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Who are the Montagnards?
The term Montagnard means "mountain people" in French and is a carryover from the French colonial period in Vietnam. The term is preferable to the derogatory Vietnamese term moi, meaning "savage." Montagnard is the term, typically shortened to Yard, used by U.S. military personnel in the Central Highlands during the Vietnam War. The Montagnards, who are made up of different tribes, with many overlapping customs, social interactions, and language patterns, typically refer to themselves by their tribal names such as Jarai, Koho, Manong, and Rhade. Since Montagnard is still the most commonly recognized term for these people, it is the term we use in this profile.
Many of the first group of Montagnard refugees in the United States adopted the term Dega as their name instead of Montagnard because of the latter’s colonial associations. Dega comes from the Rhade language and refers to a creation myth in which the first two Montagnards were named De and Ga. One was of Mon-Khmer heritage and the other of Malayo-Polynesian heritage, and all Montagnards are descendants of these first people of the Highlands, according to the myth. In fact, Montagnard languages are traceable to the Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian groups.
A Rhade term was chosen because among the first group of Montagnard refugees in the United States the Rhade were in the majority, and their language had been the lingua franca among the resistance fighters. The initial Montagnard organization formed in the United States in 1987 selected the name Montagnard Dega Association in an effort to establish an identity that was inclusive, independent, and recognizable to the community at large. Some Montagnards in the United States, though certainly not all, continue to identify strongly with the term Dega.
The literature on hill tribes in northern Vietnam and Laos that relies on traditional French sources sometimes refers to these peoples as Montagnard. However, the Montagnards from the Central Highlands of Vietnam should not be confused with hill tribe groups in other regions. The Montagnards from the Central Highlands are ethnically distinct from the Hmong and other hill tribe groups from Laos and from hill tribes from northern Vietnam even though they have similar histories of involvement with the U.S. military during the war in Vietnam and Laos. The Montagnards are also distinct from other ethnic minorities in Vietnam, including the Cham, a Muslim minority, who populate parts of Vietnam and Cambodia, and the Nung, as well as other tribal groups from northern Vietnam. A couple hundred Nung have been resettled as refugees in North Carolina and are developing an association with the Montagnards there though the traditions between the two vary significantly. Some Montagnard tribes have also resided in the jungles of Cambodia near the border of Vietnam’s Central Highlands, the border having been drawn by the French during their occupation.
Before the Vietnam War, the population of the Central Highlands, estimated at between 1 and 1.5 million, was almost exclusively Montagnard. Today, the population is approximately 4 million, of whom about 1 million are Montagnard. Of these, between 229,000 to 400,000 are thought to follow evangelical Protestantism. An additional 150,000 to 200,000 are Roman Catholic. The 30 or so Montagnard tribes in the Central Highlands comprise more than six different ethnic groups drawn primarily from the Malayo-Polynesian and Mon Khmer language families. The main tribes, in order of size, are the Jarai (320,000), Rhade (258,000), Bahnar (181,000), Koho (122,000), Mnong (89,000), and Stieng (66,000). The Rhade and Mnong are also known as the Ed and the Bunong.
As the indigenous peoples of the Central Highlands, the Montagnards are completely different in their culture and language from the mainstream Vietnamese. The Vietnamese arrived much later into what is now Vietnam and came primarily from China in different migratory waves. Primarily lowland rice farmers in the south, the Vietnamese have been much more influenced by outsiders, trade, the French colonization, and industrialization than have the Montagnards. Most Vietnamese are Buddhists, belonging to varying strains of Mahayana Buddhism, although Roman Catholicism and a native religion known as Cao Dai also have large followings. Part of the Vietnamese population, especially in larger towns and cities, maintain Chinese traditions and language. The ethnic Chinese constitute the largest minority in Vietnam.
Physically, the Montagnards are darker skinned than the mainstream Vietnamese and do not have epicanthic folds around their eyes. In general, they are about the same size as the mainstream Vietnamese.
In Vietnam, Montagnards traditionally enjoyed healthy lives when adequate food was available. But with the loss of traditional farm land and foods and the related poverty, there was a decline in nutritional health in the Highlands. There has always been a shortage of health care resources for the Montagnards, and the problem has increased since the end of the Vietnam War. War-related injuries and physical persecution have exacerbated heath problems. Problems with malaria, TB, and other tropical diseases have been common, and potential refugees are screened for these. Persons with contagious diseases may be delayed in resettlement and given special medical treatment.
Some Montagnards have been diagnosed with cancer. This is not known to be a traditional disease of the Central Highlands, and many refugees believe that it is the result of government poisoning of village wells to weaken the population. Some Montagnards also speculate that cancers may be related to their exposure to Agent Orange, the defoliant that the United States used in the Highlands during the war.
Public health screening and treatment are a regular part of refugee resettlement, and incoming health issues are usually addressed when treatable. Some arrivals need special assistance, often related to tropical parasites, and state health officials and the Center for Disease Control are involved in providing health resources.
Health insurance has been a problem for the Montagnard community. Because most Montagnards go to work quickly, they lose Medicaid eligibility, and it is difficult to find jobs with adequate health insurance in the current market. Like other low-income people, the Montagnards typically do not seek medical care except in emergencies because of the costs involved. The Montagnards do not traditionally think about disease prevention, and aggressive health education activities are needed for this population. In general, the population is cooperative and diligent when provided with health education and disease prevention information.
Mental health as conceptualized in the West is foreign to the Montagnard community. In both the animist and Christian communities, mental health problems are thought of as spiritual issues. In church communities, prayer, salvation, and the acceptance of God’s will are common responses to problems. Persons with severe behavioral disorders are generally tolerated within the community though they may be shunned if they are too disruptive or appear dangerous to others. Medication provided by health providers is accepted by the community, and the Montagnards are receptive to both religious and Western medical practices.
Montagnards suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), related to war, survivor guilt, persecution, and torture. For refugees, of course, the condition is aggravated by the loss of family, homeland, culture, and traditional social support systems. For many, though not all sufferers, PTSD will fade in time as they find employment and gain self-esteem associated with self-sufficiency, the freedom to practice their religion, and community acceptance.
