Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 12:15 pm Post subject: Bahnar Ethnic Group
Pop: 135,000
Origin: China
Area: Kon Turn, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen
Economy: rice, corn
Belief system: animism
Cultural characteristics: The Bahnar are believed to have migrated long ago to The Central Highlands from the coast. They are animists and worship Trees such as the banyan and ficus. The Bahnar keep their own traditional Calendar, which calls for 10 months of cultivation, with the remaining two months set aside for social and personal duties, such as marriage, weaving, ceremonies and festivals. Traditionally when babies reached one month of age, a ceremony was held in which their lobes were pierced to make them a member of the village. Those who died without such holes were believed to be taken to a land of monkeys by a black-eared goddess called Dudyai. The Bahnar are skilled woodcarvers and wear similar dress to the Jarai.
Production activities: The Bahnar live mainly on the cultivation of widen fields and slash-and-burn agriculture. The hoe is main food used in agricultural production. Intensive land cultivation of widen fields using the slash-and-burn method dispenses with the notion of allowing fields to go fallow after a period of time. In general, widen fields are located near rivers and stream and have long been popular among the Bahnar. But since the beginning of the 20th century, wet rice cultivation using harrows is also practiced. Horticulture and diversified crops also appeared quite a long time ago. Animal husbandry and craft production, such as basketry, cloth weaving, pottery and blacksmithing, are less developed.
Lifestyle: The Bahnar people live in vast areas from Gia Lai and Kon Tum to the west of Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa provinces. They mostly live in stilt houses, which are characterized by having the entrance door at the front of the house. The roofs are decorated with horns at either end. There is a communal house (nha rong), identified from other dwellings by its magnificent high roof. The communal house is a place where public activities are held, including education for the youth, ceremonies, trials, etc.
Transportation: The chief means of transporting things is the gui (bamboo or rattan backpacks). The gui has many sizes and types and can be woven differently, but usually follow traditional motifs.
Social organization: The village is primary social unit. Vestiges of matriarchal social structure are still in evidence in b family relations, lineages systems, and marriage. The decline of matriarchy has raised the position of men, but social relationships still tend to be closer to the mother’s family. After marriage, the Bahnar custom still prevails that the groom stays at his wife’s house. Society is differentiated among those who are rich, those who are poor, and those who are classed as servants.
Marriage: Monogamy is a basic principle of Bahnar marriage. The exchange of living places by the newly-married couples is increasingly popular. After a period of time when the husband lives at his wife’s house, and vice versa, the couple then moves to a new place to settle and becomes a new cell of the community.
Education: Education for youths takes place at the communal house, taught by the village elders. This traditional education includes job training, marital arts, combat techniques, and the values of the community.
Artistic activities: Folk songs are ample, but more popular ones are hmon and roi lyrics. Musical instruments played by the Bahnar include percussion and aero phone instruments as well as chordophones (stringed instruments). Traditional dances are popular, performed on ceremonial occasions and seasonal festivals. The long poems and folktales of the Bahnar are unique, traditional works that are an important part of Vietnam’s cultural patrimony.
Games: Among the popular games are chasing (dru dra), rope seizing, stone throwing, ball kicking spinning top, and khang playing
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