Customary law of the lach ethnic group in Lac Duong district, Lam Dong province and it's influence on modern life

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI INSTITUTE OF VIETNAMESE STUDIES AND DEVELOPMENT SCIENCES ---  --- CAO THI THANH TAM CUSTOMARY LAW OF THE LACH ETHNIC GROUP IN LAC DUONG DISTRICT,

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI INSTITUTE OF VIETNAMESE STUDIES AND DEVELOPMENT SCIENCES

-  -

CAO THI THANH TAM

CUSTOMARY LAW OF THE LACH ETHNIC GROUP

IN LAC DUONG DISTRICT, LAM DONG PROVINCE AND

IT’S INFLUENCE ON MODERN LIFE

MAJOR THESIS OF VIETNAMESE STUDIES CODE: 60 31 60

Supervisor: Assoc.Prof.Dr Lam Ba Nam

Hanoi, 2012

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT



To complete this thesis, we would like to express our gratitude to the teachers of Vietnam National University, Hanoi in general, the Institute of Vietnamese studies and Development Sciences in particular, have taught and supported dedicatedly for us during the 2009 -2011 academic courses

We especially would like to thank to Assoc.Prof.Dr Lam Ba Nam

-teacher directly guided me during implementing this thesis

We would like to thank the people in Lac Duong district - Lam Dong province, who have provided us with valuable real material during the actual fieldwork At the same time, we also thank to aunts and uncles of the People's Committee of Lac Duong district haved provided us with data and information to illustrate the subject

We sincerely thank aunts and uncles, belonging to:

-The Resource Center of the Institute of Vietnamese studies and Development sciences

- Hanoi National Library, the Library of Dalat University

- Cultural and Information Department of Lam Dong, the Library of Lam Dong province

Have created favorable conditions for us in collecting and researching materials to complete the dissertation

On this occasion, we also would like to express gratitude for family, friends - who encourage, motivate and help us during the learning process and completing this thesis

Sincere thanks!

Hanoi, 2012

AUTHOR

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LIST OF TABLES

1.1

Population in terms of ethnic group and

gender dated on April 1, 2009 of Lac

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 4

1 Reasons for research topic selection 4

2 Purpose of the research 8

3 Subject and scope of the research 8

4 Research methods 9

5 Contribution of the thesis 10

6 Thesis outline 11

CHAPTER 1 BACKGROUND, LITERATURE REVIEW, OVERVIEW ON THE RESEARCH LOCATION AND

LACH ETHNIC GROUP 12

1.1 Background 12

1.1.1 Definition of Customary law 12

1.1.2 Origins and basis of Lach customary law 16

1.2 Literature review 18

1.3 Overview on the research location 22

1.3.1 Natural conditions 22

1.3.2 Founding history 24

1.4 Typical feature of Lach group 27

1.4.1 Names, origin, residential history and population facts 27

1.4.2 Economic features 31

1.4.3 Belief and religion features 32

1.4.4 The traditional social organizations 33

1.5 Sub-conclusion of Chapter 1 35

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CHAPTER 2 CUSTOMARY LAW OF THE LACH ETHNIC GROUP

IN LAC DUONG DISTRICT, LAM DONG PROVINCE 37

2.1 Forms of the Lach customary law 38

2.2 Content of the Lach customary law 40

2.2.1 Ways of trial and punishments in the Lach customary law 40

2.2.1.1 Ways of trial in the Lach customary law 40

2.2.1.2 Punishments in the Lach customary law 41

2.2.2 Customary law of the Lach ethnic group and some contents related

to life 43

2.2.2.1 “Norms” of Lach customary law as to people's behavior toward natural environment 43

2.2.2.2 The Lach customary law and community institutions 46

2.2.2.3 The Lach customary law on marriage and family 50

2.2.2.4 The Lach customary law on ownership and inheritance

of property 65

2.2.2.5 The Lach customary law on civil disputes 68

2.3 Comparison of the Lach customary law with that of other ethnic groups in other places in Lam Dong province 72

2.3.1 Similarities 72

2.3.2 Differences 73

2.4 Sub-conclusion of Chapter 2 77

CHAPTER 3 EFFECTS OF THE LACH CUSTOMARY LAW IN LAC DUONG DISTRICT, LAM DONG PROVINCE ON MODERN LIFE 79

3.1 Changes of the Lach customary law in Lac Duong district, Lam Dong province on modern life 79

3.1.1 Causes of changes 79

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3.1.2 Changes of Lach customary law in Lac Duong district, Lam Dong

province on modern life 83

3.2 Role and disadvantage of the Lach customary law in Lac Duong district, Lam Dong province on modern life 92

3.2.1 Role 92

3.2.2 Disadvantage 95

3.3 Sub-conclusion of Chapter 3 98

CONCLUSION 100

REFERENCES 106

ANNEX……….……….110

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INTRODUCTION

1 Reasons for research topic selection

Lam Dong province has been long well-known for its capital city of Dalat, a poetic city covered with flowers and fog all year round It is also the fatherland The province used to be the home land of several indigenous ethnic minority groups such as Ma, Co ho, Chu ru, M’nong, etc Amongst the long-standing residents of the province, Co ho community predominates in terms of population1 Currently, the population of Co ho community reaches 166.112 people (as of 1 April)2 Co ho ethnic group consists of various local subgroups such as Lach, Sre, Co Don, Cil, Nop, etc Among these subgroups, ethnic Lach is proud to be the community living on the legendary, epic land

of Langbiang and the owner of ancient Dalat (DàLàc: the stream of Lach ethnic group)

Discussing on traditional culture of Lach, it is a lack not to mention a

cultural aspects which holds special values – customary law (Nri) Oral

customary law, generated in an undifferentiated society in term of class, sophisticatedly influenced by matriarchy, though it had never been recorded

in any document, just as any other ethnic group in Truong Son – High Land area, sustain an incredibly latent and powerful vitality in present life In oral customary law of the minor ethnic groups in Truong Son – Highland area in general and those of Lach ethnic group in particular, it is always possible to

