History of Vietnam's Hill Tribes


CHAM HILL TRIBE

With about 100,000 inhabitants, Cham (Cham, Chiem, Hoi) ethnic group originates from Ancient Cham Pa Kingdom. They live mainly in Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen. Belonging to MaLai-Da Dao linguistic group, the Cham people remains influenced by matriarchy and Indian culture. The ancient Cham writing is Sanskrit-based. Hinduism and Mohammedanism are their principal religions.

THE UNIQUE CHAM CULTURE

The Cham culture is a unique tradition, contributing much to the diversity and richness of the Vietnamese multi-ethnic culture. From the first century AD, the Cham people received deep influences from Indian culture. In the 7th century AD, Cham Pa was already a kingdom with a capital in TraKieu (now Quang Nam) with a temple dedicated to the Indian Valmiki and his famous epic, the Ramayana. By the middle of the 8th century AD, their capital was shifted to Nha Trang and five years later to Dong Duong, 15 km away from Tra Kieu in the southeast. The Cham are one of the 53 ethnic groups in Vietnam and comprise various subgroups. There are around 98,000 Cham people, including the Cham Hroi in Binh Dinh, Phó Yen and those living in Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan and other parts of southern Vietnam. Inhabiting a large area, the Cham also have many diversified customs and social practices. While most of the Cham in HoChiMinh City, AnGiang and Tay Ninh, and the Cham from Cambodia follow Islam, those living in Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan provinces follow Brahmanism. Islam is modified to suit the people here and is called 'Bani'.

The Cham language is of the Malayo-Polynesian family and is spoken by about 250,000 people (G. Moussay, Dictionaire Cham-Vietnamien-Francais, published by Phan Rang Culture Centre 1971). However, it does not necessarily follow that the Cham in different regions can fully understand each other. It is natural that the Cham borrow local words and expressions at the place they reside, mainly from Kho Me and Vietnamese. In terms of their script, only the Cham Dong (in Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan provinces) have preserved their original script. The Cham script is now being taught at elementary school to help maintain this unique linguistic tradition. The Cham also utilised the Akhar Thrah scripts from Nam An which has been incorporated into present-day Cham scripts. Ancient texts written on papyrus or paper used both of these scripts and include various epics and love stories such as the Devamuno Inra Patra, Ummurup, Cambini, Bini-Cam, Sah Pakei, Patauw Kamai, Patauw adat Likei etc. This ancient literature gives a clear picture of the life and society of the Cham through history. Together with academic literature, the Cham also have very rich popular literature which comprises hundreds of stories, sayings, idioms, puzzles, songs etc., which make up a precious literary tradition. Cham people have songs for fishing using the 'vai chai' rhythm (pwoc jah), betrothals (danh dom da ra), milling rice (danh rasung chai) etc. These rhythms are also sung during festivities with dances which have become a real attraction to spectators. Surely the greatest and most unique contribution from the Cham culture is their architecture and carvings.

Historical stupa compounds inMy Son (Quang Nam-Da Nang), Thap Ba (Nha Trang), Thap Cham (Ninh Thuan) and various Tara statues in Dong Duong, and Apsaras in TraKieu have all had their position confirmed in the Southeast Asian sculptural tradition. Though most of these works were created for religious purposes and stemmed from Brahmin spiritualism, they became popularised and part of the Cham national culture. As such, the Indian-inspired Vishnus, and Shivas went through considerable transformations and became more human when recreated by Cham artisans. In the present day, the Cham people have adjusted their lives to local conditions. People in Tay Ninh mostly work in agriculture, fishing and commerce while those who live near HoChi Minh City have developed an urban lifestyle. The majority, however, still maintain traditional professions like cultivation, husbandry, weaving and ceramic production. Cham handicrafts are now exported to various countries where they are highly appreciated due to their unique style and high quality workmanship.

EDE HILL TRIBE

Divided into Kpa Krung, Adtham, Mthur, Ktul..., Ede ethnic group with more than 160,000 inhabitants living in the heart of Dac Lac Highlands, Khanh Hoa uses the Malayo-Polynesia language. They dwell in stilted houses with sloping roofs. Besides farming and breeding, they hunt wild animals, taming elephants and picking fruits. Their culture is original with many well-known epics.

K'PAL AND THE LIFE OF THE EDE PEOPLE

K'pal or "Sacred bench" is an essential feature of all festivities and ceremonies of the Ede, an ethnic group in Central VietNam. It is reserved for the elderly of the village, guests and musicians, and females are strictly forbidden from sleeping on it. The bench is carefully constructed in strict conformity with age-old rules. It is usually 13 m long, 0.7 m wide and about 21 to 22 cm thick, and the whole process of making it must be completed within seven days. To make a k'pal, the head of the family first makes an offering to the god Giang Wah Yang, protector of all ceremonial objects and cultural symbols. Offering preparations includes a fine pot of distilled rice wine, kept for at least one year at a pure place believed to be under the close watch of the gods of the forest and river. In addition, there are the tools to be used in the making of the k'pal, like axes and hammers. Early in the dry season, young men go deep into the jungle in search of suitable wood from a tree that meets several conditions, including having no creepers, no birds' nests or bees.

The Ede people believes that such trees are haunted by spirits and, therefore, objects made from them are not likely to lead to a peaceful and prosperous life. Once the tree has been chosen, an axe without a handle is thrown into its trunk and left there overnight. If the axe does not fall down, the practice is repeated twice more before cutting the tree down to make the k'pal. The family head then summons seven workers to cut the tree down. Once the k'pal is completed - within seven days - rice wine is offered and a goat-sacrifice ceremony held for the forest god. The goat's meat is distributed to the workers. Later, the k'pal is taken home in a ceremony during which the entire family dresses in traditional Ede costumes and plays the Ki Path and Ding Tat or other traditional musical instruments. The family head and the local wizard lead the procession. The family head dances the ceremonial Adring dance with a shield to show the family's pride and martial arts. Then, amid the reciting of poems, offerings are made to the gods and the k'pal is carefully brought inside the house and tied to the wall. For one whole day, no one is allowed to pass the place where the k'pal is kept. Throughout the night, the family head and other male members of the house must dance the ceremonial dances three times, offering the gods seven pots of wine and a buffalo

HOA HILL TRIBE

In the late 19th century, nearly 500,000 Chinese migrated to Southeast Asia. With 1,000,000 inhabitants, Hoa ethnic group occupies 1.77 % of the Vietnamese population and lives mainly in ChoLon area of Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, Kien Giang, Da Nang, HaNoi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh .....Most of them are workers and have been naturalised in Vietnam. However, many members of Hoa ethnic group are expert in business and held several leading economic branches in South-Vietnam before.

DAO HILL TRIBE

With more than 400,000 inhabitants, Dao ethnic group occupies 0.65% of the Vietnamese population and belongs to Meo-Dao linguistic group. They live at the altitude of 700-1000m, whereas H'Mong ethnic group at the more considerable altitude. Most of them inhabit Ha Giang - TuYen Quang, and part of them in the northwest regions. Dao ethnic group came to Vietnam six centuries ago, and remains in a nomad life


(Above article taken from Vietnam Express Jan 06

Click here to view ourTour Guide | Click here for more cultural info