Gia Rai Province

Gia Rai is one of the provinces in Middle Vietnam which is home to Jarai People. They live in slash-and-burn cultivation, that is, they cut off trees for land to grow. In their community, the village chiefs and the oldest take roles of running their community. They make a decision in any issues arisen in their village.

There is a community house called Rong where all traditional activities are organized to retain the long-standing rituals that they want to transmit to their following generations. In the matriarchy system, a girl decides to get married to a man she falls in love with. The man follows his wife to live with his wife's family and has no rights to inheritance. The wife is the main bread maker in a family.

In their custom, if the husband dies, his wife has a right to get the brother-in-law and vice versus. All dead relatives are buried in the same place. They think died people turn into the ghost. Thus, there is a grave-leaving ceremony in which they sing and dance to invite the dead to move to a new house.

The photograph courtesy of VN Express Online