 Pediment with ascetic figure, Po Rome, Ninh Thuan, 14th-16th century AD, sandstone - Museum of Vietnamese History - HCMC | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
 Vietnam 23,242 (2019)[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Lâm Đồng -Bình Thuận | |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Ethnic religion (majority),Christianity,Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Chams and otherAustronesian peoples |
TheChuru (orChru) people are aChams related ethnic group living mainly inLâm Đồng, andBình Thuận provinces ofCentral Vietnam. They speakChru, aMalayo-Polynesian language. The wordChuru meansLand Expander in their language.[2]: 12–15 The Churu's population was 23,242 in 2019.[1]
Some Churu villages have close ties with the Kaho people, so they speakKoho fluently, and even prefer Koho to Chru.[2]: 13 [3]: 140
During the French colonial period, the most influential highland leaders inĐà Lạt area were Churu. They were said to be the most advanced among the highlanders because of their historical links to theChams.[4]
According to most of village elders of the Churu people in Lâm Đồng, their people were originally a group of close descendants of the Chams who lived in theSouth Central Coast of Vietnam. Amid constant wars withKhmer Empire andĐại Việt, the Cham aristocracy carried out exploiting their fellow laborers very badly. They forced the laborers to go deep into the forest to findivory,rhino horn or go down to the riverpanning gold to tribute. Forced coolie recruit, soldier recruit constantly made the life of Cham farmers very hard. To avoid that heavy oppression and exploitation, some were forced to leave their homeland to find a new land. And they were the first immigrants who gave themselves the name Churu as it is today. They were the people who brought with themrice farming andpottery making of the Chams.[5][2]: 167
InLes Jungles Moï (The Montagnard Jungles),Henri Maitre commented that the Chams began to penetrate the Central Highlands since 1150 under the reign ofJaya Harivarman I, who defeated theJarai people andRhade people.[3]: 188–190 After the fall ofVijaya at the end ofChampa–Đại Việt War (1471), the rest of Vijaya royal family and clansman fled toPanduranga and started to conquer then govern theRaglai, Churu andKoho people in the nearby highlands.[3]: 193–195
Encouraged byTouneh Hàn Đăng, the Churu adopted some economic innovations from the Chams in the fields of weaving, pottery, and plowing in 1907.[6]
The Churu are mainly residents ofwet rice cultivation, unlike other Lâm Đồng indigenous residents who cultivateslash-and-burn agriculture.[2]: 24
The Churu have long known to turnanimal husbandry into an active support for agricultural farming. Livestock such aswater buffaloes, cattle and horses are used not only for sacrificial rites but also as drafts animal and sources of manure. Metal and woodworking were practiced, allowing for the production of plows (Chru:lơngar), harrows (Chru:sơkăm) and agricultural implements.[2]: 25
The Churu also appreciate the importance ofirrigation. The system of dams, large ditches, auxiliary ditches, leading to the fields of each family, clan, and the whole village is regularly repaired, renovated and upgraded. They often build retention dams by using soil, stones, and wood to block a stream or a tributary to store and regulate water for irrigation.[2]: 26
The Churu people catch fish in several ways, one of which is pounding the roots of trees with poisonous resins and mixing them with spring water.In the idle farming months, Churu men go to the forest to hunt animals. They have a lot of experience in making poison arrows and traps for wild animals. Animals hunted with trap orcrossbow include: pig, deer, monkey, weasel and other small animals. The form of collective hunting is often organized in many villages, but hunting is no longer popular today.[2]: 29
Gathering is the work of women who traditionally go around withAustroasiatic carrying baskets on their back for various types of harvest. Wild vegetables and field vegetables make up the main part of the dishes. Bamboo shoots and some wild fruits are also commonly used foods.Dioscorea hamiltonii (Vietnamese:củ mài) are used as the main source of food in times of failed crop. The Churu also collect other forest products such as:Auricularia auricula-judae, mushrooms, honey, andWurfbainia villosa.[2]: 30
The traditional religion of the Churu isanimism. Deities are divided into two groupings,Yàng (land deities) andPô (sky deities).[2]: 93
Bok Bơmung (festival in temple) is the biggest folk festival of the Churu, held in the second month of thelunar Year, lasting three days.[2]: 94–95 [1]
Islam was first recorded during theKatip Sumat uprising in 1833-4. Sumat (a Muslim Cham leader) had visited Kelantan. Upon his return, Islam was introduced to the Churu andJarai peoples, fueling theJihad movement againstĐại Việt.[7]
A number of Churu villages converted to Christianity in the 1950s with the arrival of missionaries.[8]
| Austroasiatic (Vietic) | |
|---|---|
| Austroasiatic (non-Vietic) | |
| Hmong–Dao | |
| Tai–Kadai | |
| Sino-Tibetan (Chinese) | |
| Sino-Tibetan (Tibeto-Burman) | |
| Malayo-Polynesian | |
| Immigrants and expatriate | |
The 54 officially recognised ethnic groups are ranked by population in their language families according to2019 census
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| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
