Lables:
Austro-Polynenisian Group, Churu ethnic group, Ethnic Groups
Other names:
Cho Ru, Kru, and Thuong.
Population:
10,746 people (1999 census).
Language:
The Churu language belongs to the Malayo- Polynesian group (of the Austronesia
language family) and is close to Cham language. A part of Cham people live
close to Co Ho people and speak Co Ho (which belongs to the Mon-Khmer group).
History:
The Churu people seemed to be a component of the Cham community in the past.
They might have separated from the larger Cham society when they went to live
high in the mountains.
Production activities:
The Churu lead a sedentary lifestyle, living mainly on their traditional
agriculture. They cultivate in two kinds of fields: muddy and dry. Irrigation
is given careful consideration, including the building of ditches, dikes,
embankments, etc. People have gardens both in the mountains and at home.
Livestock and poultry rising is popular. Hunting, gathering and fishing are
also part of daily life. Household handicrafts are fairly well-developed,
including textile weaving, plaiting and making fairly coarse pottery.
Diet:
Ordinary rice is the most important food, often cooked in earthen pots.
Supplementary foods include corn, manioc and sweet potato. Others foods are
forest bamboo shoots, vegetables, fish and meat obtained from gathering and
hunting. Popular drinks include can (pipe) and distilled wines. Both men and
women like smoking locally-grown tobacco with pipes.
Clothing:
Because textile weaving is not very well-developed, the Churu exchange goods
for such attire as dresses, blouses, loin cloths, blankets, child carriers,
etc. with the neighboring groups of Cham, Coho, Raglai and Ma.
Lifestyle:
At present, the majority of Churu are concentrated in the two communes of Don
and Loan of Don Duong district, while others live in the adjacent districts of
Due Trong and Di Linh in Lam Dong province. There are also thousands of Churu
people in the districts of An Son and Due Linh of Ninh Thuan province. The
Churu build their bamboo houses on stilts with a thatched roof. They live in
Plei (villages), and families of the same lineage or close relationships often
have their houses built close to each other.
Transportation:
The bamboo-woven gui (back-basket) is the chief means for transporting goods
and produce, and is used by most people.
Social organization:
A matriarchal social structure dominates Churu society, where the woman plays
the more prominent role in the family, and is the inheritor of the family;
children carry the name of the mother's line. In autonomous village
relationships, men shoulder a number of responsibilities to the ancestors in
order to maintain society. But in reality, however, each man acts according to
the wishes of his wife, who is owner and host-as is the custom-of the house in
which they live. Although Churu society has experienced an increasing gap
between the rich and the poor, this does not appear to be a source of
conflicts.
Marriage:
The young woman takes her husband on her own initiative. Her engagement and
wedding are carried out by presenting the boy with a finger ring and a string
of beads. After the wedding, the bride has to stay at her husband's house until
the son-in-law reception ceremony is held. Then the couple stays with the
wife's family.
Funerals:
The Churu bury the deceased in the village's common graveyard. In the past,
large-scale funerals were often held, with a buffalo or cow being sacrificed.
The new house:
The building of a new house holds great importance for the host family, and is
warmly supported by the community. Both relatives and others of the village all
lend a helping hand, as the host family prepares for the celebration that marks
the completion of the work as well as the house-warming party. Another big
party is held afterwards to thank the gods for their blessings and for
everybody to. share the happiness with the host family.
Festivals:
Each year, according to the Churn's schedule for wet rice cultivation of
submerged fields, various rites are observed. These include worshiping the
spirit of the dike, the paddy plant spirit when seeds are sown, the new rice
crop, and post-harvest celebrations. The most important events are the ritual
of Bonung God in the second month of the lunar year, in which goats are often
sacrificed, and the veneration of Yang Wer, the aging tree adjacent to the
village, which is regarded as the living place of the spirits. People make
miniatures animals out of wood or banana bulbs and place them under the trees.
Calendar:
The Churu rely on the traditional lunar calendar to determine their
agricultural schedule.
Education:
In the past, the Churu did not have their own writing system. All communication
was verbal.
Artistic activities:
Proverbs and folk songs are rich, reflecting the significant role of the woman
in the Churu's matriarchal society. Drums, gongs and wind instruments are
popular. Other unique musical instruments of the Churu are r'tong, kwao and
terlia. In festivals, the ancient Churu music often intertwines with the famous
tamga dance beats.
Games:
Churu children like games such as flying butterfly-shaped and wind-whistled
kites, tug of war, stick walking, catch and run, etc.
This
article written by Lanh Nguyen from Vietnam Heritage Travel
For
original article, please visit:
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