Mythologies of the Jaraï People

 

Jarai people or Jarais (Vietnamese: Người Gia Rai, Gia Rai, or Gia-rai; Khmer: ចារ៉ាយ, Charay or Khmer: ជ្រាយ, Chreay) are an Austronesian indigenous people and ethnic group native to Vietnam's Central Highlands (Gia Lai and Kon Tum Provinces, with smaller populations in Đắk Lắk Province), as well as in the Cambodian northeast Province of Ratanakiri. During the Vietnam War, many Jarai persons, as well as members of other Montagnard groups (Khmer Loeu and Degar), worked with US Special Forces, and many were resettled with their families in the United States, particularly in North Carolina, after the war. The Jarai language is a member of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family. It is related to the Cham language of central Vietnam and Cambodia and the Malayo-Polynesian languages of Indonesia, Malaysia, Madagascar, Philippines and other Pacific Islands such as Hawaii and New Zealand. There are approximately 332,558 Jarai speakers. They are the largest of the upland ethnic groups of the Central Highlands known as Degar or Montagnards and they make up 23% of the population of Ratanakiri Province in Cambodia. Both groups, the Cambodian and Vietnamese Jarai, share the same traditions and keep a close relation of cultural interchange, but their language gets the influence of their respectively Khmer and Vietnamese linguistic environment. A few of khmer Jarai words are borrowed from Khmer and Lao. While trading conversation between Khmer Jarai and Vietnamese Jarai, there can be some perplexity among them. Vietnamese Jarai has a written form in Latin script, but Khmer Jarai does not.

The Jarai are a people group in the Southern Vietnam Central Highlands. The Jarai language is related to the Cham language of Vietnam and the Malayo-Polynesian languages of Indonesia, Malaysia, Madagascar and the Philipines. Because they are an ethnic minority in Vietnam the Jarai face persecution. The Jarai sought independence through the failed attempt of the Degar Movement. The Jarai are located in the Highlands of Southern Vietnam. Jarai live mainly in the Gia Lai and Kon Tum Provinces of Southern Vietnam. They are also found scattered in several other provinces of Vietnam and in Cambodia. The Jarai make their living by growing corn and rice. The Jarai trace are matrilineal and trace their ancestry through the women. Jarai villages are laid out in a square. Everything is arranged around the village center. The village center has a communal house, a well, volleyball nets and a rice mill. Jarai villages are named after nearby rivers or village chiefs. Houses were once made of bamboo but more recently are made of wood with steel roofs. Jarai enjoy music and perform music on gongs, xylophones and zithers. The The Jarai are also known for their use of bamboo tubes for wind flutes and percussion. Jarai traditional dress includes indigo blouses and long skirts worn by the women.

Jarai people or Jarais (Vietnamese: Người Gia Rai, Gia Rai, or Gia-rai; Khmer: ចារ៉ាយ, Charay) are an ethnic group in Vietnam's Central Highlands (Gia Lai and Kon Tum Provinces, with smaller populations in Đắk Lắk Province), as well as in the Cambodian northeast Province of Ratanakiri. During the Vietnam War, many Jarai persons, as well as members of other Montagnard groups (Khmer Loeu and Degar), worked with US Special Forces, and many were resettled with their families in the United States, particularly in North Carolina, after the war. The Jarai language is a member of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family. It is related to the Cham language of central Vietnam and Cambodia and the Malayo-Polynesian languages of Indonesia, Malaysia, Madagascar, Philippines and other Pacific Islands such as Hawaii and New Zealand. There are approximately 332,557 Jarai speakers. They are the largest of the upland ethnic groups of the Central Highlands known as Degar or Montagnards and they make up 23% of the population of Ratanakiri Province in Cambodia. Both groups, the Cambodian and Vietnamese Jarai, share the same traditions and keep a close relation of cultural interchange, but their language gets the influence of their respectively Khmer and Vietnamese linguistic environment. A few of khmer Jarai words are borrowed from Khmer and Lao. While trading conversation between Khmer Jarai and Vietnamese Jarai, there can be some perplexity among them. Vietnamese Jarai has a written form in Latin script, but Khmer Jarai does not.

Legends tell of how the Jaraï fought the conquering Cham kingdom with the help of two sorcerer-chiefs (Sadets). The first, the Sadet of Fire – known as King of Fire, Superior King, or King of the East, depending on the region – lived south of the present-day Pleiku in the Ya Ké basin along a tributary of the Ayunpa River, a branch of the Song Ba, the most important river in central Annam. The king was reputed to possess a famous sacred sword that fell from the sky and was recovered after a series of adventures involving the rulers of the Cham, Cambodian, Annamite, Laotian, Rhade and Jaraï tribes. The king used the sword to assert his divine authority over the nearby Moï and Cham peoples and extended his rule to the Khmer kingdom, which possessed the sheath of the famous sword and honored the famed Jaraï ruler with mysterious annual tributes.

