The EDE

The Ede have nearly 195,000 inhabitants concentrated in Darlac, south Gia Lai and the western parts of Khanh Hoa and Phu Yen provinces. The Ede are also called Rade, De, Kpan Adham, Krung, Klul, Dlierue, Blo, Epan, Mdhun and Bich. The Ede language belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian Group.

The Ede mainly practise cultivation on burnt-over land. The Bich cultivate rice in submerged fields with primitive farming methods such as using buffaloes to trample the fields instead of a plough and using hoes to work the fields. Besides cultivation, the Ede also practise animal husbandry, hunting, gathering, fishing, basketry and weaving.

Dark indigo is the traditional colour of Ede clothing. Their attire is often trimmed with colourful motifs. Ede women wear a skirt and vest and men wear loincloths. They like to wear copper, silver or bead ornaments. According to ancient principles, the Ede have to file six front teeth of their upper jaw. Now, the young Ede people do not follow this practice.

In Ede society, matriarchy prevails. Women are the masters of their families. The children take the family name of the mother. The right of inheritance is reserved for daughters only. After marriage, the man comes to live at his wife's house. If the wife dies and nobody among the wife's relatives replaces her position, the man will return to his home and live with his sisters. He is buried among his maternal relatives' graves.

The Ede practise polytheism, so they retain many taboos and patterns of worship to pray for bumper harvests, health and avoid misfortunes and losses.

The Ede possess a rich and unique treasury of oral literature including myths, legends, lyrical songs, proverbs. In particular, they are known for khan (epics) with khan Dam San and khan Dam Kteh Mlan. The Ede like to sing, dance and play musical instruments. Their musical instruments comprise gongs, drums, flutes, pan-pipes and string instruments. Among them, Ding nam is very popular musical instrument of the Ede which is much liked by many people.

The Ede live in houses on stills. The houses are generally elongated. The length depends on the number of inhabitants. Some houses measure hundreds of metres. Structural frameworks have begun to appear, as well as houses built of wood or bamboo with a thatched roof. Recently, some houses have been divided into smaller sections with sheet iron covered roofs. Each side of the house has a door. The entrance door faces the north or the road. The interior is divided into two parts. The main part or Gah containing the entrance door, is reserved for receiving guests. The rest or Ok is divided into compartments, one for a kitchen and one each for couples. Each side also has a yard. The yard lying in front of the entrance door is called the guest yard. Anyone who wants to get in the house must pass this yard. The more prosperous the owner is, the more spacious and wider the yard will be.