ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates how the inhabitants of two Katu communities in the central Annamite Mountains of Vietnam attempt to negotiate their relationship with the spirits of the local landscape and the omnipresent state authorities. The stories explore how two influential village elders, Alang J'rreng of A'urr village and Bling Chen of Dövil village, try to guide their communities, in the course of a series of settlement movements, through the spirit-animated forest landscape. The Katu very early came under communist influence from North Vietnam. Communist cadres brought large quantities of guns to the communities 'to help fight the enemy, but also for hunting'. Hunting continued throughout the conflict, with both soldiers and locals killing animals in great quantities. In 1974, when the conflict had subsided and the end of the war was near, the sedentarisation program was introduced in the area. The entire Upper Mraang population was urged to move and resettle in a government-sponsored resettlement scheme in Nam Dong.
