Mythologies of the Brâu Tribe

The Brau people (Vietnamese: Người Brâu) are an ethnic group living in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. In Vietnam, most Brau live in Đắc Mế village, Bờ Y commune, Ngọc Hồi district, Kon Tum province (Đặng, et al. 2010:112), and the population was 525 in 2019. Their ancestors came from southern Laos and northeastern Cambodia, migrating to Vietnam around 150 years ago. They speak Brao, a Mon–Khmer language. The Brau have only two surnames: Thao (for male) and Nang (for female). They tell about the Great Flood in their Un cha đắc lếp story, and about the Creator god named Pa Xây. They play Táp đinh bố - a kind of K'lông pút, and Tha - a special kind of gong. The Brau have traditional customs such as uốt bưng (filing teeth), síp tiêu (strain ears), and chingkrackang (tattoo on forehead). In their traditions, close to nature and hunting, belongs capture, taming and training of elephants, referred to as Ruhe in the Brau Language, and the last four elephants belonging to Airavata Elephant Foundation in Ratanakiri Province in Cambodia, are cared for, by mahouts of the Brau people. In 26th of December, the first elephant baby born in 30 years were born here.

The first Brau came to Vietnam about a century ago. They live mainly in southern Laos and northeastern Cambodia. At present, most Brau communities are still living in the basins of Xe Xan (Xa ma cang) and Nam Khoong (Mekong) rivers. The Brau are pround of their traditions, which they recall in such legends as Un cha dac lep (rising blaze, rising water), about how great floods were weathered by the Brau people. The Brau live mainly on swidden fields, cultivating sticky rice o\and ordinary paddy, corn and manioc. Slash-and-burn agriculture is widely practiced, with people using digging sticks to make holes into the ground for sowing deeds. Harvesting is done manually. Hunting and gathering still play an important role today, which ensures a sufficient daily food supply for the family. In addition, every Brau village has a blacksmithing workshop where agricultural tools are made. Brau men are skilled in weaving and plaiting. Local people often barter agricultural and forestry products for clothes and textiles supplies by other minority groups.

The Brau have a tradition of tattooing their faces and bodies and filing their teeth. They live in houses on stilts. Young men and women are free to choose their partners. The bride’s family organizes the wedding ceremony. In addition, the groom must live with his wife’s family for several years before bringing his wife and children home. The Brau language belongs to the Mon-Khmer Group. The Brau like to play the gongs and traditional musical instruments. In particular, a set of two gongs called the chieng tha has great value in their culture. Young girls often play Krong Put, a musical instrument that consists of 5-7 bamboo tubes, both long and short, which are joined together. The sound is produced when the air is forced into them by the clapping of the hands. Women wear a lot of jewellery around their arms, ankles, and necks. Men often wear loincloths and women wear pagnes. The Brau have led a nomadic life for a very long time, but also practice slash-and-burn cultivation in order to grow rice, corn, and cassava using rudimentary tools.

The Brau people (Vietnamese: Người Brâu) are an ethnic group living in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. In Vietnam, most Brau live in Đắc Mế village, Bờ Y commune, Ngọc Hồi district, Kon Tum province (Đặng, et al. 2010:112), and the population was 313 in 1999. They speak Brao, a Mon–Khmer language. The Brau have only two surnames: Thao (for male) and Nang (for female). They have customs such as uốt bưng (filing teeth), tavattơpit (strain ears), and chingkrackang (tattoo on forehead). They tell about the Great Flood in their "Un cha đắc lếp" story, and about the Beings named Pa Xây. They play Táp đinh bố - a kind of K'lông pút, and Tha - a special kind of gong. The Brau have traditional customs such as uốt bưng (filing teeth), síp tiêu (strain ears), and chingkrackang (tattoo on forehead). In their traditions, close to nature and hunting, belongs capture, taming and training of elephants, referred to as Ruhe in the Brau Language, and the last four elephants belonging to Airavata Elephant Foundation in Ratanakiri Province in Cambodia, are cared for, by mahouts of the Brau people. In 26th of December, the first elephant baby born in 30 years were born here.

Đắc Mế village is located on highlands. The communal house is built in the centre of the village; all village activities take place there and all the houses are built on stilts and facing it. They have steeply-pitched two-sided roofs; the ridge of the roof is decorated with sculptures representing a bird’s head or the sun. The front of the house, which looks out onto the communal house, is the shortest side of the dwelling where the entrance door is located. Secondary houses or outbuildings are linked to the main house by stairs and serve as rooms for the elderly, granaries for corn and paddy, and stores for family property. The Brâu dress like the Ca-dong (a small group belonging to the Xơ-đăng) who live nearby. They have their teeth filed and their faces and bodies tattooed. Women wear earrings made from pieces of bamboo or ivory shaped like mortars, and as large as possible. The Brâu practise slash-and-bum cultivation. Rice, including sticky rice, is their staple food. In addition, they eat cassava, pumpkins, sesame, sugarcane, bananas and mustard. They choose an area in the bamboo grove where the ground is covered with thick humus and the soil is crumble. Bushes arc cleared with axes or knives in the third month, and seeds arc put in holes around the fifth . A man with a 2-3 m long digging stick in each hand makes holes first; a woman behind him drops seeds in them without filling them up with earth. Besides agriculture and animal rearing, they also have traditional sidelines such as basketry, metal work and forest produce gathering. They often go to the regions of the Lào, Việt, Xơ-đang and Ba-na to exchange products. Hunting and fishing also supplement their daily diets.

