Unique features of the Brau ethnic group

Brau is an ethnic minority with less than 1,000 people in our country. Currently, with the specific support policies of the Party and State, the lives of the Brau people have been changing for the better, and traditional culture is being preserved and promoted. Let's go togetheriguide.aiFind out information about the Co Lao ethnic group, Vietnam!

1. Historical origin

- The ancestors of the Brau people resided in southern Laos and northeastern Cambodia, the majority still reside in the Sekamarn (Sesan) and Nam Khoong (Mekong) river basins, a small part of the Brau people migrated came to Vietnam to live for about 150 - 160 years (6 - 7 generations). Since then, the Brau people have lived in the border junction area of ​​three countries: Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

- Other names: Brao.

2. Population

According to data from the Survey of 53 ethnic minorities on April 1, 2019: Total population: 525 people, of which the male population is 255 people and the female population is 270 people. Household size: 3.6 people/household. Proportion of population living in rural areas: 94.7%.

3. Geographic distribution

Mainly residing in Dak Me village, Bo Y commune, Ngoc Hoi district, Kon Tum province, 10km from Bo Y international border gate and nearly 100km from Kon Tum city.

4. Language

– The language belongs to the Mon-Khmer language group (South Asian language family). The Brau people do not have writing. After liberation, the Party and State paid attention to the education and preservation of the traditions of the Brau ethnic group, and children learned Mandarin and vocational training.

- Education: According to data from the Survey of 53 ethnic minorities on April 1, 2019: Percentage of Brau people aged 15 and older who can read and write in general: 62.4%; Percentage of people attending primary school: 104.1%; Percentage of people attending middle school: 42.9%; Percentage of people attending the same high school level: 33.3%; Percentage of children out of school: 35.4%.

5. Main characteristics

- Eating: The Brau people mainly eat sticky rice burned in young bamboo tubes (laminated rice), followed by plain rice cooked in terracotta pots. Corn and cassava are only used to raise livestock and poultry. Drinks containing wine. Young, old, boys and girls all like to smoke tobacco using an anhydrous cigarette.
Costume: Men in ancient times wore loincloths, women wore sheet skirts. Women have the custom of stretching their ears to wear golden bamboo rings or ivory piercings. Men and women at the age of 15-16 follow the custom of sawing off their four upper front teeth to officially integrate into the adult community.

- Housing: The Brau people reside in stilt houses with high sloping roofs. The floor is composed of two different high and low levels to define living functions. The village has a circular campus, the houses are arranged like the spokes of a cart wheel.

- Social relations: Brau society was divided between rich and poor in the initial stages. Small patriarchal families have been established, men and women have equal rights. The remnants of the matriarchal family system still exist quite strongly.

- Wedding: The wedding ceremony is held at the bride's house but is paid for by the groom's family. After the marriage ceremony, the custom of living with the groom lasts about 4-5 years and is followed by a period of rotation between the couple.
Funeral: When someone has passed away, the mourner plays gongs and drums to announce the funeral. The body was shrouded in a hollowed tree trunk coffin in a newly built funeral home near the house. A semi-submerged coffin is a characteristic of the funeral customs of the Brau people. A charnel house is built over the grave to store the assets distributed to the dead. These assets have all been partially destroyed in the form of being broken, punctured, dented...
New house: When the house was inaugurated, people held a quite solemn ceremony and the whole village attended the party after the ceremony to worship the gods.

- Tet: The celebration of new rice after harvest is Tet. The date of Tet celebration depends on the season and each specific family, there is no uniform date.

- Calendar: The agricultural calendar is calculated according to the phases of the moon and determines the months according to the rice cultivation season of our ancestors.

- Traditional culture: Folk songs with lyrics, ancient stories about the creator god Pa Xay, the legend of Un cha dat lep, wedding songs, lullabies. The musical instrument that includes the klong put is called tap nail supplement. Most important are still the famous bronze gong sets with 3 types with different scales: coong, mam and tha.

6. Economic conditions

- The main source of livelihood is farming to grow sticky rice, regular rice, corn, and cassava. The farming method is to clear, burn, then poke holes to plant seeds and harvest by hand. Regarding handicrafts, there are quite a few Brau men who know how to knit. Currently, the Brau people have enjoyed the results of the Party and State's sedentary farming and settlement policies, especially from the Bo Y border gate development program.

- According to data from the Survey of 53 ethnic minorities on April 1, 2019: Brau ethnic group has: Poverty household rate: 6.1%; Rate of near-poor households: 7.9%; Percentage of households using hygienic water sources: 88.0%; Percentage of households using grid electricity for lighting: 100.0%; Unemployment rate: 0.38%; Percentage of trained workers with degrees and certificates: 2.2%; Proportion of workers working in the non-agricultural sector: 1.5%; Proportion of employees working in management or technical expertise at high and middle levels: 0.8%.

Above is some interesting information about the Brau ethnic group, Vietnam, let's joiniguide.aiPlan to explore, meet and experience culture with the Brau people in the near future!

Source:
- Ethnic groups in Vietnam (Truth National Political Publishing House)
- Basic characteristics of 54 ethnic minorities in 2019 (Committee for Ethnic Minorities and General Statistics Office)
- Website of the Committee for Ethnic Minorities, Website of Nhan Dan Newspaper
- Results of the survey collecting information on the socio-economic status of 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam)