But while their songs and ceremonies differ from village to village, and from group to group, what they share in common is poverty. Although their plight has been dramatically reduced in many parts of Vietnam, here in the highlands, the poorest people are still hungry nearly half the year.
The forest on which they have depended for centuries for firewood, food, medicine and the raw materials to build their homes can no longer sustain them.
A total of 8 million people belonging to 37 ethnic minority groups live in the Central Annamites, with 1.2 million in Quang Nam alone. Population densities are highest in the narrow coastal belt of the South China Sea, decreasing as the land rises and ascends to the Annamites Mountains.
A 'mosaic' of ethnic peopleThe coast is home predominately to the Kinh people, Vietnam's majority ethnic group who make up 87 per cent of the total population. The ethnic minorities, meanwhile, live mainly in the remote mountains where most conservation efforts are focused.
In certain districts of Quang Nam, ethnic people make up the majority of the population. Most belong to one of a number of ethnic groups including the Ka Tu and the Gie Trieng, the first to settle in the Central Annamites, and the Xo Dang and the Pa Co.
