While the ethnic-Vietnamese and Chinese live mainly in urban centres and coastal areas, the remaining people, an estimated 10% of Vietnam’s total population, are found primarily in the high country.
Undoubtedly the most colourful of the hill tribes reside in the north-west, in the plush mountain territory along the Lao and Chinese borders, while many of the tribes in the Central Highlands and the south can be difficult to distinguish, at least by dress alone, from ordinary Vietnamese.
The French called them Montagnards (meaning ‘Highlanders’ or ‘mountain people’) and still use this term when speaking in French or English. The Vietnamese generally refer to them as moi, a derogatory term meaning ‘savages’, which unfortunately reflects all-too-common popular attitudes. The present government, however, prefers to use the term ‘national minorities’. Some have lived in Vietnam for thousands of years, while others migrated into the region during the past few centuries.
The areas inhabited by each group are often delimited by altitude, with later arrivals settling at higher elevations.
Most of the individual ethnic groups share basic, similar traits in their daily lives and are often most easily identified by differences in language, physical features, and traditional dress. They have a rural, agricultural lifestyle and show similarities in village architecture and traditional rituals, and have a long history of inter-tribal warfare. Many of the tribes are semi-nomadic, cultivating crops such as ‘dry’ rice using slash-and-burn methods, which have taken a heavy toll on the environment.
29. The most colourful of the hill tribes reside in the Northwest and Northeast.
A. True
B. False
30. Most of the individual ethnic groups share traditional dress.
A. True
B False
31. Most of the individual ethnic groups show similarities in village architecture and traditional rituals.
A. True
B. False
32. Cultivating crops such as "dry" rice using slash-and-burn methods takes no toll on the environment.
A. True
B. False