The Jarai - (also Nguoi Gia Rai, Gia Rai, or Gia-rai) is an ethnic group based primarily in the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands). The Jarai language is related to the Cham language of central Vietnam and the Malayo-Polynesian languages of Indonesia, Malaysia, Madagascar, Philippines and other Pacific Islands (Hawaii, New Zealand, Easter Island, Samoa, Guam, Fiji, etc.). The number of members of Jarai is estimated at about 350,000. It is the largest ethnic group in the Central Highlands, whose inhabitants are also known as Degar or Montagnards. The Jarai live primarily in the Gia Lai and Kon Tum Provinces. Some others in the Dak Lak Province and a few thousand in Ratanakiri Province in Cambodia. Many Jarai in the war sided with the Americans (as well as members of other Montagnard groups). After the war, many settled with their families in the United States, particularly in the state of North Carolina. Traditionally, the Jarai live in small villages numbering 50-500 in population. The villages are laid out in a square, with single occupancy dwellings or communal longhouses arranged around a village center. Often the village center boasts a communal house, well, volleyball net or rice mill. 

The Jarai people are an ethnic group whose traditional homeland were the Central Highlands of Vietnam and Northeast Cambodia. Their language is related to Chamic, which is in the Malayo-Polynesian language family, but has been influenced over the centuries by the neighboring Mon-Khmer language. It is likely that the Jarai ancestors, like other smaller hilltribes collectively referred to a Degar or Montagnard, were pushed into the remote mountains and jungles as the early Mon-Khmer and Cham kingdoms began to expand. Although isolated, there was contact with the Khmer kings and the Viet Lords of Hue, who revered the mystical shamans of the Jarai- known as the Kings of Fire, Water and Air/Wind. Early Vietnamese accounts talk of Thủy Xá and Hỏa Xá (“Water Haven” and “Fire Haven”) – two former Jarai areas located in Central Highlands of Vietnam. The ‘kings’ were certainly famous enough in the region, and named in several local languages: “King of Water” (Jarai: Pơtao Ia; Rade: Mtao Êa; Vietnamese: Thủy Vương; Khmer: Sdet Tik; Laotian: Sadet nam), “King of Fire” (Jarai: Pơtao Apui; Rade: Mtao Pui; Vietnamese: Hỏa Vương; Khmer: Sdet Phlong; Laotian: Sadet Fai) and the lesser-known “King of Wind (or Air)” (Jarai: Pơtao Angin). According to legend, King of Water could pray for rain and bring floods, while the King of Fire could pray for hot weather, bringing droughts and summon lightning. French anthropologist Jacques Dournes, who lived in Vietnam for twenty-five years from 1946 to 1970, studied the culture of the Jarai and other highland ethnic groups. Describing the Jarai ‘wizards’ in his work ‘Pötao, une théorie de pouvoir chez les Indochinois jörai’ he noted “They lived far from each other, were never to meet, under pain of precipitating nameless calamities on the country… Their authority was purely mystical; (they) never encountered temporal power ”.

Jarai people or Jarais (in Vietnamese Người Gia Rai, Gia Rai, or Gia-rai; in Khmer ចារ៉ាយ - Chareay) are an ethnic group in Vietnam's Central Highlands (Gia Lai and Kon Tum Provinces with some others in Đắk Lắk Province), as well as in the Cambodian northeast Province of Ratanakiri. During the Vietnam War, many Jarai persons, as well as members of other Montagnard groups (Khmer Loeu and Degar), were involved by the US military in war affairs and thus resettled with their families in the United States, particularly in the state of North Carolina. The Jarai language is a member of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family. It is related to the Cham language of central Vietnam and Cambodia and the Malayo-Polynesian languages of Indonesia, Malaysia, Madagascar, Philippines and other Pacific Islands (Hawaii, New Zealand, Easter Island, Samoa, Guam and Fiji). There are approximately 332,557 Jarai speakers. They are the largest of the upland ethnic groups of the Central Highlands known as Degar or Montagnards and they make up 23% of the population of Ratanakiri Province in Cambodia.

The Jarai from the Malayo-Polynesian group, after having fought off Hanoi’s interference several times and the failed attempts to civilize them, live in seclusion, keeping their old customs and language. Nobody speaks Vietnamese. The Vietnamese contemptuously called them “mio&, meaning savages, and Laotians call them “kha” – slaves. These authentic aborigines, disarmingly gentle, have lived for two millennia in the Annamite Highlands. They have always tried to stay isolated, taking advantage of the land’s inaccessibility. They did not respect the French during their Indochina domination. The communist authorities repeatedly made efforts to “Vietnamise” them, but these always ended in a fiasco. The chief of the tribe hosts us with a specific aperitif, ruon ghe, fermented rice vodka, used in various ceremonies. Then we have dinner. In addition to rice, there are pieces of stewed snake in a spicy sauce and something fried that initially resembles little birds. The translator explains that it is a special delicacy prepared for important guests, fried field mice. In my travels around the world, I have eaten the most exotic dishes, but this time I could not bring myself to try it.

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