1 According to results of population survey conducted in 1999, there was 996, 221people in Lam Dong province Beside Viet ethnic group, there were 12 minor ethnic groups, in which Co ho ethnic group occupies 112,373 people (in 128,723 Co ho people nationwide), accounting for 11.2% population of the entire province Ma ethnic group follows with population of 25,289 people (accounting for 5.5% provincial population) Then come M’Nong ethnic group of 9,679 people (0.98%) and Chu ru with 14,579 people (2,5%

2

According to General Statistic Office, “General Demographic survey in 2009”, Statistics

Publisher, Hanoi, 2009

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find stipulations in every aspect of human’s life, from behavior towards the environment and to the matter of property, from organization and institutions

to social relations such as marriage and family relationship, from folk beliefs

to the ritual system, etc

However, the modern life in which globalization is currently penetrating in every corner even that of a distant area has brought not only benefits but also negative impacts, says, the collapse of traditionally cultural values Amongst those values, customary law of Vietnamese minor ethnic groups in general and those of Lach ethnic group in particular are also in the threat of fade What should be done to help the minor ethnic groups in general and Lach ethnic group to keep paces with the modern life and socio-economic growth yet still sustain and develop their unique cultural characters? This is also an issue in concern of Vietnam Communist Party and Vietnam State In the Fundamental Guideline in developing the country in the transition period

to Socialism passed in 10th National Congress [12, pg.75] (in January 2011) of Vietnam Communist Party, a consistent orientation, which was once more

confirmed, is “Build and develop an advanced culture with strong national

identity” It is a sought orientation for integrity of growth and tradition

because it is the tradition that generates national power along the national establishing and defensing history in the past, in the present and in the future

From the reality, we select “Customary law of the Lach ethnic group

in Lac Duong district - Lam Dong province and it's influence on modern life” as the research topic for our graduation thesis of Vietnamese study

major Hopefully, via the interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches, this thesis shall restore, at best possibility, a real pictures of Lach ethnic group customary law for the purpose of preserving one of the traditional cultural values of Lach ethnic group in front of the fading threat, contributing to the

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success of “wealthy people, powerful nation, democratic, equal and civilized society” target set by the Communist Party

2 Purpose of the research

Research this topic, we would like to introduce, at our best knowledge, the customary law of Lach ethnic group in every expressing forms and contents

Besides, via analysis of the laws, we also wish to discover roles and also limitations of Lach ethnic group’s traditional customary law in the present life in order to identify the advantages to encourage as well as the restrictions to be dismiss

On the other hands, because the customary law exists in the oral forms (which face the threat of loss), we would list what currently survives, what has been changed and lost and as well propose some personal opinions to preserve and develop the positive values of Lach customary law for the

sustainability of one traditional culture of Lach ethnic group

3 Subject and scope of the research

Research subject: The research subject is customary law of the Lach

ethnic group and it's influence on modern life Research content of the topic concentrates on demonstrating issues related to forms and contents of Lach customary law Consequently, roles and restrictions of Lach customary law are also defined Moreover, we would also initially survey on the implementation of customary law in Lac Duong district at present and the changes of Lach customary law under the impact of various factors such as socio-economic growth, co-residence and cultural exchange amongst the ethnic groups, etc

Research spatial scale: The research will be mainly carried out in Lac

Duong district where Lach group mainly resides In Lac Duong district,

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special attention will be paid to Lat commune and Lac Duong town Besides,

we will also conduct research on Lach customary law in Mang Lin hamlet, Ward VII and Ta Nung Commune in Dalat city

Research chronological scale: The research content is limited in the

period from 1975 to present because not until the unity of the nation, hardly had all ethnic groups in Vietnam shared orientation of developing a nation in accordance with socialism pertaining to new culture Since then, the ethnic guidelines of the Communist Party and Vietnam State started to be launched nationwide, leading to the dramatic changes in economic, society and culture

in the area of minor ethnic in general and that of Lach in particular

4 Research methods

On studying this topic, firstly, we refer to some documents and writings

of some precedent researchers and scholars realated to customary law of the minor ethnic groups in general and those of Lach ethnic group in particular in order to have a fundamental background for the purpose of this research

Topic “Customary law of the Lach ethnic group in Lac Duong district ,

Lam Dong province and it's influence on modern life” mainly belongs to

interdisciplines of ethnology and jurisprudence; therefore, ethnic fieldwork is ineveitable Other methods such as observation, retrospective interviews, direct profound interview and sociologist survey with the facilitation of technical equipments such as camera, recorder for the complete recording of the information during the work are considered the major methods employed

to collect and capture the highly reliable data

Methods observe competed as observed in which riders observed directly involved in the activities of those who are observed

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In-depth interview method is the dialogue is repeated between researchers and people who provide information to learn life, experiences and perceptions of who provides information through the language of the time

When data collection is complete, in addition to the published documents resource, we will consolidate and process the documents using methods such as:

Synthetical – Analytical methods: Based on the collected data, we will analyze and select the important information to use in the research of Lach customary law and their impacts in Lac Duong district at present

Comparative and contrasting method: In the thesis, we use this method when comparing customary law of Lach ethnic group with thoes of the local ethnic groups on the area of Lam Dong Besides, we also implement comparative methods when discovering the customary law of Lach ethnic group in the past and at present to identify their changes on moden life

5 Contribution of the thesis

The research on Lach ethnic group in general, especially Lach customary law in Lac Duong district – Lam Dong province and their impacts

in the current modern life in particular is necessary and meaningful in term of both theory and reality The research shall provide precise information of scientific values, which can be used as a reference in study and teaching issues related to minor ethnic groups Via some proposal and suggestion of the topic, hopefully, the author can help the local authority in making suitable policies to preserve and develop the cultural values of Co ho people customary law in general and that of Lach ethnic group in particular

