E De people
Encyclopedia
The E De are an ethnic group of southern Vietnam
(population 270,348 in 1999).
The E De language is a member of the Chamic
group of the Malayo-Polynesian
branch of the Austronesian
language family. It is related to the Cham language
of central Vietnam, and the Malayo-Polynesian
languages of Indonesia
, Malaysia, Madagascar
and the Philippines
. They have a writing system developed on the basis of the Latin script
in the 1920s.
descent. Descent is traced through the female line, and family property is in the hands of and inherited from women. The basic kinship unit is the matrilineage; these are grouped into higher-level matrilineal sibs
(matrisibs). The E De are further divided into two phratries
. The women of a matrilineage and their spouses and children live together in a longhouse. The lineage holds corporate property such as paddy land, cattle, gongs, and jars; these are held by the senior female of the matrilineage. The lineage also engages in the farming of common lands and maintenance of the longhouse. The head of the longhouse itself is a man, with the position most commonly inherited by the spouse of the daughter or sister-in-law of the previous longhouse head.
Matrilineages and matrisibs are exogamous
, with both sexual intercourse and marriage prohibited. The phratries also impose some restrictions on marriage. Couples violating these restrictions must sacrifice a buffalo, though violating phratry restrictions are generally not seen as being as serious, and require only the sacrifice of a pig. Residence is matrilocal.
E De villages were traditionally autonomous and governed by an oligarchy
of leading families. Some villages became locally dominant, but none formed any larger political structures.
, H'Bia Mlin, Dam Kteh Mlan, Mdrong Dam, etc. are told by epic tellers (E De language: po khan) next to the fire, through the night.
Longhouses can be 100 meters long and house from three to nine families. A traditional description of the size of the longhouse is: "The house is as long as the gong's echo".
, American and South Vietnamese military advisers feared that the Viet Cong would convert Rhade tribesman in the Darlac Province to their support. They instituted a program by which American Special Forces sought to train the Rhade in "village self-defense programs." The E De made up a portion of the United State's Montagnard
allies, and after the war some fled to the United States, mainly residing in North Carolina
.
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
(population 270,348 in 1999).
Language
Chamic languages
The Chamic languages, also known as Aceh–Chamic and Achinese–Chamic, are a group of ten languages spoken in parts of Cambodia, Vietnam, and Hainan, classified as Malayic languages in the Austronesian language family....
group of the Malayo-Polynesian
Malayo-Polynesian languages
The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages, with approximately 385.5 million speakers. These are widely dispersed throughout the island nations of Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean, with a smaller number in continental Asia...
branch of the Austronesian
Austronesian languages
The Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia that are spoken by about 386 million people. It is on par with Indo-European, Niger-Congo, Afroasiatic and Uralic as one of the...
language family. It is related to the Cham language
Cham language
Cham is the language of the Cham people of Southeast Asia, and formerly the language of the kingdom of Champa in central Vietnam. A member of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian family, it is spoken by 100,000 people in Vietnam and up to 220,000 people in Cambodia . There are also...
of central Vietnam, and the Malayo-Polynesian
Malayo-Polynesian languages
The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages, with approximately 385.5 million speakers. These are widely dispersed throughout the island nations of Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean, with a smaller number in continental Asia...
languages of Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Malaysia, Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. They have a writing system developed on the basis of the Latin script
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
in the 1920s.
Kinship and Social Structure
The E De practice matrilinealMatrilineality
Matrilineality is a system in which descent is traced through the mother and maternal ancestors. Matrilineality is also a societal system in which one belongs to one's matriline or mother's lineage, which can involve the inheritance of property and/or titles.A matriline is a line of descent from a...
descent. Descent is traced through the female line, and family property is in the hands of and inherited from women. The basic kinship unit is the matrilineage; these are grouped into higher-level matrilineal sibs
Sib (anthropology)
Sib is a technical term in the discipline of anthropology which originally denoted a kinship group among Anglo-Saxon and other Germanic peoples. In an extended sense, it then became the standard term for a variety of other kinds of lineal or cognatic kinship groups...
(matrisibs). The E De are further divided into two phratries
Phratry
In ancient Greece, a phratry ατρία, "brotherhood", "kinfolk", derived from φρατήρ meaning "brother") was a social division of the Greek tribe...
