The Gia Rai ethnic is one of the early residents gathering at the Highland Central. The Gia Rai is also known by other names such as Gio-Rai, Cho Rai, To Buan, Hobau, Hdrung, Chor. With over 400 thousand people, this is the biggest groups speaking the language of Austronesian languages. There are distinctions in plastic style and decoration of each group. But in general there have some the same. Men wear indigo scarf around the head and then let into one ear, or neatly wrapped like the Kinh. Generally, the Gia Rai men wear loincloths. Women with long hair neat bun on the nape or wrap top. The skirt used for women is long, tube-shaped and made from a large clothe wrapping around the body and tied under belt. The shirt is short, long-sleeved or sleeveless and has the same pattern with the skirt. The Gia Rai people live mainly on shifting cultivation. Ordinary rice is the main food crop. Farming tools is still simple. The most important tools is the knife to cut trees, forests, hoe to dig land and sticks to dig holes when sowing the seeds . Besides farming, the Gia Rai people also focus on breeding. Cattle, pigs, dogs, chickens are main livestock. In the past, the Gia Rai have fairly large herd of horses. The Gia Rai also feed the elephants. Men are skilled in knitting baskets types, baskets, women are good at weaving loincloth, blanket, and cloth. Moreover hunting, gathering, fishing is the economic activity having significantly meaningful for their life. The inhabitants are concentrated in the Central Highlands province Gia Lai, Kontum and Dak Lak. The Gia Rai live in the village (ploi or bon). The traditional house is the long house, but these are house on stilts, directing to north. In village, the headman and the elders have great prestige and role in leading in the community. The “Rong” house is the biggest house of the village, was the place for all common activities. Rice is the staple food, corn is food additives. Salt and chilli dishes are indispensable in the diet of the Gia Rai. The Gia Rai people’s food consists mainly of vegetable soup, sometimes added meat, fish. In addition to “ruou can” (wine drunk out of a jar through pipes) is indispensable. Both the Gia Rai youth and women smoke. The most unique part of the Gia Rai cuisine is the culinary tomb. The famous epics, tales such as ” Dam San”, “Xinh Nha” play important part in the folk culture … the Gia Rai ethnic group are also unique in the art of playing the gong, musical instrument T-rung, Tung-nung, Krong -put. These are traditional instruments connected closely to the spiritual life of the people.

Jarai people or Jarais are an ethnic group in Vietnam's Central Highlands (Gia Lai and Kon Tum Provinces with some others in Đắk Lắk Province), as well as in the Cambodian northeast Province of Ratanakiri. The Jarai language is a member of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family. It is related to the Cham language of central Vietnam and Cambodia and the Malayo-Polynesian languages of Indonesia, Malaysia, Madagascar, Philippines and other Pacific Islands. There are approximately 332,557 Jarai speakers. They are the largest of the upland ethnic groups of the Central Highlands known as Degar or Montagnards. Jarai people has several legends, all settled on the jungles, that are useful to understand their own culture and history. A recurrent element has to see with the stories about three kings: Fire, Water and Wind and a Sacred Sword that came down from heaven to give to the Jarai people great powers. Traditionally, the Jarai live in small villages numbering 50-500 in population. The villages are laid out in a square, with single occupancy dwellings or communal longhouses (roong) arranged around a village center. Often the village center boasts a communal house, well, volleyball net or rice mill.

Houses are made of bamboo, one meter up the ground. More durable wooden houses with steel roofs have gained popularity. They are oriented from north to south and built in a place acceptable to the local spirits. Houses are set up according to matrilineal clan. A daughter, when married, lives in the house of her mother with her husband and thus her own daughter. The traditional religion of Jarai is Animism. They believe that objects, places and creatures possess distinctive spiritual qualities.