The Xtieng people (Vietnamese: Xtiêng) are an ethnic group of Vietnam and Cambodia. They speak Stieng, a language in the Bahnaric group of the Mon–Khmer languages. Most Stieng live in Bình Phước Province (81,708 in 2009)[3] of the Southeast region of Vietnam. In Cambodia, they are grouped under the heading Khmer Loeu, referring to non-Khmer ethnic groups. The Stieng people, or in Vietnamese, the Xtieng, are an ethnic group located in Vietnam and Cambodia. According to reports, there are approximately 6,000 Stiengs in Cambodia and nearly 50,000 in Vietnam. They speak two distinct dialects: Budip and Bulo. Stieng people rely heavily on hunting and live in traditional houses made from palm tree leaves.
The Xtieng have a population of more than 50.000 inhabitants living in four northern districts of Song Be province and a part of them lives in Dong Nai and Tay Ninh provinces. They divide into two groups: Bu Dec and Bu Lo. The people of Bu Dec group live in lowland. They cultivate rice in submerged fields and used oxen and buffaloes as draught animals for a long time. The Bu Lo group lives in up-land. They mainly practice cultivation on burnt-over land and settle near the M’Nong and the Ma. The Xtieng are also called Xa-dieng. Xtieng language belongs to the Mon-Khmer Group. Nowadays, the Xtieng mostly live in a sedentary lifestyle. Each family has built its own house. The Dieu is a popular family name. Autonomy is a tradition of every Xtieng village. Each village is led by an elderly man who must be experienced in the affairs of the community, dynamic, enjoys the trust of the villagers and of course is a man of property of the village. The property consists of heads of buffaloes, oxens, gongs, jars, necklaces. bracelets and ornaments. The Xtieng can marry men or women of other lineages. Ordinarily, the boys of 19-20 years-old and the girls, 15-17, begin to choose their partners. After the wedding, the bride comes to live in her husband’s house.
The Xtieng ethnic group or Xa Dieng live in four northern districts of Binh Phuoc Province and in Dong Nai and Tay Ninh provinces. The Xtieng live a sedentary lifestyle. Each family builds its own house. Each village is led by an elderly man who must be experienced in the affairs of the community, dynamic, and trusted by the villagers. The Xtieng can marry outside their lineage. After the wedding, the bride comes to live in her husband’s house. The Xtieng believe in animism and the mystical powers of thunder, lightning bolts, the heavens, and the earth. The Xtieng calculate their age according to the number of harvests that they have gathered. The Xtieng language belongs to the Mon-Khmer Group. The Xtieng enjoy music and popular musical instruments, such as the six-patterned gong set. These gongs are made of bamboo panpipes. Xtieng women wear skirts and the men wear loincloths. In winter, they cover themselves in blankets. The women wear their hair long and tie it in a bun at the back of their heads. They usually wear ivory earrings pierced into their earlobes, or tattoo their faces and body with simple motifs. The Xtieng cultivate rice in submerged fields and have used oxen and buffaloes as draught animals for a long time.
The Xtieng, a Mon Khmer language group, live mostly in the southeastern province of Binh Phuoc with a population of nearly 85,500. A small part of the group live in Dong Nai, Tay Ninh and Lam Dong provinces. The Xtieng, also called Xa Dieng, Xo Dieng and Xa Chieng, have typical features of Indonesians including dark complexion, wavy hair, broad eyebrows, straight nose and medium stature. The Xtieng consist of two sub-groups, Bu Dek and Bu Lo. The Bu Dek live in lowland areas and grow wet rice while the Bu Lo live on swidden cultivation on high mountains. The Xtieng regarded Dieng, a legendary hero in their history, as their forefather. Xtieng people all bear the family name of Dieu. The Xtieng follow endogamy under which marriage with people from other ethnic groups are largely discouraged. But in present days, exogamy is gradually accepted and becomes more common in the Xtieng community, particularly for marriage with those living together with the Xtieng such as Kinh, Khmer, Mnong and Ma.
“Xtieng” can be considered an “aborgine” of Vietnam, which has settled down here since time immemorial in a vast area south of the Cental Highlands, now in the territories of Lam Dong, Tay Ninh, Dong Nai and Binh Phuoc provinces. According to 1989 census figures, the Xtieng ethnic minority has a population of some 50,000 people who live mixedly with people of other ethnicities such as Viet, K’hor, Mnong, Cham, Khmer. They speak the language of Mon-Khmer Nam family, which is close the Mnong-Ma language. This ethnic grouping can be subdivided into four: Bu Dip, Bu Deh, Bu Lanh and Bu Lo (“Bu” means people) or two main subgroups: Bu Lo residing on highlands and Bu Deh in low-lying areas. To some ethnologists, the name “Xtieng” reminds them of the name “Dieng” of a legendary figure considered to the creator of this ethnic group. According to many researchers, thousands of years ago the Xtieng people inhabited in an immense region embracing the entire present border region stretching to the East, the Mekong and Dong Nai river basins, where once existed a small ancient kingdom called “Xuong Tinh” (the Chinese transcription of Xtieng). The Xtieng people live mainly on milpa farming. In addition to rice, other food crops and vegetables such as maize, sweet potato, beans, pumpkins, manioc… are planted on terraced fields. Domestic animals such as buffaloes, pigs, chicken, ducks are free- ranched. Hunting, wild vegetable-and fruit-picking also play an important part in their daily life. Such traditional crafts as bamboo weaving, pottery, textile, smithery… are developed to produce essentials for the Xtieng’s daily work and life.
