The Brau people () are an
ethnic group
An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...
living in
Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
,
Cambodia
Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
, and
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
. In Vietnam, most Brau live in Đắc Mế village, Bờ Y commune, Ngọc Hồi district,
Kon Tum province (Đặng, et al. 2010:112), and the population was 525 in 2019. Their ancestors came from southern Laos and northeastern Cambodia, migrating to Vietnam around 150 years ago. They speak
Brao, a
Mon–Khmer language.
The Brau have only two
surname
In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...
s: ''Thao'' (for men) and ''Nang'' (for women). They talk about the
Great Flood in their ''Un cha đắc lếp'' story, and about the
Creator god named ''Pa Xây''. They play ''Táp đinh bố'' - a kind of
K'lông pút, and ''Tha'' - a special kind of
gong
A gongFrom Indonesian language, Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and ...
.
The Brau have traditional customs such as ''uốt bưng'' (filing teeth), ''síp tiêu'' (strain ears), and ''chingkrackang'' (tattoo on forehead).
Their traditions are linked to nature and hunting, and they include practices such as the capture, taming, and training of elephants - referred to as ''Ruhe'' in the Brau Language. The last four elephants belonging to
Airavata Elephant Foundation in Ratanakiri Province in Cambodia are cared for by mahouts of the Brau people. On the 26th of December, the first elephant baby born in 30 years was born here.
The elephant Bak Mai
as database record in the Elephant Encyclopedia by Dan Koehl
References
*Đặng Nghiêm Vạn, Chu Thái Sơn, Lưu Hùng. 2010. ''Ethnic Minorities in Vietnam''. Hà Nội: Thế Giới Publishers.
Ethnic groups in Vietnam
{{vietnam-stub