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6 Thesis outline

Besides the Introduction, Conclusion, Reference and Appendices, the thesis focuses on resolutions of the issues in 03 chapters with the following contents:

Chapter 1: Overview on background, literature review, research location and Lach ethnic group

In this chapter, the authors focus on theoretical basis of customary law, literature review and introduce the research location – Lac Duong district, Lam Dong province as well as some key points in cultural live of Lach ethnic group

Chapter 2: Customary law of the Lach ethnic group in Lac Duong district, Lam Dong province

This chapter presents forms and contents to be reflected in the customary law as well as the justice practice and penalties, behavior towards natural environment, community institutions, marriage and family relationship, property succession and compares Lach customary law with those of some local ethnic groups

Chapter 3: Effects of the Lach customary law in Lac Duong district, Lam Dong province on modern life

From outcomes of fieldwork survey, the changes of the customary law will be shown in this chapter which is characterized by the impacts of various factors Simultaneously, the roles and restrictions of the customary law in the modern life will be also discussed

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CHAPTER 1 BACKGROUND, LITERATURE REVIEW, OVERVIEW

ON THE RESEARCH LOCATION AND LACH ETHNIC GROUP

1.1 Background

1.1.1 Definition of customary law

Customary law in Vietnamese is equivalent to the foreign terminologies such

as “customary law”, “folk law”, “local law”, “tribal law” or “traditional law”, etc However, the above terminologies are all used to describe a type of law that differs from “state law” (the law stipulated by the State) Amongst those terms, “customary law” is popularly used [39, pg.38] In Vietnam, each ethnic group has their own ways to refer to customary law, such as “lệ làng” (as “hương ước” in written form

of Viet people), “Hịt khỏng” (by Thai people), “Phạtkđi” (by E đe people), Phạtkđuôi (by M’nong people), “N’Ri” (by Ma people), “Tơlơiphian” (by Gia rai people), etc Discussing on definition of customary law, there are many different ideas, such as:

Customary law is a set of provisions that stipulates on the relationship and obligations of members in hamlet community It is the early form law in

an undifferentiated, non-state society in order to instruct, adjust and stabilize the relationships amongst individuals, those of individuals to community, those of one community to the others via behavioral experiences and practices that are recognized by the community, characterized by unity and solid construction of each community Customary law is kept along time via memory and oral records of people It contributes to preserve and enhance the stability of the hamlets and creates the cultural values for each ethnic group [23, pg.567]

According to Assoc.Prof.Dr Lam Ba Nam, customary law is a rich folk knowledge treasure, accumulated and withdrawn via various generations

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during the adjusting process to the natural and social environment of the tribe

in history with countless severe challenge [28]

According to Prof., Ph.D Ngo Duc Thinh, customary law is a unique form of folk knowledge, including unwritten social standards and conventions (and in some cases, written such as Thai’s customary law, Viet’s village rules), forming in the long history of each community via the behavioral experiences to natural and social environment, transferred from one generation to the other by oral communication in order to instruct, adjust and stabilize the social relationships (among individuals, between individual and community and between one community with the other) It is accepted by the entire community, creating a unity and conservative structure of each community [39, pg.70]

+ Structure, functions and classifications of customary law

The structure of customary law is fairly simple, including two main parts namely criminal hypothesis and penalty framework

Customary law plays a vital role of society managing and controlling instrument; or in other words, instructing, adjusting, stabilizing the social relationships (among individuals, between individual and community and between one community with the other) in order to enhance and integrate members in the village and hamlet, providing the basis for a harmonic, humane, supportive shared life for a development of human’s dignity

There are two ways to classify customary law One is based on the existing form of the customary law and the other is pertaining to the level of development of customary law Based on the existing forms, there are four categories of customary law: rhyme customary law (mainly in Central Highland), documented customary law (of Cham’s and Thai’s) and written customary law (Viet) and social practice (Other groups) Basing on level of

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development of customary law, can divide into 03 types including oral customary law (Central Highland), documented customary law (of Cham’s and Thai’s) and written customary law (or the village’s rules of Viet people) [39; pg 442- 443]

+ Relationship between customary law and customs, convention and law

Discussing on customary law, it is required to mention to the relationship between customary law and custom and law Customary law carries the characters of laws (stipulation on criminal behavior, crimes, evident, justice and penalties, etc.) On the other hands, it is figured by the characters of customs (conventions and ethic advice to instruct people’s behaviors, create public opinion to adjust people’s behaviors) Therefore, customary law is an early form, a form of pre-law Due to the vague border between these two forms, distinguishing is only made relatively

Customs are the routines and experiences of people forming during the daily activities and works, repeated over and over again, which makes it is hardly forgotten Custom survives and moves along in family, in the villages,

in the society heavily influenced by community It is the life styles, orders and rules for life Via realistic practice, people find it suitable, useful and necessary to maintain and follows from one generation to the others Following the law, at first, is voluntary, gradually becomes spontaneous and then self-aware Once it has been recognized and followed, the customs seems to turn into unwritten conventions of a community or a group of communities, which is respected and protected [23, pg.566] Customary law forms and develops from customs; thus, many people regard it as “law of custom” However, customary law just inherits the significant and popular

of customary law are much simpler and more applicable than state law Disciplines are mainly for the purpose of advice and deterrence from bad behavior and penalties are property compensation and apologizing rituals Disciplinary forms of Law are detailed and strict and figured by court instruments and prisons

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In short, from custom to customary law and law is a constantly evolving process Custom is the basis for the foundation nod customary law, and customary law, in its turns, leads to the formation of law However, each form contains unique characters despite the close, organic correlation among them

