Tribal minority peoples live throughout Vietnam, spreading from the far north to Mekong Delta in the south, but especially in the mountainous regions of the central provinces, such as Lam Dong, Gia Rai and Daklak among others.
One seldom sees them unless one travels to such regions, as they rarely come to big noisy cities, like Saigon. However, there are some of minority groups as close as Cu Chi District, HCMC, where there is a Minority Cultural Village in Nhuan Duc Hamlet.
The village covers over 20ha and is located not far from the renowned Cu Chi tunnel systems that attract many tourists everyday. But the area is also home to a prototype model village that tries to reflect the traditional cultural, daily activities and other specialties of ethnic people.
The main minority groupings come from the Bana, S’Tieng, K’ho, Ma and Chu Ru clans, but several villagers are also from others.
When one first arrives at the village, the first thing one recognizes is the nha rong or communal houses scattered around the site, that are built from traditional forest woods, with unusual floors that are raised about a meter above the ground.
Most of the roofs are sharply sloped and covered with coco leaves whilst walls are typically made from bamboo branches. As one climbs up the wooden stairs to get inside, visitors can see many ethnic and traditional wooden items that help one better understand the daily activities of the minority peoples.
The village also has an area where visitors can see young ethnic people manufacture traditional hand-made pottery or do typical brocade weaving.
Visitors are also encouraged to talk with them in their own dialects of the Vietnamese language since each of the different ethnic communities talk in different ways and styles.
Thus, by using Vietnamese, one is able to communicate with the whole village!
If visitors are lucky enough to be around at about 2:30pm, they can also see a demonstration by young girls of how to make a jar of Ruou Can – a kind of light wine, which is made by fermenting rice for around two months.
The brew is normally served in a partially filled jar with water, and drunk through long thin bamboo straws.
However, there is one regional specialty that no one who visits should go without enjoying. This is Com Lam or bamboo sticky rice. The K’ho specialty is prepared in a stick of bamboo around 50 cm long, after having been soaked over night in water to soften. The rice is then mixed with some coco water before being poured into the bamboo stick that is then grilled over fire until it turns from green to a yellowish color.
When cooked, the waiters use a knife to prize open the stick and the Com Lam appears in a cylindrical rolled form, which is served accompanied by grilled pork and coconut mixed with salt and sugar.
Apart from the delicious food, the village also has many other activities to help visitors relax and enjoy the surroundings. To help one potter around the village, one can jump onto a horse or buffalo cart and trundle around the place or, for the more energetic, leap into a rowing boat and paddle around the ponds.
As an additional bonus to groups of five or above who pre-arrange visits, the village will also arrange a bit of pig racing! However, there is always lots of singing and dancing as the Lach minority people perform their traditional routines, to which visitors are invited and encouraged to join in.
To get to the village go straight up Cach Mang Thang 8 Street to An Suong Intersection, then keep going straight on until the Cu Chi Overpass. After that just lookout for the sign on the right and you’re there.
