There are several Ba Na minority groups living in Kon Tum, or more generally in the Central Highlands, including the Ba Na Kon Tum, Ba Na Go La, and Ba Na Na Ko. Each group resides in a different area.

The Ba Na ethnic group was the first among the minorities of the Central Highlands to write and to use buffaloes and cows to plough their fields. Nevertheless, their lifestyle has remained primitive. The Ba Na is nationally famous for their hunting skills. Like other ethnic minorities, the Ba Na people keep fires burning in the middle of their houses. Family members and friends sit around the fire to drink, eat, and talk. The fire also keeps the house warm.

Men sometimes have a scar on their chest. It is a result of a wound their inflict to themselves with fire in sign of sorrow when one of their close relatives die.