1.1.2 Origins and basis of Lach customary law

+ Origins

Similar to some mono ethnic group, Lach customary law is formed spontaneously, standardized and recognized widely in the community via the relationship and cultural life style of the residents Therefore, it carries no sign

of social class differentiation and thus is nothing like an instrument to maintain the ruling position of any class in the society Customary law was created to adjust the relationship among the individuals, between individuals with the community and between the community with the nature and gods Lach customary law was formed and tempered from the cultural and humane values of Lach community during their process of discovering and conquer nature together with living, resisting and surviving experiences Social organization was formed and pertained to the hunting and gathering life, deforesting to cultivate, then came the accessing process to rice culture of Cham ethnic group and other ethnic groups which was greatly contributed by the elderly and craftsmen via the proverbs, folk song, and syllabic poems with the unique property and rich images Moreover, a part of customary law was also quoted from epic (related to the concept that Ndu genie create the sky and the earth), combining the customs and routines in daily life, maintained and spread by the words of mouth form thousands of years ago of the native resident of Truong Son – High Land in general and Lach ethnic group in particular

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+ The basis of Lach customary law

Customary law “bơta bóh lăm” in Lach’s language, which means the

accumulated experiences from one generation to the others and becoming the standards of behavior in family, in society as well as in relationship with the gods The conventions in customary law of Lach ethnic group are specific, including conventions on criminals, justice forms, penalties and stipulations

on responsibility in the society

Lach is a tribe of strong sense of community Their behavioral rules are mainly democratic spirits, equality, and affections Thus, in comparison with customary law of some local ethnic groups such as Ma, Chu ru, etc., the rules

in customary law of Lach ethnic group tends to be more lenient to the criminals

Lach customary law is the motivation of integrated scheme, including: customs, behaviors, religion and beliefs, etc to act for the common benefit of the entire community Lach customary law exploits the power of public and community’s affection to make rules and standards in life to the customs implementation and behaviors of members in the community Besides, in order to enhance the power of customary law, Lach customary law also makes use of gods’ power to bond every member of the society to follow

Lach customary law is the specific stipulation of the ethnic groups including stipulations on behavior with the natural environment, community management, marriage and family relationship Accordingly, if any member

of the community violates the stipulation or does the contrary to the virtual standards or disrespects the customs of one’s group, one will be suffered from penalties according to customary law in compliance with level and corresponding penalties

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Stipulations in Lach customary law aim at respect, community integration and the overall responsibility of the whole community All are based on the lenient approach to the criminal The law, therefore, highlights the healing of the breakage in social relationship, relationship with all supernatural forces in order to bring stabilization and reunion in the society Therefore, all members in Lach society have the responsibility to learn and study the stipulations in their customary law and are self-aware of the stipulations in the customary law

In brief, customary law of the minor ethnic group in general and that Lach’s on particular is the priceless cultural value of the ethnic group Thus, the preservation the positive values of the customary law is urgently necessary and deserves to receive much more attention from people and authority

1.2 Literature review

About the minor ethnic groups of Vietnam in general and those living in Highland in particular, there are a pretty number of scientific researches in various aspects such as economics, culture, sociology, religions, etc However, there has been no systematic monograph study on Lach ethnic group in general and customary law of Lach ethnic group in Lac Duong district, Lam Dong province in particular so far

Before 1975, we can find some data in Lach ethnic group in the studies

about Co ho ethnic group of the scholars such as Mussay, Hickey in “The

High Land people of South Viet Nam” (1967), Touhnen and Han Tho in “A concept of opening Thuong society” (1970); then, “Issues in educating students belonging to ethnic group” (1973) by Do Van Tu; “Highland the Upmost area” (1974) by two authors, Cuu Long Giang and Toan Anh

Among those researches, the authors had introduced in brief as an overview

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and summary about the minor ethnic groups living in Highland such as Chu

ru, Ma, Co ho (including Lach) on tribal names, origins, residential area, economic practice, customs, etc

Especially, after the unity of the nation on 30 April 1975, under the leadership of the Communist Party, with the sought policy on the ethnic groups, the domestic researches started to pay more attention to the minor ethnic group in general and Lach ethnic group in particular The first study

was “Ethnic issues in Lam Dong” (1983) edited by Ass Prof Ph.D.Mac

Duong The study included 313 pages, mentioning some aspects related to Lach ethnic group such as origins, marriage After that, traditional cultures of

Co ho ethnic groups (including Lach ethnic group) were also mentioned in

“Vietnam minor ethnic groups – in the Southern provinces” (1984) by the Institute of Ethnology Significantly, the writing titled “Lat people in Dalat”

by Nguyen Hong Nhat provided some precious data on the origins and residential history of Lach ethnic group as well as introduced a simple picture

on marriage, family and family relationships of this group In 1993, “Dalat –

The Highland city” [44, pg.175] the authors such as Nguyen Tuan Tai, Doan

Nam Sinh, Lieng Hot Hasue, Phung Khac Cuong and Nguyen Huu Tranh also presented about the history, material and spiritual life of Lach ethnic group

with the article “Lach ethnic group on Langbiang High Land” Moreover, author Tran Sy Thu in “Ethnic group and residents in Lam Dong province” (1999) and author Nguyen Huu Tranh in “the ancient Dalat” (2001) also

brought the readers many valuable data on the picture of traditional culture of Lach ethnic group on various aspect such as history, economic practice, religion Besides, we can also some important studies on Co ho group such as

“Co ho ethnic group in Vietnam” (2003) by Ph.D Bui Minh Dao; and the

“Co ho people in Lam Dong” (2005) edited by Phan Ngoc Chien, “Some

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cultural characters of the minor ethnic groups in High Land in Lam Dong”

(2005) by various authors, published by the Department of Cultural and

Information of Lam Dong province, “Traditional custom od some minor

ethnic groups in Southern Highland” (2007) by Le Van Ky (editor), “South Highland – the amazing sides” by Vo Khac Dung The above articles and

studies somehow mentioned the aspects of material and spiritual cultural aspects of Co ho ethnic groups (including Lach group)

