The Raglai (Vietnamese pronunciation: [rā ɣlāːj]) people are a Chamic ethnic group mainly living in Khánh Hòa and Ninh Thuận provinces of Central Vietnam. They speak Roglai - a Malayo-Polynesian language. The word Raglai means Forest in their language. The Raglai's population was 146,613 in 2019.[2]
 Chapi - one-string zither of Raglai - Vietnam Museum of Ethnology - Hanoi | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
 Vietnam 146,613[1] (2019) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Khánh Hòa, Bình Thuận, Ninh Thuận | |
| Languages | |
| Raglai • Vietnamese | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Cham people • Jarai people |
History
The Raglai people have lived in the high and rugged mountains in the west of Khánh Hòa, Ninh Thuận and Bình Thuận provinces, next to the Cham people in the South Central Coast plains for a very long time. The two groups of Cham and Raglai have had a deep relationship during their history. The thousand-year-old remaining proverb "Cam sa-ai Raglai adei" (Cham oldest sister, Raglai youngest sister) proved their blood relations.[3]
Culture
The Raglai people use their own specific variants of Đàn đá, Gong, Đàn nhị, Kèn bầu, Đàn bầu instruments those named as PATƠU TILẼNG, CHHAR / CHĨNG, CANHĨ, CHAPI VILUAI respectively.[4]
Notable people
- Pinăng Tắc - Ama Tắc (1910 - 1987), a Việt Cộng guerrilla of Ninh Thuận Province Command, who led the Raglai people during First Indochina War and Second Indochina War, was awarded the Hero of the People's Armed Forces on May 5, 1965.[5]
See also
References
- Hải Liên. 2002. Trang phục cố truyền Raglai. Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Đại Học Quốc Gia Hà nội.
- Nguyễn Hữu Bài, et al. 2014. Văn hóa dân gian Raglai ở Khanh Hòa. Hồ Chí Minh City: Nhà xuất bản văn hóa - văn nghệ. ISBN 978-604-68-1078-0