Published:  02:14 Wednesday - December 07, 2011

On 27 August, 2011, the "Buffalo stabbing" Festival of the Gie Trieng to celebrate new Dragon was performed intactly in Hanoi. The Gie Trieng artisans blew passionate breath of Western Highland in each of dances, beat gongs, which flashes up a national cultural space in the heart of the capital.

Name of ethnic group: Name of ethnic group: Gie Trieng (Dgich, Tareh, Giang Ray, Pin, Trieng, Treng Ta Lieng, Ve, La Ve, and Bnoong)

Population: 30,243 people (Year 1999)

Locality: Kon Tum Province and the mountainous areas of Quang Ninh Province.

Customs and habits: The Gie Trieng lives in long houses built on stilts. Houses in the village are arranged in a circle around the Rong (communal house). Young woman decide when they will marry according to their own initiative. The Gie Trieng believes that all beings have a "soul" and a "spirit". Therefore ritual ceremonies and the watching of good and bad omens have prevailed. The sacrifice of buffaloes is a common ritual ceremony.

Culture: The Gie Trieng language belongs to the Mon-Khmer Group.

Costumes: Men usually wear loincloths. Women wear skirts long enough to cover their chests and some have adapted to wearing a bra sewn into their skirts.

Economy: The Gie Trieng lives mainly on the cultivation of the land, hunting, fishing, and gathering.