About customary law, most of the minor ethnic groups possess customary law, however, as of today; the scientists have just only exploited, recorded and restored customary law of some ethnic groups Right from the beginning

of the 20th century, the French had started to survey and collect the customary law in Highland for the purpose of their reign in Indochina colony with the orientation of using the traditional institution as an indirect and effective controlling instrument Some studies on the customary law of French author

such as Leopold – who had advocated to collect, rearranged and public the set

of E de customary law, titled “Ruôn Hra Kley Duc key bhiam dum” printed in

“Imprimerie d’Extrême”(1927) by E de’s language In1940, Dominique

Antomarchi translated this set of law into French and publishes Recueil des Cutumes Rhadies du Daklak in Collection de Textes et Documents Sur Indochine IV This was considered the first collection, system and

implementation about customary law in Viet Nam [39, pg.21] After the work

of E de’s customary law, there were some other collection and reseach on

other customary law of the tribes in Highland such as Stieng’s customary law (1951) by T.Gerber, Customary law of Bana, Xe Dan and Jarai Tribes in Kon

tum province (1952) by PG.Guillminet, Some aspect of customary law of Ma people (1957) by J.Boulbet, etc The above works quoted and commented on

the rules implemented by the government of French colonist [39, pg.22-23]

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To be honest, although conducted for the purpose of ruling, the studies and collection of the French helps us in indentify the variety of customary law of many minor ethnic group in Highland area such as E de, Xtieng, Ba na, Xe Dang, Gia rai, Ma, Co ho, etc

Beside the researches on customary law of the foreign scholars, it is necessary to mention the domestic scholars who have significant contribution

to the collection and publish of customary law of many minor ethnic groups

The researches on customary edited by Prof Ph.D Ngo Duc Thinh such as “E

de’s customary law: legal practices” (1996), “M’nong’s customary law: legal practice (1998);“Thai’s customary law: legal practice, “Comprehend customary law of the ethnic group in Vietnam” (2003), etc are the first to

mention Besides, there are also “Cham and Raglai customary law” (2004),

“Customary law and life” (2007) edited by Phan Đang Nhat In addition to

the researches the articles of the other authors such as “Customary law in the

life of minor ethnic groups: preservable values and outdated customs to be dismissed” by Trinh Thu Thuy (2009); Ass Prof Ph.D Lam Ba Nam with

“Customary law of native ethnic groups in highland: identified from

heritage” (2010) are also recognized The above mentioned studies have

brought us a profound and general view in customary law of the minor ethnic group and given to us an approach to the research topic from which the method of correlation, comparison and contrast among the customary law of the ethnic groups, especially the minor ones have been made clear for us Related to customary law of Lach group, according to our best knowledge

at present, Lach customary law has just been mentioned briefly in some

general research in Co ho group, for example, “Comprehend customary law

of the the ethnic groups in Southern Highland” edited by Prof Ph.D Ngo

Duc Thinh; “Customary law and community self-managing of K’ho group in

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Lam Dong” by M.A Nguyen Xuan Bang (scentific report in Conference

“Customary law and legal practice”, Department of Law – Dalat University,

on March 2005) Recently, we have known that, Krajan Plin, which is a

group of Lach ethnic group in Lac Duong town, has collected many of the

customary law of Co ho Lach group, and introduced in “K’ho Lach customary

law” (2010) The book consists of 219 pages and mentions many aspects on

crime and judgement, relationship between the leader and the community and

vice versa, marriage and men-women relationship and taboo, etc [33]

However, listing is what the author focused on, not the content of the customary

The published researches and the articles mentioned above are precious background for further study on customary law of Lach Nonetheless, there is

no comprehensive, systematic and specific study on Lach customary law

Therefore, by “Customary law of Lach ethnic group in Lac Duong district,

Lam Dong province and it's influence on modern life”, we wish to introduce

our knowledge on Lach customary law based on collection and analysis of the related contents to Lach ethnic group in this area and simultaneously, the changes under the effects of the market economics and the cultural exchange and integration amongst the nations

1.3 Overview on the research location

1.3.1 Natural conditions

Lac Duong is a mountainous district located in the North of Lam Dong province, which is 12 km far from Dalat center The natural area of the entire district is 130,963.04 hectare, in which there are 5,352 hectare of agricultural land (occupying 4%) The remaining are forest and forestland [2, pg.11] The district is adjacent to Khanh Son and Khanh Vinh districts (belonging to Khanh Hoa province), Ninh Son district (belonging to Ninh Thuan district) to

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the east, Krong Bong district (belonging to Đaklak province) to the North; to Dalat city and Don Duong district to the south; and to Dam Rong and Lam Ha district to the West

Lac Duong possesses complicated ground features with 3 major terrains: high mountains, medium to low hill and valley High mountains are the area of great slope (over 2000m), with the elevation of 1,500 – 2,200 m from the sea level Medium to low hills are hills and mountain of less slope (less than 200 m), with average height of 1,000m and red-brownish basalt, accounting for 10 – 12% total area of the district, mostly found in the south and Centralnorth Valley dominates about 3% of the total area and is mostly found along the big rivers and stream with the popular elevation of 3 – 80m

Lac Duong district is located in tropical area affected by seasonal wind; however, the effect of elevation separate the area into two subzones, namely semi-temperate zone and tropical zone There are two clear seasons in a year: Rain season and dry season Rain season often starts in May and ends in October and November) Annual precipitation is about 1,800mm and predominates in July, August and September (rain season from May to October bring 80 - 90% of the yearly precipitation Annual average temperature is 19,50C Total sunny hours in a year are 2,335 hours Lac Duong is affected by two main wind conditions, one is from Northern east

and the other is from southern west

There are 3 types of soil in Lac Duong district: river and stream drift occupying 8,500 ha (5%); red-yellowish slope catch accounting for 80,880 ha (55%); grey-yellowish mountain humus of 62.000 ha (40%)

