He suffered from intestinal cancer which has spread to other parts of his body during the four months.

Thousands of people came to see him for the last time at the house.

Earlier, he failed to turn up for a live show last month in his native Dac Lac Province because of his sickness.

He was conferred the title of People’s Artist by President Nguyen Minh Triet on September 14.

It is the highest honour given by the State for artists.

He was gifted 2,000 copies of his DVD titled Back to the Old Village, his only album in an illustrious career spanning three and a half decades, at the ceremony to confer the title.

Y Moan, born in 1957 in a poor ethnic E De family in Buon Ma Thuot, was discovered in 1976 after reunification. He left his home in the mountains of Central Highlands and headed for Ha Noi when he was recruited for the Song and Dance Troupe.

He studied at the then Ha Noi Conservatory of Music from 1979 until 1986.

He is noted for singing songs about the Central Highlands' mountains and forests written by people like Nguyen Cuong, Tran Tien, Linh Nga Nie K'dam, and Ama No, making sure the land became well-known to millions of people both within and outside the country.

He is widely considered to be the most successful artist to ever emerge of the Central Highlands.

His funeral will be held in the Central Highlands city of Buon Ma Thuot in Dak Lak Province on October 5.