By To Dong Hai
The ethnic minority of Ede, which was formerly known as Rhade or Rhode, resides largely in Dak Lak province of the Central Highlands and some areas of Gialai, Kontum, Khanh Hoa and Phu Yen provinces. According to statistical figures, the Ede population now stands at 150,000.
Though unified in its language (of Malayo-Polynesien family), its customs and practices, its culture and the sense of community, the Ede is subdivided into various local groups residing in different localities, such as Kpa, Adham, Krung, Mdhur, Ktul, Dlie, Hrue, Bih, Blo, Korao, Dong kay, Dong mak, Ening, Arul, Hwing..., of which Ede Kpa is considered the main group with its cultural activities very typical of the entire Ede ethnicity.
The Ede’s traditional economy is characterized by milpa farming. Under the Ede conventions, the wanton destruction of forests, especially headwater forests and precious timber forests, and forest fires are strictly forbidden to avoid soil erosion. Apart from farming, husbandry, handicrafts, elephant taming... have also been practiced by the Ede people. Hunting, wild vetegable and fruit picking... still play certain part in their life.
The traditional society of the Ede has been built on the basis of “buon”, similar to “lang” (hamlet) of the Viet majority as the grassroots unit. Living in a “buon” are large maternal families embracing people of several generations of the same bloodlines. A family is headed by the owner (called “khoa sang”, usually the oldest woman with the highest position in the family). “Khoa sang” has the responsibility to take care of the family’s property, guide the family production, regulate the relationships among family members and represent the family in its relations with other people and families in the society. All the property in the family are commonly owned and inherited according to the maternal life. Upon the death of his wife, a man has to return to his home barehanded, and all his children and property must be left at his in-laws’.
The line of descent has played a very important role in the Ede’s traditional life. Among various lines of decent, only two have been considered by the Ede their original lines. They are Nie and Mlo. People of the same original lines cannot marry each other. Any one who breaks the rule shall be tried for incest.
From time immemorial, established in the Ede community was a convention (called “Phat Kdi” in Ede language) which must be observed by all members of the community. That convention has been recorded in rhythmic proses and handed down orally from generation to generation, which defined code of conducts for the members of the community. The Phat Kdi was built on the basis of the Ede traditional social regime, reflecting the Ede people’s traditional concepts of various aspects of the social life: social castes; marriage, religion; mode of production; ethical standards; the land ownership; customary practices and other forms of cultural activities.
There remain in the Ede society three classes: The upper class comprising tribal chiefs (Mtao), ferry owners (Po kpin ea) and the landlord (po lan); the middle class comprising scorcerers (po riu yang); soothsayers (po paghe); judges (po phat kdi); and the lower class comprising the commonalty and slaves (Mdik).
Of these people, the “po phat kdi” (the judges) is considered the representative of the jurisdiction, handling, on behalf of the local people, violations and lawsuits, contributing to the consolidation of the communal relationship among members. There may be several “po phat kdi” in a “buon” (hamlet), who have been people of dignity, who respect customs and practices, have a fair and objective attitude towards violations of rules and conventions or disputes among people, and who firmly grasp the traditional rules and conventions. Each line of descent has its own “po phat kdi”. The Ede rules and conventions have been passed down from people to people and generation to generation in rhymic proses which are often very concise, simile and easy to remember and learn by heart. For instance, an evil-doer has been described in the following verses:
Evil-doer is a person who,
When seeing salt, craves for it,
When seeing a horse and buffalo, aspires to ride them,
And when seeing a girl, lust after her
If he rapes a poor woman, he shall be fined one pig
If he rapes a rich woman, he shall be fined a buffalo
And the punitive measures have been prescribed as follows:
If the dog eats by stealth, let it bite hot egg plant
If a person does evil, make him give it up through severe punishment.
The Ede conventions have defined clearly specific issues of the social life: the relationship between the hamlet chief and the people, the relationship among members of the hamlet, the marriage and family relationships, the land ownership relationship... The conventions have reflected the above matters through detailed provisions which have been arranged in a systematic way. For instance, the marriage-family relationships contain provisions on incest; on the break of pledge by the man’s family or by the girl’s; on the pre-marriage pregnancy, on the thread-binding customs (according to the Ede custom, in order to maintain the continuous development of the family and the line of descent, when in the family the husband or the wife dies first, his or her family has to find a substitute, this custom is called “Chue nue” in Ede language); on the adultery; on the children’s disobedience of the parents’ words; on children’s crime in maltreating, abandoning and not looking after their parents who get old...