The Brau or Brao is one of the 5 smallest ethnic groups of the Vietnamese nation. With a population of more than 400, the Brau community primarily lives in the valleys of Se San and Nam Khoong Rivers of the central highlands. The Brau used to live in the common border area between Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. In the process of relocation, the Brau people were the latest settlers in Vietnam, about 100 years ago. They don’t have their own alphabet but do have their own mother tongue, which belongs to the Mon Khmer language of the South Asia system. The Brau currently live in Dak Me of Bo Y commune, Ngoc Hoi district, Kon Tum province. This ethnic group believes that the universe is created by Pa Say God who also creates life and death. Like other ethnic groups in the Central Highlands, the Brau people consider living beings tangible and the world of multiple gods: the god of mountains, river, sea, and trees. There is a matriarchal family system. Researcher of ethnic groups in the Central Highlands Luu Anh Hung says: “The traditional culture of the Brau is similar with those in the central highlands, particularly north central highlands. They have Rong communal houses, wooden houses, and festivals associated with rice growing cycle. According to their spiritual beliefs, the Brau champion the role of the gods of paddy, water, soil, forests and mascots. Their musical instruments are the pan-pipe and gongs. Traditionally, the Brau are hospitable and community-spirited, respect the elderly and adore children”.

The Brau tribe (Vietnamese: Người Brâu) are an ethnic group living in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. In Vietnam, most Brau live in Đắc Mế village, Bờ Y commune, Ngọc Hồi district, Kon Tum province (Đặng, et al. 2010:112), and the population was 525 in 2019. Their ancestors came from southern Laos and northeastern Cambodia, migrating to Vietnam around 150 years ago. They speak Brao, a Mon–Khmer language. The Brau have only two surnames: Thao (for men) and Nang (for women).^[5] They talk about the Great Flood in their Un cha đắc lếp story, and about the Creator god named Pa Xây. They play Táp đinh bố - a kind of K'lông pút, and Tha - a special kind of gong. The Brau have traditional customs such as uốt bưng (filing teeth), síp tiêu (strain ears), and chingkrackang (tattoo on forehead). Their traditions are linked to nature and hunting, and they include practices such as the capture, taming, and training of elephants - referred to as Ruhe in the Brau Language. The last four elephants belonging to Airavata Elephant Foundation in Ratanakiri Province in Cambodia are cared for by mahouts of the Brau people. On the 26th of December, the first elephant baby born in 30 years was born here.

The BRAU are also called BRAO. They have a population of about 350 who inhabit mainly in Dak Me Village, Bo Y Commune, Ngoc Hoi District of Kon Turn Province1. The BRAU language belongs to the Mon-Khmer2 group. In their concepts of animism, PA XAY is the Creator of the universe, heaven, earth, river, stream, rain, wind, human beings and death. The BRAU have led a nomadic life for a long time. They practice slash-and-bum cultivation to grow rice, com and cassava, using rudimentary tools such as axes, knives and sticks to dig holes to put seeds into the holes. Thus they always obtain a low productivity. Generally their houses are built on stilts. Normally, men wear loin-cloths and women lungis. All leave their upoer torsos naked. According to customs, the BRAU have their faces and bodies tattooed and their teeth filed. Women wear a lot of chains around their arms, ankles and necks. They also wear large ear-rings made of ivory or bamboo. Young men and women are free to choose their partners. The family of a young man hand wedding presents to the bride’s family where the wedding ceremony will be organized. After marriage, the groom must live with his wifeys family for 2-3 years before bringing his wife and children home. It is customary that the dead person is brought outside of the house immediately, placed in a coffin made from a hollowed tree trunk. The coffin will be left in a temporary house built by the villagers. All the people come to offer their condolences and play gongs. Some days later, the coffin is buried. All objects such as jars, baskets, knives and axes are left in the tomb house for the deceased. The BRAU like to play gongs3 and traditional musical instruments. Gongs comprise various kinds. In particular, a set of two gongs (called chieng tha) has the value of 30-50 buffaloes. Young girls often play Klong put4, a musical instrument consists of 5-7 bamboo tubes, long and short which are joined together. The sound comes when air is forced into the tubes by clapping hands. The BRAU have appropriate folk tunes used to lull children or sing in wedding ceremonies. Kite flying walking on stilts and phet5 playing an young people’s entertainments.

