By TO DONG HAI One of the largest ethnic minority groups in Vietnam, the J’Rai, with a populatioin of some 242,200 (according the 1989 census figures), resides largely in the provinces of Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Dak Lak of the Central Highlands, particularly in districts of Chu Pah, Duc Co, Chu Prong, Chu Se, Ayunpa, Kron Pa of Gia Lai province. It is divided into such sub-groups as J’Rai Pleiku, J’Rai Cheo Reo, J’Rai A Rap, J’Rai H’Drung, J’Rai K’buan..., which are slightly different from one another in their costumes, customs and practices. The J’Rai people live mainly on agriculture, having now got used to wet rice farming, the cultivation of industrial plants (rubber, cashew, coffee). Yet, hunting, vegetable and fruit picking still occupy important position in their daily life. Bamboo and rattan weaving and fabric weaving are their traditional crafts which have strongly developed in their closed and self-sufficing economy. However, the J’Rai people have witnessed a trade exchange with people of other ethnic groups, particulary in recent years. Like the people of the Ede ethnic minority, the J’Rai live in big maternal families; and many big families group themselves into a hamlet called “plei” (in J’Rai language), which is headed by a “plei” chief and the oldest man in the hamlet, who often have the final and decisive says on the common affairs of the hamlet. In spite of the distinction between the rich and the poor, the ruler and the ruled, which appeared in the traditional society of the J’Rai people, democracy and equality, legacies of the primitive communism, have prevailed in all activities of the J’Rai community. That is the basis on which conventions, customs and practices have been formulated and orally passed down among the population, thus having created a close relationship within the J’Rai community for generations now. It is this system of orally transmitted legislation that has contributed to creating the stability of the J’Rai society. In fact, this has included convention prescribing the J’Rai people’s responsibilities and rights, the property division, the rights to ownership and freedom, faults, sanctions and rewards, which must be voluntarily observed by people from generation to generation. Seen in the J’Rai conventions was a mixture of the purely legal elements and the mystical religious elements because religion has been one of the important bases for formulating customs, practices and even the traditional social regulations. The T’Loi Djuat convention of the J’Rai people was actually a civil “code” which prescribed in details specific matters such as the people’s rights and obligations, the right to the ownership of property. Expressed in prose, the T’Loi Djuat also clearly defined intentional and unintentional crimes, accomplice, re-commission of crimes, crimes committed by responsible people, cases where defendants were set free, cases where creditors were entitled to seize the debtors’ property. Also described in the T’Loi Djuat were punishments meted out to offenders who breached the traditional convention accepted by the J’Rai people from generation to generation, including boozers, gamblers, robbers. For the family life, the T’Loi Djuat convention also contained specific provisions on handling cases of divorce, re-marriage, family feud and adultery. It can be said that the T’Loi Djuat – the orally transmitted civil code of the J’Rai people – which contained hundreds of articles expressed through thousands of proses, touched on different aspects of the J’Rai social life. A fairly firm social rule has been established for many generations now, having helped the J’Rai community survive and thrive. However, like other ethnic groups’, the J’Rai conventions have seen numerous limitations, which are no longer suitable to present-day life. To bring into play the positive aspects of T’Loi Djuat and make it conform to the current social and economic requirements would be very helpful for the building a modern life governed by State laws among the J’Rai community.- |