Regarding the relationships among members of the hamlet, the conventions have prescribed in details the crime of murder, the guilt of abortion, the guilt of disdaining people; the crime of felling trees in head-water forest; the crime of polluting forests or ferries and ports; the guilt of scolding deities; the crime of spreading contagious diseases to other persons; the crime of hitting people to injuries; the crime of sowing hatred among people, the crime of causing disturbance in the hamlet...
On the relationship of onwership of property and land, the conventions have defined the crime of looting rice, the crime of stealing other people’s property, the crime of storing stolen things in houses; the crime of failing to repay debts.
It can be clearly seen through the above things that the Ede conventions have defined clearly, acurately and specifically various guilts and crimes as well as the punishments therefor, which, severe or less severe, conform to the Ede’s thinking and traditional concepts. Therefore, the conventions have been voluntarily and strictly observed by the Ede people of various generations. The conventions have also defined specific phenomena in the social life. For instance, a bee-hive in the forest is ownerless; but it shall come under the ownership of the person who first discovered it. A late comer who takes that bee-hive or other things already discovered and owned by other person(s) shall be charged with infringing upon other people’s property:
Big beehives were already identified by others
Small beehives were marked with “khuih mra” trees already barked,
Yet, you stealthily planted Kdjar trees,
You climbed Ktong trees to stealthily get the beehives
Your face they have recognized
You have to return all the beehives
And pay the owner a pig as a fine.
The Ede rules and conventions have been enforced through rather fair and democratic trials. Usually seen in a trial are two judges (po phat kdi), two men representing the plaintiff and the defendent respectively (they are often heads of two lines of descent), and other people involved. The important cases are often handled by “Po Kpin Ea” (hamlet chief). The degrees of punishments range from:
- Warnings: for minor vilations with no serious consequences; the violators are minors or committed the violations without any intention.
- Compensation: This is a popular punitive form. Depending on the crimes, the compensation can be small or big: a pig, a buffalo, a gong, a big-bellied jar, jewels, an elephant...
- To make offerings and worship to deities for crimes of hurting deities or the hamlet community. Violators have to pay pigs, buffaloes, jars of alcohol to worship the deities or make a feast for the entire hamlet.
- Enslavement (Mdik): This form was formerly applied just because the violators could not pay the fines. They had to work for rich people or for persons who had won the case, in exchange for the compensation they should have had to pay to the other party.
- Being expelled from the hamlet: For serious cases or being suspected of a Malai (a demon, which, according to the Ede people’s concept, appears in the human form to harm people and animals in the hamlet).
- Death sentence: Rarely applied, except cases where the defendent is charged with being a Malai or causing a fire to the whole hamlet. He/she shall be executed by members of his/her family at a place far away from the hamlet.
If “Po phat kdi” (judge) abuse their power to impose unjust punishment, he shall be reprimanded or brought to trial. Before pronouncing the verdict, “Po phat kdi” often ask the opinions of people present at the trial to see if there is still anything unfair or unjust. When there are no more comments, the sentence shall be pronounced and the case shall close. If anyone has any complaint or comment later, he or she shall be blamed or subject to a fine.
Therefore, almost all sentences have been enforced effectively. There is hardly anyone who opposes the judgement or refuse to implement the sentence. The Ede rules and conventions are highly effective and strictly observed by the people in the community becasue they have been built on the basis of the customs and practices as well as the close social relationship within the Ede community. So far, the Klei due phat kdi conventions have still existed alongside with the State laws, having shown their values - democracy and equality - in the Ede people’s life. They have positively contributed to preserving the traditional cultural identity of this ethnic group, strengthening the relationships among members of the Ede community.
However, the Ede rules and conventions have contained in themselves limitations and negative aspects because they were built on the basis of the concepts and institutions of a pre-class society. Many provisions of the conventions have delayed the liberation of people from backward bindings and no longer conform to the current life. To some extent, the conventions give rise to regionalism, limiting the effect of the State laws.
Recently, reconciliation teams have been set up in Ede hamlets on the basis of the combination between the traditional conventions and current laws of the State. This is a new form of organization that can bring into play the positive elements of the conventions while restricting their negative aspects, thus contributing to building a new life governed by laws in the Ede hamlets.-