The Montagnard Post

For those who don't know who the Montagnard people are, they're definitely worth googling. An indigenous people of Vietnam, the Montagnard (Dega) have survived in the face of oppression for hundreds of years and its a wonder the culture has thrived for this long. But you wont have any problems searching for them online as they still live in Vietnam and a large demographic has moved to the United States as well.

1. The Montagnard are a fascinating people, though what stood out for me the most is their religion. The majority of the Dega People practice Animism, the belief that all nature and animals have souls and there are spirits in inanimate objects. This isn't an uncommon practice in religions like Buddhism, and Hinduism, and it's a religious practice I respect more than Christianity which asks its believers to follow blindly the word of God, whereas Animism is about being aware of the world. Most people would see this as primitive, but which is more primitive? Repenting to appease an all-seeing, all-knowing man in the sky or treating all objects as if they have a soul. Its a concept we could all learn from, too often do we as humans disregard nature as a platform for our own development, rather than a being we must coexist with. Unfortunately, missionaries of Catholicism brought their religion to the Montagnards in 1850 and many reverted to the more 'modern' religion. Similarly, those who moved to the United States made the transition to Christianity upon arrival. 


"There is a universal tendency among mankind to conceive all beings like themselves, and to transfer to every object those qualities with which they are familiarly acquainted, and of which they are intimately conscious." - David Hume


2. Nobody in my section talked about religion when we were face to face with two Montagnard women living in Greensboro, and I wonder in retrospect if its a touchy subject. Somehow I doubt it, but given the chance I would have loved to ask why they or their parents or grandparents felt the need to change religious outlook so drastically. Does Christianity seem modern compared to tribal practices like animism? It seems like a far fetched theory. But perhaps the missionaries in Vietnam were truly trying to 'save' the Montagnards. I can't pretend to know why they did it though.


5. In order to be successful in writing about the Montagnard religion, I'd really have to talk to a 300 year old clergyman, but since that's not a possibility, I'd love the opportunity to talk to 5-10 local (as in living in Vietnam) Montagnards. In fact, the less affiliation they have with religious practices might be more informational than someone who is a devout follower of animism, to get a more objective view.