The ancestors of the Brau people lived in southern Laos and north-eastern Cambodia. A majority of them now live in the Sekamarn and Nam Khoong river basins while a small part of the population migrated to Vietnam about 150 - 160 years ago and has lived in the country across between 6 and 7 generations. In Vietnam, the Brau ethnic community lives at the border junction of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. According to the 2019 Survey of 53 ethnic minorities, there are 525 Brau ethnic people in Vietnam, including 255 men and 275 women. The average household consists of 3.6 people. 94.7% of the total population is living in rural areas. The Brau ethnic group mainly reside in Dak Me village, Bo Y commune, Ngoc Hoi district, Kon Tum province, 10km from the Bo Y international border gate and nearly 100km from Kon Tum city. The Brau ethnic language belongs to the Mon-Khmer language group, which is part of the Southern Asian language family. The Brau have no written language. Since national reunification, the Party and State have paid due attention to education and preservation of the traditions of the Brau ethnic group. Children can learn the common language while adults can receive vocational training.The Brau ethnic language belongs to the Mon-Khmer language group, which is part of the Southern Asian language family. The Brau have no written language. Since national reunification, the Party and State have paid due attention to education and preservation of the traditions of the Brau ethnic group. Children can learn the common language while adults can receive vocational training. According to the 2019 Survey on 53 ethnic minority groups, the rate of Brau ethnic people aged 15 years and over who can read and write is 62.4% while the net attendance rate for children of primary school age is 104.1%, of junior secondary school age 42.9%, and of senior secondary school age 33.3%. The percentage of out-of-school children is 35.4%.

The Brau people (Vietnamese: Người Brâu) are an ethnic group living in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. In Vietnam, most Brau live in Đắc Mế village, Bờ Y commune, Ngọc Hồi district, Kon Tum province (Đặng, et al. 2010:112), and the population was 525 in 2019. Their ancestors came from southern Laos and northeastern Cambodia, migrating to Vietnam around 150 years ago. They speak Brao, a Mon–Khmer language. The Brau have only two surnames: Thao (for men) and Nang (for women). They talk about the Great Flood in their Un cha đắc lếp story, and about the Creator god named Pa Xây. They play Táp đinh bố – a kind of K’lông pút, and Tha – a special kind of gong. The Brau have traditional customs such as uốt bưng (filing teeth), síp tiêu (strain ears), and chingkrackang (tattoo on forehead). Their traditions are linked to nature and hunting, and they include practices such as the capture, taming, and training of elephants – referred to as Ruhe in the Brau Language. The last four elephants belonging to Airavata Elephant Foundation in Ratanakiri Province in Cambodia are cared for by mahouts of the Brau people. On the 26th of December, the first elephant baby born in 30 years was born here.

The Brau ethnic group is one of the seven ethnic minorities in Kon Tum with a rich and diverse cultural treasure. In recent years, with the support of the State, the Brau community in Dak Me village (Po Y commune, Ngoc Hoi district) has actively preserved its cultural identity and strived to build a prosperous and happy life. According to old man Y Pan - a prestigious person and also a village elder for many years in Dak Me village, in 1991, the traditional Brau village was burned down and the villagers found a new place to live, settling in the current Dak Me village. The Brau ethnic communal house in the new residence has been restored with support from the State to ensure the daily life of the people, while preserving the traditional identity. The overall structure of the new village has also changed somewhat compared to the past, in which the middle of the village is still the "mother" communal house used to hold important ceremonies, on both sides are 2 "child" communal houses for community activities and traditional culture. The surrounding houses are built in a chessboard pattern, surrounded by communal houses in the center, creating convenience in daily life and community cohesion. “In the past, the village was arranged in a concentric bird’s nest shape, with the communal house in the middle and the long houses surrounding it, with the entrance facing the communal house. The communal house is a communal house, with a square architecture, eight roofs, a pointed tower-shaped roof with the symbol of a gourd, carved with buffalo horns, symbolizing the strength, solidarity and pride of the community. The house is a small stilt house for small families, consisting of 4 rooms (3 inside and 1 outside), of which the 3 inside rooms are made of high beds on both sides for sleeping, the middle room is lower to place the fire” - said elder Y Pan. According to research documents, Brau (also known as Brao) is a small ethnic minority in the Central Highlands in particular and Vietnam in general, speaking the Mon-Khmer language, a language of the Austroasiatic language family. The ancestors of the Brau people are from Southern Laos and Northeastern Cambodia and a small number in Vietnam.

The Brau used to live in the common border area between Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. In the process of relocation, the Brau people were the latest settlers in Vietnam, about 100 years ago. They don’t have their own alphabet but do have their own mother tongue, which belongs to the Mon Khmer language of the South Asia system. The Brau currently live in Dak Me of Bo Y commune, Ngoc Hoi district, Kon Tum province. This ethnic group believes that the universe is created by Pa Say God who also creates life and death. Like other ethnic groups in the Central Highlands, the Brau people consider living beings tangible and the world of multiple gods: the god of mountains, river, sea, and trees. There is a matriarchal family system. Researcher of ethnic groups in the Central Highlands Luu Anh Hung says: “The traditional culture of the Brau is similar with those in the central highlands, particularly north central highlands. They have Rong communal houses, wooden houses, and festivals associated with rice growing cycle. According to their spiritual beliefs, the Brau champion the role of the gods of paddy, water, soil, forests and mascots. Their musical instruments are the pan-pipe and gongs. Traditionally, the Brau are hospitable and community-spirited, respect the elderly and adore children”.