There are two systems of river in Lac Duong: Krong No and Da Nhim River and stream system has high slope degree, narrow river bed and many ripples, which is suitable to develop adventural and ecological tourism Lac

1.3.2 Founding history

In 1899, present Lac Duong belonged to Dong Nai Thuong In 1920, villages and lands were located in Langbiang high lands belonging to Dalat city On May 19,1958, the government of Ngo Dinh Diem established Tuyen Duc province, Lac Duong is one of the three districts included in Tuyen Duc province Lac Duong districts had 3 counties with 7 communes: Phuoc Tho county with Xuan Tho, Phuoc Thanh, Thai Phien communes; Da Tan county with Dakao and N’Thol Thuong commune; Nhan Lac communes consisted of Kill Plagnol Ha and Lat commune

On April 20,1975, General Council of Tuyen Duc province issues decisions no 28 -QĐ/TC, reestablish district committee of Lac Duong However, on November 19,1975, the district was dissolved Accordingly, communes such as Kill Plagnol Ha, Xuan Truong and Xuan Tho belonged to Don Duong district; Lat and và Da Mrong were integrated into Duc Trong district

On March 14, 1979, the Government Council made decision no.116 –

CP separating some districts in Lam Dong province Then, Don Duong district was separated two districts Don Duong and Lac Duong Lac Duong district was established based on the previous Lac Duong district, including communes such as Kill Plagnol Ha, Lat, Da M’rong, Da Tong

In 1987, a part of Da M’rong (Ro Men) belonging to Lac Duong district was integrated in Lam Ha District In 1992, Kill Plagnol Ha commune

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was separeated into 2 communes, namlely Da Sar and Da Chais In 1999, land boundary of Da Long commune was amended and Dung K’No commune was established After that, in 2004, Da Chai commune was separated into 2 communes of Da Nhim and Da Chai Lac Duong Town was founded based on

a part of Lat Commune Also in 2004, according to Decree

no.189/2004/Nd-CP dated 17 November 2004 by the Government on the establishment of communes in Lac Duong and Lam Ha districts as well as the establishment of Dam Rong districts – Lam Dong Province Accordingly, Da Tong, Da Mrong and Da Long belonging to Lac Duong districts were integrated into Dam

Rong district [2, pg.17]

Undergoing many historical ups and downs, currently Lac Duong district consists of 6 administrative units, in which there are 5 communes of Lat, Da Sar, Da Nhim, Da Chais, Dung K’No and Lac Duong town

1.3.3 Demographic features and religious spiritual life

+ Demographic features

Before XX, Lac Duong had been a deserted mountainous area where few minor ethnic people resided in village unit, sparsely distributed along river and stream banks From 1980, there were 14,676 people in Lac Duong district in which the minor ethnic people occupying 95% with total number of 14,244 people, consisting many different groups such as Co ho, Tay, M’nong,… sparsely resided and mainly found in the center of the districts, along provincial road 723 and Dam Ron valley area (3 communes of M’Rong,

Da Long and Da Tong)

Currently, total population of Lac Duong district is 19,298 with population density of 15 people/km23, including Kinh group and other 19 minor ethnic groups most of which are Co ho people

3 In accordance with the statistics of Statistic Office of Lam Dong province as of April 1, 2009

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+ Religions and beliefs

In Lac Duong District, people follow 3 main religions, namely Buddhism, Catholism and Protestant

No Association Dignitaries Bilievers Worshipping

locations Notes

zone and

2 catholic families

Table 1.2.Statistics of religious association in Lac Duong district in 2010

(Source: General Council of Lac Duong People’s Committee)

1.4 Typical feature of Lach group

1.4.1 Names, origin, residential history and population facts

+ Name of Lach group

Lach ethnic group (or written Làc, Lat, M'Lates) is the name of local group belonging to Co ho ethnic group, the longstanding residents on Langbiang High Land Lach group has many different names

Nguyen Thong author (1827 – 1884) in “Miscellaneous articles – tribes in the nations” – his Chinese-language writing among 1862 – 1874, had called these residents “Lac”

Yersin doctor (1869 – 1943), after his arrival to Dalat and communication with these people, transcribed their name as “Mlates” [32, pg.74]

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“Lat” is the name that was mentioned in “Issues of ethnic groups in

Lam Dong” edited by Ass Prof Ph.D.Mac Duong According to this

author, the place of Dalat in Lam Dong was constituted from “Đà” (or Đạ) meant water, river, stream, pond, lake and “Lạt” referred to as the name of the native residents

According to Co ho language, “Lach” implies the pine forest and the deserted hill extending from Langbiang range to the southern east, including the present of Dalat city According to Lach ethnic group, they call themselves “Lạt” or “Lạch” in order to refer to the residents along Lat River Besides, this name also has another meaning such as the meadow hill:

Jùn ntúat bơh brê làc tus brê dơr

(Which means: The deer runs from the meadow hill into the sparse forest)

Linguistic speaking, Lach language is a dialect of Co ho language, close to that of M’nong, Stieng, Ma, etc, which all belong to Austo-Bahnaric group, Mundar Khmer, Austro-Asiatic Family language Just as many other languages in the same group, Lach language still holds some features of an ancient South Eastern Asian Language before the communication between Mundar-Khmer and Tai-kadai

+ Origin of Lach ethnic group

Discussing on the origin of Lach ethnic group, there are two hypotheses The fisrt one indicated that this group and other local groups of

Co ho tribe such as Sre, Co Don, Cil, Nop, etc.) are parts of M’nong residents at South Daklak This is the opinion held by Mussay, Hickey, Han Tho, Touhnen, Do Van Tu and Mac Duong in their works mentioning Lach ethnic group The second hypothesis is of Nguyen Thong (1827 -

