The Bahnar Jolong

Central Highlands Vietnam. The Bahnar Jolong are an ethnic minority hilltribe people that live off the forest and keep moving around the mountains of Kon Knoh careful not to deplete their resources of firewood, food or animals. The Bahnar Jolong are animists who worship the forest believing every living thing has a spirit. I met with them where they have been living for approx 2 years (they dont have calenders) and they showed me how they forage for wild plants and snails, set traps for birds, rats, frogs etc and how they cultivate vegetables, small fruit tree's, chillies, garlic, tobacco, and rice. Their rice paddies on the hillside are kept small and cultivation shifted. Extra rice and vegetables are sold at the market. This way of life is rare and the people I met on Kon Knoh are largely living the same way their people have for thousands of years although their traditional way of life is under threat from illegal logging and tourism.

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Mrs. Y Soi. The women of the remote central highlands decide where the family will live and when they will move their temporary homes. They say they 'catch their men' not 'find a husband' like many cultures do. Instead of love they use the word fire as in 'do you have the fire for her?'. Mrs Soi was gentle and beautiful but definitely wore the trousers. When we asked her why she had married her husband she replied 'Because he is a very good hunter of bird's and I like to eat birds'.

Mr To and his nephew Hanh. Mr To kept pigs under his house and he also venture's into the forest to trap wild pigs using large pit traps. He told us the story of two Vietnamese from Kon Tum that came to the forest to hunt but only one went home. They had little knowledge of the area or people so could not spot the warning signs for the traps within the forest. One man fell into a pit trap and his friend fled in fear. Mr To found the man the next day but he had bled to death. The two men were hunting illegally so the Police just dropped the matter.

His nephew Hanh does not go to school and does not speak Vietnamese but knows how to set traps and cultivate rice. Family members teach the children how to survive off the forest at an early age, and expect the children to take care of them when they are old.

Mr Clap. Welcomed us into his home for some rice wine. In the background are a collection of traps hanging up and some of his rice wine making kit. The Bahnar Jolong word for hello is roughly translated to 'What are you looking for?" or 'What do you need?'

Following Mr Polng into the forest. Lived on the mountain all his life living off the land, hunting and foraging. He told us a story that he was responsible for killing the last tiger in the area back in the 1970s. Set a bamboo trap for a deer and a tiger unfortunately landed on it instead. A bamboo spear went through its eye and the tiger fell into a stream and died of its injuries. He told us his years before this happened his father was attacked by a tiger and lost an eye after he was mauled and the two incidents were connected in some way.

(left) Translated as 'King Vegetable' this wild vegetable grows in the mountains all year round so perfect for #foraging. Its not really in demand commercially in Vietnam but the people of the mountain use it as a staple food. Tasted bit like spinach with pak choi. Pork mince, garlic and chilli added to it made for a great dish.

(right) BBQ pork with chilli and sticky rice. Best meal I have had in Asia.

Wild Banana (left) & Wild Tobacco (right)

Our guide and translator Mr Anh. There was fierce fighting in the central highlands during the Vietnam War but people living in the mountains said the war largely passed them by. They could hear shelling and passing planes but there was no fighting on the mountain. It was harder to find food but hidden in the forest, their way of life went largely undistrubed.

However, Mr Anh who is Vietnamese told us through tears that his experience of war was devastating. His father went missing in action fighting the North Vietnamese Army somehwere within the forest near Kon Tum and his family had to re-locate to Ho Chi Minh.