What Makes the Customs of Vietnam's Ethnic Minorities So Distinctive?
Vietnam's ethnic minorities have their own marriage rites, house-building practices and worship, shaped by environment and indigenous beliefs.
Results for "ethnic customs"
Muong Ethnic Wedding Customs
Explore the unique wedding customs of the Muong people in Thanh Hoa: from elopement and ancestor worship to bride-price negotiations and wedding day taboos.
Tay Ethnic Wedding Customs: From Proposal Ceremony to Matrilocal Residence
Tay weddings move through proposal, engagement, Tet visit and the wedding, with the matrilocal custom of a bride staying with her mother until pregnancy.
Thai Ethnic Group: Residence, Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
Vietnam's Thai ethnic group includes the Black and White branches, speaks the Tay-Thai language, lives in ban-muong villages, and worships ancestors.
Khmer Ethnic Group: Residence, Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
The Khmer (Kho Me) numbered 1,319,652 in the 2019 survey, live mainly in the Mekong Delta, speak a Mon-Khmer language, and worship Buddha and ancestors.
The Lao Ethnic Group: Residence, Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
The Lao in Vietnam call themselves Thay and Thay Duon, speak a Tay-Thai language, live in Dien Bien, Lai Chau and Son La, and keep ancestor altars.
Why do worship customs differ across regions and ethnic groups in Vietnam?
Vietnamese worship customs vary by region and ethnicity through environment, migration, and cultural exchange, not through one practice being more correct.
The Bo Y Ethnic Group: Residence, Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
The Bo Y ethnic group includes the Bo Y and Tu Di subgroups in Ha Giang and Lao Cai, with two language families and distinct worship and festival customs.
Tay Ethnic Group: Where They Live, Their Language, Worship Customs, and Main Festivals
The Tay are Vietnam's largest ethnic minority. They live in northeastern valleys, speak a Tay-Thai language, worship ancestors, and hold long tong festivals.
Muong Ethnic Group: Where They Live, Their Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
The Muong ethnic group speaks a Viet-Muong language and lives mainly in Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa and Phu Tho, with mo epics, festivals and worship customs.
Dao Ethnic Group: Where They Live, Their Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
The Dao are one of Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups. Where they live, their Hmong-Dao language, ancestor and Ban Vuong worship, and cap sac rites.
The Hoa (also called Han) ethnic group: residence, language, worship customs, and main festivals
The Hoa (Han) are one of Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups: where they live, their language, ancestor worship customs, and festivals like Tet Nguyen tieu.
Ba Na Ethnic Group: Where They Live, Their Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
The Ba Na live in Gia Lai, Kon Tum and western Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa, speak a Mon-Khmer language and keep many community festivals.
The Cong Ethnic Group: Where They Live, Their Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
Vietnam's Cong people live mainly in Lai Chau, speak a Tibeto-Burman language and keep ancestor worship and their own festivals.
The Mang Ethnic Group: Where They Live, Their Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
The Mang are one of Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups, living mainly in Lai Chau and speaking a Mon-Khmer language. Their worship customs and festivals are covered.
The Ma Ethnic Group: Where They Live, Their Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
The Ma live in Lam Dong and Dong Nai, speak a Mon-Khmer language with no script, worship Yang spirits and hold a buffalo sacrifice after harvest.
Xo Dang Ethnic Group: Where They Live, Their Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
The Xo Dang include the Xo Teng, To Dra, Mnam, Ca Dong, Ha Lang, Ta Tri and Chau subgroups in Kon Tum, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai, with worship of Kiak spirits.
The O Du Ethnic Group: Where They Live, Their Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
The O Du people speak a Mon-Khmer language and live mainly in Tuong Duong, Nghe An, known for the thunder welcoming festival and the house spirit cult.
The Mong ethnic group (also called Meo, H'Mong): residence, language, worship customs, and main festivals
The Mong ethnic group (Meo, H'Mong) had 1,393,547 people in the 2019 census, including White, Flowered, Red, Black, and Green Mong subgroups.
The San Diu Ethnic Group: Where They Live, Their Language, Customs of Worship and Main Festivals
The San Diu are one of Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups, speaking a Guangdong Chinese dialect in the northern midlands, with distinctive worship customs.
Chicken Feet Divination at Tet: The Custom of Predicting Crop Fortune Among Ethnic Minorities
Chicken feet divination at Tet and the new rice ceremony of ethnic minorities aims to predict fate and crops for the new year.
Which ethnic groups in Vietnam celebrate their own New Year separately from Tet Nguyen Dan?
Which peoples in Vietnam keep their own New Year apart from Tết Nguyên Đán? The Mông, Hà Nhì, Khmer, Chăm and others, as reported in the press.
National Mong Ethnic Culture Festival: Highland Colors Converge
The National Mong Ethnic Culture Festival rotates among provinces with large Mong populations. Its 4th edition is in Dien Bien in October 2026.
