-designation is Ma; other names found in documents include Chau Ma, Cho Ma and Che Ma. In some older texts the Ma were also grouped under the term Moi, but this term is no longer appropriate today and should not be used.
The recorded local groups are Ma Ngan, Ma Xop, Ma To and Ma Krung. It is important to distinguish clearly: these are local groups within the single Ma ethnic group, not separate ethnic groups.
Population figures vary with each survey. According to the Survey of 53 Ethnic Minorities of 1 April 2019, there were 50,322 Ma people. Earlier, the 2009 Population and Housing Census recorded 41,405. The gap between the two figures reflects both natural population growth and differences in method and timing of the surveys, so any citation should state which year's data is being used.
Where do the Ma people live?
The Ma are long-standing inhabitants of the Central Highlands. Their settlement area is concentrated on the Bao Loc, Di Linh and Da Te plateaus and in the Dong Nai River basin, within Lam Dong province; the list of Vietnam's ethnic groups also records the Ma in Dong Nai.
The traditional settlement unit is the village, called bon in the Ma language. Each bon is tied to its own area of land. A typical bon has 5 to 10 long stilt houses. This is worth noting when picturing Ma living space: the village is not densely packed but spread out according to the plateau terrain and closely tied to the community's farmland.
Housing and traditional living space
Traditional Ma houses are made of bamboo and mai bương, with two roofs thatched with palm leaves. The entrance canopy, called the mother door, is curved into an arch using bamboo branches resting on the thatch. Around the house, the Ma build many rice granaries on high stilts, with granary posts decorated in a pestle-and-mortar motif.
According to source records, very few traditional Ma longhouses remain in the villages. This is a change that should be described accurately, without idealising the past or treating the change as an absolute loss.
Which language group does the Ma language belong to?
Ma belongs to the Mon-Khmer language group within the Austroasiatic family. This group is present in many mainland Southeast Asian countries, and in Vietnam it includes the languages of various ethnic groups such as the Ma, Co Ho, Mnong, Xtieng, Khmer and others.
The Ma have no separate script. Source records describe Ma folklore as transmitted by memorisation and word of mouth. This has a direct consequence: knowledge, stories and songs are not fixed in writing, so recording and collecting play an important role in preservation.
Production activities and economic life
Swidden fields play the main role in Ma life. These are multi-crop swiddens: besides rice, they grow maize, gourds, pumpkins, tobacco and cotton. The way yields are measured also reflects farming custom: the Ma measure swidden yield by the number of baskets of rice harvested when one basket of seed rice is sown.
Main swidden tools include axes, machetes, knives, sickles, dibbling sticks and baskets. In the Dong Nai River area, the Ma also farm rice by driving a whole herd of buffalo into the field to trample the soil until it becomes muddy, then sowing seed rice. This is a distinctive farming technique, different from wet-rice farming in the lowlands.
Fishing is fairly common. In the past, the Ma knew how to make poison from forest leaves, which they put into streams to catch fish. The Ma are well known for growing cotton and weaving cloth. As for transport, the woven basket carried on the back is the main item, with many sizes; baskets used for long journeys are decorated with patterns through the weaving. In the Dong Nai River area, the Ma make dugout canoes for travel, transport and fishing.
Food, clothing and body markings
On food, source records note plain rice eaten with salt mixed with chilli, lemongrass, fresh bamboo shoots and some forest vegetables; preparation is mainly grilling, boiling and soup-making. The Ma enjoy drinking ruou can and smoking tobacco through a khan pipe.
On clothing, women wear a wrapped skirt longer than the calf, and a pullover blouse fitted to the body, reaching the waist and closed at the hem. Men wear a loincloth and an open-hemmed shirt with the back flap longer than the front. In cold seasons, older people often add a blanket. The Ma practise teeth filing and ear stretching; women like to wear strings of multi-coloured beads. Young men wear many copper bracelets on the wrist with incised rings, described as symbols of sacrifices to spirits and of praying for coolness for themselves.
The loincloth, called ntrônh in the Ma language, is woven by Ma women, sometimes up to 4m long, with finely patterned ends and fringes attached with beads. When going into the forest or working the fields, a Ma man's two closest items are the basket on his back and the machete in his hand.
Traditional social organisation of the Ma
The village is the highest social unit of the Ma, headed by a village chief called quăng bon in the Ma language. The village chief has the duty of officiating at ceremonies of a communal nature. This shows that religious and community management functions are combined in the same role.
The Ma have two forms of family: the patrilineal extended family and the patrilineal nuclear family. The head of the extended family is the oldest person of the highest generation in the lineage, responsible for running all family affairs and looking after rare items such as gongs and jars. In the patrilineal extended family, each couple with children lives together but works separately; the patrilineal nuclear family is an individual economic unit but still retains traces of the patrilineal extended family.
Marriage and childbirth as recorded in sources
On marriage, the initiative lies with the groom's family. After the wedding, if the groom's family has paid the full bride price, the couple stay at the bride's house for only 8 days; if not fully paid, the young man must live as a son-in-law until payment is complete before he can take his wife home.