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1884) who believed that Lach and Cil people are Lac Viet people, fleeing from Northern reign, staying too far from their fatherland without any contact and finally becoming minor ethnic group [32, pg.76] The above hypotheses weren’t based on any reliable facts, which need further study

+ Residential history of Lach ethnic group

According to legend and memories of some Lach ethnic group, before 20th century, Lach ethnic group often lived in the area surrounding Dalat city After that, Cham people invaded and destroyed the architectural structures of Lach and Cil

However, in 1897, Donmer investigated Dalat and reconstructed this place, making it a resort of French The French had built 150 houses on stilts on Langbiang foothills for the Lach From then on, the Lach had left their residential location for Lac Duong district nowadays

Before 1954, Lach ethnic group lived in 7 hamlets: Bon Nor, Bon Đeng (Bon Đing), Bon Dơng, Hang Kroc (Rơhàng Kròc), Mang Lin and two Dang Gia hamlets

In 1954, Đạ Đờng river valley was flooded, people living in Bon Dong and one of two Đăng Gia villages moved to other place while some moved to Dơng Kriêng, Dà Mpào, Nrèng or Pơnơr in Duc Trong and Lam

Ha districts

At present, Lach ethnic group chiefly lives in Lat commune and Lac Duong town (Lac Duong district) and others live in Tà Nung commune, Mang Lin hamlet (Ward VII) in Dalat city, Tan Van commune (Lam Ha district), Hiep An commune (Duc Trong district) in Lam Dong province as follows:

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1 Lac Duong town

4 Tà Nung commune (Dalat

city)

5 Hiep An commune (Duc

6 Tan Van commune (Lam Ha

+ Current situation of population

As time goes by, Lach population considerably increases as follows:

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Accordingly, Lach ethnic group account for 3.7% of the total 166,122

Co ho’s population The Lach’s population is currently 5.5 times higher than that in 1940, 3.5 times higher than that in 1974 [9, pg.395] and 1.6 times higher than that in 1993 [25, pg.7]

1.4.2 Economic features

In the past, among types of economy developed by Lach ethnic group, wet-rice cultivation was the most important to Lach ethnic group They cultivated their fields primarily in valleys or along streams Due to dependence upon weather, they just cultivated one crop every year Later, they learnt from Chu ru people’s experience on irrigation and changed to crop

in higher places, and their rice field was based on terraced one In addition to rice cultivation, other food plants, including corn, sweet potato, gourd, pumpkin, and bean, etc, are also grown so as to add to their daily meals

Furthermore, to enrich their cultivation, Lach ethnic group raise buffalo, horse, pig, goat, chicken and duck, etc Among those above, horse raising is a unique feature of Lach ethnic group However, they raise animals aiming at sacrifice, not for food supply for daily meals

Lach ethnic group have many traditional handicrafts, including weave fabric, kitting, wine with pipes through jar brewery, blacksmithing, etc, in order to satisfy their daily life demand Among them, weave fabric and knitting are relatively developed, particularly in Lat commune and Lac Duong town For weave fabric, men shall be responsible for weaving papoose, broad flat drying basket, large and flat basket, rice container while women shall be responsible for knitting from sedge Their products are various in decorative patterns, including lozenge, square, zigzag, sun, moon, star, tortoise-shell, rice mortar, birds’ beak, buffalos’ tooth, cricket, etc

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Despite being farmers with self-sufficient way of life, Lach ethnic group early accept trading as a new secondary job and a significant income In dry season, when they are free from crops, they often go by groups with papoose to plain area such as Phan Rang, Nha Trang, even Cambodia to exchange goods They exchange hide or pig, etc for cloth, salt, iron, small jar, gong, etc Their business trip often lasts 15-20 days Moreover, because Lach ethnic group get well with other Cham and Chu ru merchants, they quickly dominate “goods distribution and circulation” in Langbiang Highland, especially when the kingdom of Champa is collapsed

Additionally, mentioning various economic types of Lach ethnic group,

we cannot help mentioning significantly traditional economic type Lach ethnic group usually go hunting by group and in early months of drain season They mainly use cross-bow and javelin Besides, casting-net and medical leaves are also used to catch fished in rivers and streams A part from hunting, picking plays an important role and undertaken by women and children

1.4.3 Belief and religion features

+ Belief: Because of current social conditions and poor awareness,

Lach ethnic group extremely believe in gods or deities They believe that there couterless gods in nature, including mountain, forest, stream, stone, tiger, objects in a house or a hamlet: gate of hamlet, devices, small jar, etc Among gods (Yàng), Nđu – is the most powerful god, the Supreme Being

creating all beings The lower level includes Sun God (Yàng Tơngê), Moon God (Yàng Konghai), Land God (Yàng Tiêh), Sky God (Yàng Trộ), thunder, and thunderbolt Gods (Yàng Dong Rong, Yàng Tơrnàih) Besides, there are ghosts and devils (cạ, caạ) causing accident, disease and death To spray and

show their respect to gods, they formally celebrate rituals to ask gods to help and protect them from difficulties in their life Lach ethnic group’s cultural

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and worship rites are less than those of other groups like Srê, Cil, etc., but

various with Chê festival (rice sowing), Nhô (rice flowering), Len Khuê (rice

storing), Sarơpu (buffalo stabbing festival) to express their gratitude toward

the Gods, especially the mountainous God Langbiang [25, pg.7] In addition, Lach ethnic group also apply a cumbersome abstaining system in each their deed or behavior toward the nature For example, they must always keep the fire in the kitchen, talking is not allowed while cooking, it is forbidden to use firewood near their house for cooking, etc Afterwards, thank to exchange and contact with the Champa culture, there are some of Lach ethnic group capable

of contacting with supernatural forces, they are shaman (Pô Gru), wizard (Pô

Jâu) always attend the public sacrifices in the village, treat the diseases with

sorceries, eliminating evils, etc., this class plays more and more important role in the Lach society

