A photo exhibition on the culture and lifestyle of the E De ethnicgroup, which lives in remote areas in the Central Highland province ofDak Lak, opened at the provincial museum earlier this week.

Van Hoa Cua Minh – Truyen Thong va Bien Doi (Our Culture – Traditionand Changes) features 176 colour photos selected from more than 1,000taken by 15 E De villagers in Ea Kar District.

Theamateurs were encouraged to participate in a photography programmelaunched by the museum and its partner, the non-profit Institute forStudies of Society, Economy and Environment, last year.

The organisers provided the participants with cameras for training.

The exhibition is the result of their hard work over eight months, with each picture representing a report on the E De.

"My photos feature my villagers' daily life," H'lil Milo of Tring village, one of the photographers, said.

"Through my works, I hope people can learn more about our traditional culture and lifestyle."

Many of the event's highlights speak the language of the people's spirit.

Around 200,000 E De people live in stilt houses built from wood and bamboo. Their house can be up to 100m in length.

They worship Fire and Water among a host of animist deities.

The girls propose marriage to men, and children bear the mother's family name.

The exhibition will run through August 15.-VNA