. The women of a matrilineage and their spouses and children live together in a longhouse. The lineage holds corporate property such as paddy land, cattle, gongs, and jars; these are held by the senior female of the matrilineage. The lineage also engages in the farming of common lands and maintenance of the longhouse. The head of the longhouse itself is a man, with the position most commonly inherited by the spouse of the daughter or sister-in-law of the previous longhouse head.
Matrilineages and matrisibs are exogamous
Exogamy
Exogamy is a social arrangement where marriage is allowed only outside of a social group. The social groups define the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. In social studies, exogamy is viewed as a combination of two related aspects:...
, with both sexual intercourse and marriage prohibited. The phratries also impose some restrictions on marriage. Couples violating these restrictions must sacrifice a buffalo, though violating phratry restrictions are generally not seen as being as serious, and require only the sacrifice of a pig. Residence is matrilocal.
E De villages were traditionally autonomous and governed by an oligarchy
Oligarchy
Oligarchy is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with an elite class distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, commercial, and/or military legitimacy...
of leading families. Some villages became locally dominant, but none formed any larger political structures.
Epic
Epics (E De language: klei khan), such as Klei khan Y Dam SanKlei khan Y Dam San
Đam San or Klei Khan Y Dam San is a famous seven-chapter epic of the Ede people of Vietnam's Central Highlands...
, H'Bia Mlin, Dam Kteh Mlan, Mdrong Dam, etc. are told by epic tellers (E De language: po khan) next to the fire, through the night.
Music
Ede music is very deversifying and playing music is the way that Ede people communicate to the God (Ede language: yang) and to other people.Musical instruments
- Gong: There are several sets of gongs used. The knah gong set is made up of six suspended gongs :knah, hlinang or knah hliang, mdu khơk or knah khơk, hluê khơk or mong, hluê hliang, hluê khơk điêt or k'khiêt, knah di, and the largest one is ching sar; as well as two bossed gongs: mđũ and ana (there is also h'gor drum). The others are: chinh k'ram, đinh tút. E De gong culture has been recognized by UNESCOUNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of HumanityMasterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of HumanityThe Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity was made by the Director-General of UNESCO starting in 2001 to raise awareness on intangible cultural heritage and encourage local communities to protect them and the local people who sustain these forms of cultural...
. - Flute (Ede language: đing): đing năm, ky pah, đing tak ta (or đing buốt klé), đing buốt tút, đing buốt trok, đing rinh, đing téc.
- String instrument: brố, goong.
- Others: chinh đing aráp,gông kram, đing pah, đing ktuk, đing pâng, kni.
Style of music
- Kư- ứt: a kind of telling the epic accompanied with đing buốt trok.
- Ayray: a kind of love songs accompanied with đing năm.
Architecture
A typical house of E De people is the longhouse made of bamboo and wood. The longhouse's length is measured by the number of collar beams (E De language: de). Once a girl living in the house gets married, the house is lengthened by one compartment, as the matrilocal aspect of E De marriage means that the husband will live in his wife's house. The orientation of building is North-South. The longhouse's space is divided into two parts: Gah part's area makes up 1/3- 2/3 the total area is considered as the living room and the other part Ok includes bedrooms. There are two doors: the front door is for men, the back door is for women and two stairs: male stair and female stair.Longhouses can be 100 meters long and house from three to nine families. A traditional description of the size of the longhouse is: "The house is as long as the gong's echo".
Vietnam War
During the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, American and South Vietnamese military advisers feared that the Viet Cong would convert Rhade tribesman in the Darlac Province to their support. They instituted a program by which American Special Forces sought to train the Rhade in "village self-defense programs." The E De made up a portion of the United State's Montagnard
Degar
The Degar are the indigenous peoples of the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The term Montagnard means "mountain people" in French and is a carryover from the French colonial period in Vietnam. In Vietnamese, they are known by the term thượng - this term can also be applied to other minority ethnic...
allies, and after the war some fled to the United States, mainly residing in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
.
Notable E De people
- Linh Nga Niê Kđăm, singer and musical researcher
- Y Moan, popular singer
- Will Eban skateboarder
- Gelly Long dancer and singer
Customary law
L. Sabatier has collected 236 articles. The highest number of articles is of marriage and family matter, followed by property ownership and relationship between the head of villages and villagers. The main principles are that communal nature and equality are under guarantee. Judges are called khoa phat kdi.External links
- Ede People in Vietnam
- Ethnologue page
- The Ede, The Peoples of the World Foundation. Page about the E De in the United States