+ Religion: in the years of 1928 - 1929, the American pastor put the

first basis for propagating Protestantism in the residential area of the Co ho in Lam Dong province In 1928, Kimplanhon Ha commune (Lac Duong district), an American pastor named Jackson spred Protestantism Since 1954 onwards, Protestantism widely developed in the Cil and Lach's residential areas In addition, until the years of 1952 - 1953, Catholicism entered into the Lach's community The appearance of above-mentioned different kinds of religions factors have made the traditional culture, rituals and beliefs of the Lach ethnic group gradually change and fall into oblivion, and replaced with rituals of religion Currently, most of the Lach ethnic group follow one of two types of foresaid religions, of which they mainly follow Protestantism

1.4.4 The traditional social organizations

Bon is the residential area of the Lach ethnic group, similar to the

Vietnamese village, or the villages, plei of the ethnic groups of Central

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Highland Previously, each of Bon of the Lach ethnic group included four or

five long houses, even one or two houses in some bon Each long house is the

residential place of a consanguineous great family Usually, Bon of the Lach

ethnic group are located in valleys or near water sources, rivers, streams,

lakes, etc Each Bon has its own self-management apparatus, led by Kuang

Bon Other than Kuang Bon, there is a council of village patriarch including

pô hiu and kumy

Family (mpol): in the historical legends, ancestors (mộ pàng), the

cultural heroes of the Lach ethnic group are usually talked about with their own name without family name Their initial line coincided with the name of

Bon such as Bon Yo, Đa Gut, Lom M'Bieng, etc that often live together in a

house on stilts of tens of meters in length as told by village patriarchs Due to the appearance of slave sale, disintegration of long house, appearance of

cousins coming in to reside, components of Bon are no longer purely

consanguineous as before The origin of Lach ethnic group include surnames: Cil (Chil), Krajan (Krazanh), Lieng Hot, Ro Ong, Pangting, Dagot (Dagout), Mebla, Bonding (Bòn Đing), Bonyo (Bòn Yộ), Lom bieng, etc Particularly, Cil is divided into multi-branches: Cil Mup, Cil Damjong, Cil Pam, Cil Yu, etc The Lach ethnic group also have a number of surnames similar to the Cil people: Cil, Krajan, Lieng Hot, Ro Ong [15, pg.165] The head of each family

is a family head (po mpol), usually a man - the husband of a reputed woman

in the line

Family Institutions of the Lach ethnic group consist of two types: family (a family with a kitchen and a couple and immature children) and great

sub-family (sub-family including many households) Each sub-family has a host (pô hiu)

In the Lach's society, women own and inherit property, propose to start the wedding and pass down the family's line to their children Men are in charge

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of take care of plowing, planting, harvesting, hunting, fishing and weaving; woman are responsible for cooking, wine processing, making brocade and caring of their children

At present, matriarchal great family is no longer popular, replaced with sub-family However, there are many Lach families at Lac Duong district consisting of 2 - 3 generations living together in a house

1.5 Sub-conclusion of Chapter 1

Customary law is a set of regulations in terms of relationships and responsibilities of members in a village community Study on the Lach ethnic group's customary law, it is a must to refer to such typical works as

"Customary law of K’ho Lach" (2010) written by Krajan Plin; the book

"Learn about customary law of ethnic people in Central Highlands" under the

general edition of Prof Dr Ngo Duc Thinh The Lach customary law were formed and built up from the cultural - humanitarian values of the community

of Lach ethnic people, as the experiences summarized through many generations and became the standard for behaviors in the family, society and also toward natural environment and the Gods The regulations in customary law aim toward respect, community coherence and sense of responsibility of the whole community

The Lach ethnic group are a group of Co ho ethnic people, standing living in Langbiang plateau, they identify themselves as the owners

long-of the land long-of the old Dalat Experiencing the up and down long-of near-modern history of Vietnam within a past century, the current residential areas of the Lach ethnic group are mainly in Lac Duong town and Lat commune of Lac Duong district The traditional economy of the Lach ethnic group is the self-sufficient economy and water-rice cultivation is considered as the main economy In addition, activities of breading, hunting, gathering, traditional

In brief, with the extremely unique cultural colors, the Lach ethnic group's culture has contributed to a unique, diversified and plentiful picture of Vietnamese culture

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CHAPTER 2 CUSTOMARY LAW OF THE LACH ETHNIC GROUP IN LAC

DUONG DISTRICT, LAM DONG PROVINCE

Customary law is a form of unwritten law, which is mainly kept in the memory of the old and expressed through the daily conducts of the members

of the community Therefore, it is also known as legal practice Studying customary law of the Lach ethnic group in Lac Duong district, we mainly base on theoretical grounds and specialized methods of Ethnology Furthermore, we also apply the rationale and methodology of dialectical materialism and historical materialism to consider the studied object with multi-dimensional relationships, diachronic and synchronic, with the continuous movement in modern life in the historical development from the tradition to modernity; surveying the changes of customary law in modern life and in interaction with socio-economic conditions, cultural exchanges with ethnic people

Studying the topic, the author bases from the data resources of the

preceding researchers, represented as the book "Learning about customary

law of ethnic people in Vietnam" written by Prof., Ph.D Ngo Duc Thinh [39],

followed by the book "Learning about customary law of ethnic people in

Central Highlands " under the general edition by authors Ngo Duc Thinh -

Ngo Van Ly [40], particularly as the book “K’ho Lach customary law"

written by Krajan Plin [33] However, other than referring to the foresaid data resources, the author has taken some field trips in localities to contact, interview, survey and collect some traditional customary law During the field trips, we found that "customary courts" of the Lach ethnic group in Lac Duong district still exist and demonstrate its role in society Particularly, "the