In the mountainous areas, glutinous rice is eaten with peppers and pickled vegetables. Machine-woven cloth printed black and purple or blue is becoming more popular. Men usually wear short jackets with front buttons. In the mountainous localities in the south, they wear collarless skirts and turbans. The females are dressed in skirts or trousers with beautifully embroidered hems.
Women wrap their legs and heads in scarves, and wear their hair in a coil.
Many popular legends and poems, covering a wide spectrum of themes, have been handed down by the Dongs from generation to generation. Their lyrics tend to be very enthusiastic, while narrative poems are subtle and indirect, allusive and profound. Songs and dances are important aspects of Dong community life. Adults teach traditional songs to children, and young men sing them. Prior to 1949, the feudal patriarchal family was the basic social unit.