Name of Ethnic Group: Brau (Brao).
Population: About 200
people.
Locality: Dak Me Village,
Bo Y Commune, and Ngoc Hoi District of Kon Tum Province.
Customs and Habits: The Brau
have a tradition of tattooing their faces and bodies and filing their
teeth. Their houses are built on stilts. Young men and women are free
to choose their partners. The wedding ceremony is organized by the bride's
family and the groom must live with his wife's family for several years
before bringing his wife and children home.
Culture: The Brau language belongs
to the Mon-Khmer Group.The Brau like to play gongs and traditional musical
instruments. In particular, a set of two gongs called the chieng tha
has great value in their culture. Young girls often play Krong Put,
a musical instrument that consists of 5-7 bamboo tubes, both long and
short, which are joined together. The sound is produced when air is
forced into them by the clapping of the hands.
Costumes: Women wear
a lot of jewelry around their arms, ankles, and necks. Men often wear
loincloths and women wear pagnes.
Economy: The Brau
have led a nomadic life for a very long time, but also practice slash-and-burn
cultivation in order to grow rice, corn, and cassava using rudimentary
tools.