Muong

The Muong are the northern Vietic people of the Austroasiatic family, sharing an ancestor with the lowland Vietnamese. The two peoples are thought to have split between the seventh and ninth centuries under Tang rule: the lowlanders took Chinese script and Confucian institutions while the highlanders kept older ways and borrowed from the Black Tai.

They call themselves Mol or Monl, meaning people; Muong derives from the Tai word mueang for a valley principality. In Hoa Binh, Phu Tho and Thanh Hoa, hereditary lords ruled autonomous valley communities and the aristocracy studied the Confucian canon.

The creation epic Te tac te dac, sung from a cave on Mount Hang Hao, sets their ancestors beside the lowland Viet as siblings. Muong risings against the court are recorded in 1029, 1300, 1351 and the 1430s, with further revolts in 1822 and 1833.