Who are the Muong? The
Muong people group is the third largest of Vietnam’s 53 minority groups,
with a population of 1,236,000. Indeed, they are one of the largest ethnic
minorities in the Indochina region. Of the other Vietnamese minorities, only the Thai and
Tay peoples are larger. The Muong are believed to be related to the Vietnamese
(Viet), the majority people of Vietnam. But the Viets moved to the low country
and became influenced by Chinese culture. The Muong (sometimes called Mol,
Mual or Moi) remained in the mountains and developed independently. They and
the Thai 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 Thai.
They are an unreached
people group.
Note: Some of this information is from: The Peoples
of Vietnam, A Collection of Prayer Profiles by Asian Minorities Outreach,
Darawan Printing, 1998.
08/20/2003