Alak people
Total population | |
---|---|
25,430 (2015 est.) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Laos | |
Languages | |
Alak | |
Religion | |
Animism |
The Alak or Hrlak are an Austroasiatic ethnic group of southern Laos, living mainly in Salavan Province. They speak the Alak language. a lot is known of their history, though as an Austroasiatic-speaking group, their origin is presumably in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.
Culture
Nowadays, most Alak live in scattered villages of between ten and sixty houses, traditionally built in a circular pattern around a communal house. Houses are normally built on stilts about a metre high. The main diet and trading staple is rice, farmed with the slash-and-burn method, although small game, fish, and various plants and mushrooms provide additional food.
Religious beliefs involve a range of supernatural beings, including spirits of mountains, forests and other natural features. Most villages have a shaman who helps cure the sick and predict the future for the village. The dead are typically buried in graveyards in the forest.
Notable members
- Ong Keo
- Ong Kommandam
See also
References
- Simons, Gary F. and Charles D. Fennig (eds.) 2017, Ethnologue (twentieth edition, online) [1]
- Schliesinger, Joachim, Ethnic Groups of Laos, vol. 2, White Lotus 2003, ISBN 974-480-036-4
External links
- http://projekt.ht.lu.se/rwaai RWAAI (Repository and Workspace for Austroasiatic Intangible Heritage)
- http://hdl.handle.net/10050/00-0000-0000-0003-903B-B@view Alak in RWAAI Digital Archive
- v
- t
- e
- Atel
- Bo
- Chut (May)
- Kinh/Vietnamese
- Krih
- Liha
- Maleng
- Phong
- Phon Sung (Aheu)
- Thavung
- Tum
- Lao Loum (Lowland)
- Lao Theung (Highland)
- Lao Sung (Hill)
![flag](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Flag_of_Laos.svg/16px-Flag_of_Laos.svg.png)