 Bahnar traditional women's dancing. | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| ≈ estimated 300,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Vietnam | 286,910[1] |
 United States | ≈ 10,000 |
 France | ≈ 5,000 |
| Languages | |
| Bahnar–Rengao • Vietnamese • Haroi[2] | |
| Religion | |
| Traditional religion,Animism,Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Sedang,Jarai,Haroi | |
TheBahnar orBa-Na (Vietnamese pronunciation:[ɓaː˧naː˧] are an ethnic group ofVietnam and theindigenous people of theCentral Highland provinces ofGia Lai andKon Tum, as well as the coastal provinces ofBình Định andPhú Yên. They speak theBahnar language, a language in theBahnaric language group that belongs to theMon-Khmer (Austroasiatic) language family.
The wordbahnar is similar tophnom (ភ្នំ) in theKhmer language, which meansmountain. The Bahnar have many names, such as Bonom, Jolong, Rongao, Tolo, Kriem, Roh, Konkodeh, Golar, and others.
Bahnar has several sub-ethnicities, including the following.
TheHaroi people, who are currently considered a sub-ethnic of theCham people, were historically said to be the Bahnar people who lived in theChampa city-states. They then slowly assimilated with other Austronesian-speaking ethnic groups such as the Cham, until they became the Cham people and adopted theCham language and culture which had quite a highAustroasiatic influence.[2]
The Bahnar people are followers of traditional religions (animism andpolytheism). However, there is a largeChristian population among them, just like other central highlands ethnic groups (Montagnards) where they experience discrimination because of their religion.[3]
Epics (Bahnar:H'amon) such as Dam Noi represent centuries-old aspirations of Bahnar people.
Like many of the other ethnic groups of Vietnam'sCentral Highlands, the Bahnar play a great number of traditional musical instruments, including ensembles of pitchedgongs and string instruments made frombamboo. These instruments are sometimes played in concert for special occasions, which may also involve ceremonialrượu cần (rice wine) drinking and group dancing.
| Austroasiatic (Vietic) | |
|---|---|
| Austroasiatic (non-Vietic) | |
| Hmong–Dao | |
| Tai–Kadai | |
| Sino-Tibetan (Chinese) | |
| Sino-Tibetan (Tibeto-Burman) | |
| Malayo-Polynesian | |
| Immigrants and expatriate | |
The 54 officially recognised ethnic groups are ranked by population in their language families according to2019 census
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| National | |
|---|---|
| Artists | |
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