The Xtieng live a sedentary lifestyle. Each family builds its own house. Each village is led by an elderly man who must be experienced in the affairs of the community, dynamic, and trusted by the villagers. The Xtieng can marry outside their lineage. After the wedding, the bride comes to live in her husband’s house. The Xtieng believe in animism and the mystical powers of thunder, lightning bolts, the heavens, and the earth. The Xtieng calculate their age according to the number of harvests that they have gathered. The Xtieng live in four northern districts of Binh Phuoc Province and in Dong Nai and Tay Ninh provinces. The Xtieng language belongs to the Mon-Khmer Group. The Xtieng enjoy music and popular musical instruments, such as the six-patterned gong set. These gongs are made of bamboo panpipes. Xtieng women wear skirts and the men wear loincloths. In winter, they cover themselves in blankets. The women wear their hair long and tie it in a bun at the back of their heads. They usually wear ivory earrings pierced into their earlobes, or tattoo their faces and body with simple motifs. The Xtieng cultivate rice in submerged fields and have used oxen and buffaloes as draught animals for a long time.
Of all of the ethnic groups we’ve visited across Vietnam the Xtieng have the most, and youngest people with stretched earlobes and ivory earrings (the youngest we saw were women in their late 40s and 50s). Stretching the earlobes and filing the teeth are traditions that have been “forced into oblivion” (as documented by Vietnamese ethnologists). “Cultural exchange between different ethnic groups, particularly with the ethnic majority Kinh, along with the growth of mass media (in the form of newspapers, books, radio and TV stations) has exerted pressure on the ancient customs, gradually forcing some into oblivion. These include:” “The custom of filing teeth and stretching the earlobes practiced by many ethnic groups along the Trường Sơn mountain range, in the Central Highlands, and in the southeastern region of the country.” In the past, people used ivory, (or sometimes bamboo as a cheaper alternative) in their stretched earlobes. Now, the ivory earrings are getting rarer and rarer as collectors in many cases have bought them from the people wearing them. In every case, where we have visited an ethnic village and older people have stretched earlobes but no ivory, it is because collectors have purchased them. We’ve witnessed the same thing with other ethnic jewelry as well as with their traditional clothes in a few cases. It is a sad situation and should definitely be discouraged. However, in this Stieng village were quite happy to find more than a few people that still had their traditional ivory earrings.
The narow South Central Vietnam territory is located in the eastern area of southern Truong Son Mountain Range. The northern part of the region is limited by Bach Ma Mountain – a natural boundary between North Central Coast and South Central Coast. To the south of the region is the Southeast Vietnam. The seaward horizontal mountain chains split the region into narrow coastal plains, creating a series of spectacular peninsulas and bays with beautiful beaches. Climate in South Central Coast is characterized by rainy season and dry season. Autumn and winter are rainy season, while summer is featured by Foehn phenomenon. As being located near the sea, there is a great potential for the region to develop fisheries and aquaculture. Major minerals in this region are building materials, especially sand for producing glass in Khanh Hoa, Bong Mieu gold in Quang Nam, and oil in arctic continental shelf in the South Central of Vietnam. The forest area comprises over 1.77 million hectares. The covering proportion of forest is 38.9%, 97% of which is wood forest with many rare and precious woods, birds and mammals. The area of delta is narrow with sandy soil. The most fertile plain in this region is Tuy Hoa Delta in Phu Yen. South Central Coast region has a convenient economic geographical location. It is situated in the axis of roads, railways, air and sea. It is near Ho Chi Minh City and the key economic triangle of the Southeast Vietnam. Also, it is the gateway of Central Highlands and the inter-Asian route to international maritime routes. From 1000 BC to 200 AD, South Central Coast was dominated by Sa Huynh Culture. Many remains of this ancient civilization were found in Sa Huynh, Quang Ngai Province. Hue used to be the political center of this region. The South Central Coast region in Vietnam is also the historic territory of Champa. All political centers of Cham kingdom were situated in the region. Some of the earlier capitals, as well as the religious center are located in Quang Nam Province. Owing to being defeated by Dai Viet in the past, the political center moved further to the south, particularly in Binh Dinh Province. In 1471, Champa had to evacuate to the southern part – the present-day Phan Rang (in Ninh Thuan Province), but much of Cham people continued to exist as a sort of protectorate within Vietnam for some time.
World Mythology 