On childbirth, when a boy is born, the child's placenta is placed in a dried gourd shell and buried in front of the house; if a girl is born, it is buried behind the house. On the eighth day, the mother carries the child out to the yard for a sun bath; if it is a boy she brings a machete, a crossbow and a knife for shaving bamboo; if a girl she brings a basket, a firewood-splitting axe and a rice bag. These details show gender distinction expressed from life-cycle rituals.
On funerals, sources record grave goods for the deceased in the next world including machetes, axes, jars and clothing, buried in the same grave or scattered around it. After the burial ceremony the grave is abandoned, and the bereaved family must observe seven days of abstaining from entering the forest or going to the fields.
How do Ma worship customs take place?
The Ma believe in spirits, collectively called Yang. They worship various Yang, among which source records name Yang Hiu (house spirit), Yang Koi (rice spirit) and Yang Bơnơm (mountain spirit). These are spirits tied to three essential areas of life: the home, the rice plant and the mountains and forests.
The Ma often kill animals to sacrifice to spirits on occasions of a good harvest, childbirth, illness and death. The largest sacrifice is the buffalo sacrifice, usually held at the end of the farming season. Thus the Ma ritual system is not separate from the swidden farming cycle, but follows the important moments of the crop cycle and the human life cycle.
It is worth noting how these practices are described: they are cultural belief practices of a community, recorded in ethnographic sources. Recording them does not mean asserting or denying the spiritual efficacy of the rituals.
Calendar and knowledge of time
The Ma follow the lunar calendar. Its use is tied to the farming cycle and to ceremonies, because the timing of the swidden season and the buffalo sacrifice season is determined by this calendar.
Festivals and folk arts of the Ma
Sources do not list festivals in the modern sense, but describe community rituals tied to farming and the life cycle. The largest ritual named is the buffalo sacrifice, held at the end of the farming season. In addition, offerings to spirits also take place at harvest, childbirth, illness or death.
The Ma folk literary and artistic heritage is quite rich, including many legends, folk tales and lyrical folk songs called tam bớt.
The traditional instrument is a set of six flat bronze gongs without knobs. In ensemble playing, a buffalo-skin drum opens, keeps the rhythm and rolls before the end. Ma boys often play the gourd pipe, bamboo flute and buffalo-horn trumpet.
Summary table of key features
| Aspect | Recorded information |
|---|---|
| Self-designation | Ma |
| Other names | Chau Ma, Cho Ma, Che Ma |
| Local groups | Ma Ngan, Ma Xop, Ma To, Ma Krung |
| Population | 50,322 (Survey of 53 Ethnic Minorities, 1 April 2019); 41,405 (2009 Census) |
| Language | Mon-Khmer group, Austroasiatic family; no separate script |
| Settlement area | Bao Loc, Di Linh, Da Te plateaus, Dong Nai River basin (Lam Dong); Dong Nai |
| Settlement unit | Village (bon), each bon with 5 to 10 long stilt houses |
| Main economy | Multi-crop swiddens, fishing, cotton growing and weaving |
| Beliefs | Belief in spirits (Yang); worship of Yang Hiu, Yang Koi, Yang Bơnơm |
| Largest sacrifice | Buffalo sacrifice, end of farming season |
| Typical instruments | Set of six flat bronze gongs without knobs, buffalo-skin drum |
Points to note when learning about the Ma
First, it is necessary to distinguish clearly that the local groups Ma Ngan, Ma Xop, Ma To and Ma Krung are groups within the single Ma ethnic group, not separate ethnic groups. Vietnam's classification of ethnic components under the List issued with Decision No. 121-TCTK/PPCĐ dated 2 March 1979 recognises exactly 54 ethnic groups.
Second, population figures differ by source and survey year. When citing, the source and timing should be stated clearly to avoid confusion.
Third, some old names in documents such as Moi or Cham used for other ethnic groups are no longer appropriate in modern writing. For the Ma, both the official name and the self-designation are Ma.
Fourth, descriptions of customs in ethnographic sources are usually tied to a specific area and time. They should not be generalised into characteristics of all Ma people everywhere and at all times, because communities may differ between local groups and have changed over time.
Frequently asked questions
Where do the Ma people mainly live?
The Ma are long settled in the Central Highlands, concentrated on the Bao Loc, Di Linh and Da Te plateaus and in the Dong Nai River basin in Lam Dong, and are also present in Dong Nai. The traditional settlement unit is the village, called bon, each usually with 5 to 10 long stilt houses.
Which language group does Ma belong to and do the Ma have their own script?
Ma belongs to the Mon-Khmer language group within the Austroasiatic family. The Ma have no separate script, so folklore such as legends, folk tales and tam bớt folk songs is passed on mainly by word of mouth and memory.
Which spirits do the Ma worship and what is their largest festival?
The Ma believe in spirits, collectively called Yang, and worship many spirits tied to life such as Yang Hiu (house spirit), Yang Koi (rice spirit) and Yang Bơnơm (mountain spirit). They make offerings on occasions of good harvest, childbirth, illness and death. The largest sacrifice is the buffalo sacrifice, usually held at the end of the farming season.
