Out of her Environment by junge1

Photography • People • posted on Aug 10, 2016

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Description

This woman appears to be a member of the Montagnards, French for mountain dwellers, also called Degar. The Degar are the indigenous people of the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The 30 or so tribes comprise more than six different ethnic groups who speak languages drawn primarily from Malayo-Polynesian, Tai, and Austroasiatic language families. Originally inhabitants of the coastal areas of the region, they were driven to the uninhabited mountainous areas by invading Vietnamese and Cambodians beginning prior to the 9th century. French missionaries converted some Degar to the Catholic Church in the nineteenth century, and American missionaries converted more to Protestantism in the 1930s. The Vietnamese government has attempted to bring the Degar into their fold, but with little success. The Degar in turn paid a heavy price. During the Vietnam war, many Montagnard worked with American Special Forces against the Communists. Outside of Vietnam the largest community of Montagnard resides in North Carolina, USA. This woman wears some tribal garb, but also sneakers and I suspect that the plastic bag next to her holds all of her belongings. The young man with her seems to be either a guard or a guide, While I watched there was no conversation between them. I suspect that she feels more out of her environment sitting on that bench by Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi than I did. This picture was taken on 29 August 2012, Sig...