Who Are the Sedang?
The Sedang (Xơ Đăng) are an Austro-Asiatic ethnic group of Vietnam's Central Highlands, numbering approximately 170,000-200,000. They speak Sedang, a Mon-Khmer language of the Bahnaric branch. The Sedang inhabit primarily Kon Tum Province, along with parts of Quang Nam and Quang Ngai. They are closely related to the Bahnar and other Mon-Khmer highland groups, sharing many cultural features including communal house traditions and animist religion. The Sedang were among the groups contacted by French missionaries in the 19th century. Their mountainous homeland, near the Laos and Cambodia borders, placed them in strategic territory during various conflicts.
Village Society
Traditional Sedang society centered on the village (plei), which functioned as an autonomous political unit. Villages were led by councils of elders and headmen who managed community affairs. The communal house (gưl or rông) served as the village's social and ceremonial center, similar to the Bahnar. Young men lived in the communal house, learning traditions and preparing for adult responsibilities. Animist beliefs organized around spirits of nature, ancestors, and agricultural cycles. Buffalo sacrifice marked major occasions. Villages maintained their own territories for swidden cultivation. This village-based organization persists in modified form, though national integration has reduced village autonomy.
The Marie I Affair
A curious episode in Sedang history involves the "Marie I" affair of 1888. A French adventurer named Marie-Charles David de Mayréna proclaimed himself "Marie I, King of the Sedang," attempting to establish a personal kingdom in the Central Highlands. While de Mayréna did gain some local support and international recognition attempts, the "kingdom" was largely fraudulent. French colonial authorities eventually repudiated him, and he died in obscurity. This bizarre historical footnote illustrates both the relative isolation of Sedang territory in the late 19th century and the chaotic scramble for colonial influence in mainland Southeast Asia. The Sedang themselves played minor roles in this external drama.
Contemporary Sedang
Modern Sedang face the familiar challenges of Vietnam's highland minorities: development pressures, demographic change, and cultural erosion. Kon Tum Province has seen Vietnamese migration and commercial agriculture expansion. Roads and infrastructure have reduced isolation, bringing both opportunities and disruption. Many Sedang have adopted Christianity (both Catholic and Protestant). Traditional ceremonies persist but in modified form. Education in Vietnamese has expanded, while Sedang language instruction remains limited. Young Sedang increasingly navigate between highland heritage and Vietnamese national identity. How the Sedang preserve cultural distinctiveness while engaging with modernization shapes their trajectory as one of many Central Highland peoples undergoing rapid change.
References
- Hickey, G. C. (1982). Sons of the Mountains
- Salemink, O. (2003). The Ethnography of Vietnam's Central Highlanders
- Dournes, J. (1972). Coordonnées: Structures Jörai Familiales et Sociales