Happy Hunter / Vietnam

A portrait of a Ba Na Hunter


About eight million of Vietnam's current 89 million population comprise 53 ethnic groups divided into dozens of subgroups some with a mere hundred or so members, giving Vietnam the richest and most complex ethnic make-up in the whole of Southeast Asia.
The Ba Na group exist of 174,456 people. 

Old Ba Na in his shack

The vast majority of Vietnam's minorities live in the hilly regions of the Northern part, down the Truong Son mountain range, and in the Central Highlands - all areas which saw heavy fighting in recent wars.

Shack of the Ba Na Hunter in the Central Highlands Vietnam

Little is known about the origins of many of these people, some of whom already inhabited the area before the ancestors of the Viet arrived from Southern China around four to five thousand years ago. Other groups continued to interact with the Viet people, but either chose to maintain their independence in the highlands or were forced up into the hills, off the ever-more-crowded coastal plains.

Preparing traps for hunting small rodents

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. This old Ba Na Hunter lived his whole live in the mountains. Though the next village is "only" one hour away by foot, he is happy with his solitude. It seems that all he need is fortune while hunting. 

Lucky Strike

The Bahnar People / Vietnam

The Ba Na Mountain People are one of the 53 ethnic groups in Vietnam. They live in houses built on stilts. In each village, there is a communal house called "rong" which stands out due to its height and beauty. 

 A "Rong" - communal house

According to matrimonial customs, a young man and woman can take the initiative in marriage, and the parents are only involved to ensure the respect of traditional principles. 

 Young Couple

After the birth of the first child, they are allowed to set up their own family environment which is often in very remoted areas. The Ba Na venerates the spirits which relate to human beings.

Schacks of a bahnar family / Central Highlands Vietnam

Their main source of income is slash-and-burn agriculture and the rearing of livestock. But also hunting with traps is very common to set up the living condition.

The Bahnar People mostly hunt small animals with traps

All the herbs they need for cooking come from the forest

The men hunt, collect the herbs and inflame the fire

while preparing the dinner is the duty of the women

but sometimes the man assists in preparing the dishes

While the children are learning by doing how to cook grashoper with peanuts

Normaly the men have tea or are just sitting around the fire after dinner...

...while the woman is on her own, not participating in the discussion

 The next Morning

Because of living far away from the next village, the children don´t go to school very often. However they get free schoolbooks from the government, but instead of forcing their children to read, the parents use the pages of the books to roll cigarettes.

This boy is making a toy aproving his ability to handicraft wooden tools like crossbows 

While the men enjoy staying at home....

...the wife is to shoulder the youngest kid...

... for going out to the fieldwork. The man stays at home preparing hunting traps.

Moonshine Family / Vietnam

In Vietnam most of the isolated families who live at the countrieside know how to prepare their own alcoholic drinks made of fruits or seeds from different plants. The preparation is easy. Just put some seeds in a clay jar and fill it up with water from the nearest river, top it with a banana leaf and wait a while... Insects will immediatly put some eggs inside and this will help starting the fermentation process.  After a couple of weeks you will get tasty Grub Grog. This might sound strange for westerners, but the fermentation leads to purrified water with better quality than just drinking the water directly from the river. Preparing alcohol is a very old tradition which varies between etnic groups. However, today this Grog is mostly and very often consumed only by the men, in the evening or just after waking up in the morning.

Family plantage near Kontum / Central Highlands Vietnam

House of the "Moonshine Family" with the kitchen outside

The head of the family and his pregnant wife. The shack has one room for the whole family.

The grandma

The children

Preparing the grog

Small grubs in the clay jar

Leaving the house for joining the neighbour at night

Nearly arrived at the neighbours house after one hour of walking.

Discussing the news while joining the alcohol. The grog is drunk with straws made of bamboo or in modern times: made of plastic. 

Haircutter / Vietnam

Vietnam is a booming country. The economic growth reaches nearly 8% each year. But besides the statistical economy there are several informal businesses in the buzzling streets of Hanoi.
Haircutters can be seen everywhere, working on the streets. They establish their businesses if there is some space between the growing number of motorbikes, which show the so called "progress" of the country.

Some space between the motorbikes

trusty customer

Sensitive Work

One of a hundred haircutters in Hanoi

Broom Kids / Laos

Child labor is widespread in Asia. Without the support of their kids, many young families would not have enough money for making a living. Many children, however, produce only less profitable items, earning little money but spending a lot of time. Time that takes the children away from school and a better life in the future.
However, this work keeps traditional crafts alive.

Broom making family near the village Ban Som / Laos

Sisters bearing grasses for the brooms at Nam Khan River

Drying grasses on the road

dusty road: after drying the grasses, the children roll them up to become brushes

Final step: shaking out the seed of the brushes

Feeding Monks / Laos

Monks at the mekong river / Luang Prabang

In Luang Prabang, the monks collect their daily rice ration from the citizens every morning. 

standing in a queue

This deep religious tradition became a tourist attraction. Thus, the rice is sold now to the tourists and then distributed back by them to the monks. But many older people take the ritual very seriously ....as you can see in the 30second flip chart below.