Regional Differences in Ancestor Worship and Tết Customs Among the Kinh Across North, Central, and South Vietnam
Though united as one Kinh ethnic culture, ancestor-worship, wedding, and Tết customs differ substantially across North, Central, and South Vietnam.
Vietnam's Community of 54 Ethnic Groups: Official List, Distribution and Shared Cultural Traits
Vietnam recognises 54 ethnic groups under the 1979 official list, with the Kinh majority and 53 minority groups spread across all regions.
Ancient Leaf Books of the May People, a Chut Ethnic Subgroup
Ancient leaf books of the May people, a Chut subgroup, held incantations and ritual texts, and the artisans who can read them have nearly vanished.
The Brau People: Where They Live, Their Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
The Brau are one of Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups, living mainly in Kon Tum. This article covers their language, worship customs, festivals and cultural life.
The Mountain and Forest Spirit Worship of the Ruc People (Chut Ethnic Group)
The Ruc, a Chut subgroup in the Truong Son mountains, worship mountain and forest deities and hold that the dead return to the sacred forest.
The Beauty of H'Mong Wedding Customs
H'Mong wedding customs form a complex chain of rituals led by a matchmaker, from the proposal to multi-day ceremonies with ritual songs and symbolic gifts.
Cham Wedding Customs in Southern Vietnam: Rituals, Meanings, and Transformations
Cham weddings in Southern Vietnam follow Islam through proposal and days of ceremony, with matchmakers, betel offerings, bride price and Quran recitation.
The Legend of Sacred Forests in the Beliefs of the Pu Péo People
Explore the sacred forest beliefs of the Pu Péo, an ethnic minority in Hà Giang, to understand their culture, customs, and unique relationship with nature.
The Chut People: Where They Live, Their Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
The Chut people of Vietnam include the May, Ruc, Sach, Arem and Ma Lieng subgroups, living mainly in the mountains of Quang Binh.
Comparing Lunar New Year of the Kinh, Chol Chnam Thmay of the Khmer, and Ethnic Groups Celebrating New Year by Their Own Calendars
Comparing Lunar New Year of the Kinh, Chol Chnam Thmay of the Khmer, and ethnic groups with their own calendars: timing, offerings, rituals, and names.
The Lự People: Where They Live, Their Language, Worship Customs, and Main Festivals
The Lự people speak a Tày-Thái language and live mainly in Lai Châu, with worship customs and festivals tied to their own calendar.
Unique Wedding Date Selection Customs of the Dao People in Tuyen Quang
The Dao people in Tuyen Quang see wedding date selection as vital for marital happiness, matching ages by yin-yang and five elements.
Wedding Customs of the Thai People (Son La)
The wedding customs of the Black Thai in Son La include free courtship, a trial groom service, and the Tằng cẩu hair-bunning rite.
Traditional wedding customs of the Co Tu people
Co Tu weddings follow a strict process from the Ganoo proposal to the Zum ceremony, with buffalo dowries, lyrical chanting and communal dancing.
Unique marriage customs of the Ba Na people
Ba Na weddings in Gia Lai feature alternating residence between both families and a wedding night spent awake keeping the flame alive.
Traditional Tet customs of the Dao Quan Chet people in Phu Tho
Tet customs of the Dao Quan Chet people in Phu Tho include making chung and day cakes, ancestor worship, and community rituals that mark the new year.
The Custom of "Father Must Stay Home Until Baby Is Named" of the Pu Peo People
Among the Pu Peo, a father stays home until his newborn is named, three days for girls and five for boys, to guard against evil spirits.
The Ê Đê People: Where They Live, Their Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
The Ê Đê live mainly in Đắk Lắk, southern Gia Lai, western Phú Yên and Khánh Hòa, speak a Malayo-Polynesian language and follow matrilineal customs.
The Co Tu People: Where They Live, Their Language, Worship Customs and Major Festivals
The Co Tu live in the Truong Son mountains of Quang Nam and Thua Thien Hue, speak a Mon-Khmer language, and hold buffalo sacrifice and reburial rites.
The Xtieng People: Residence, Language, Worship Customs, and Main Festivals
The Xtieng speak a Mon-Khmer language and live mainly in Binh Phuoc. Their residence, language, worship customs, and main festivals are covered here.
The Lo Lo People: Where They Live, Their Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
The Lo Lo live in Ha Giang, Cao Bang and Lao Cai, speak a Tibeto-Burman language, and are split into the Flowery Lo Lo and Black Lo Lo.
The Hre People: Where They Live, Their Language, Worship Customs and Main Festivals
The Hre live in western Quang Ngai and An Lao in Binh Dinh, speak a Mon-Khmer language and hold the buffalo sacrifice as their largest rite.
Festivals and folk beliefs of the 54 ethnic groups of Vietnam
Festivals, rites and worship customs of the 54 ethnic groups of Vietnam, one row per festival, with each group's home region and language family. Extracted from 54 Nhật Nguyệt articles; every row cites the article it came from.
