The Custom of Land Division according to the Matriarchal System of the Cham People in the Current Background of Gender Equality

Abstract

The Cham people have been known as a minority ethnicity following the matriarchal system with its own way of social organization. In this matriarchal system, there are the special prior rights to property for women. Through the study of the custom of land division of the Cham community, the author would like to investigate into the operation of this special way of social organization in Vietnam’s the present social background in which the female and male equality has been emphasized in nature. Her finding shows that although there is a huge endeavor of Vietnamese State in the implementation of equal right of males and females in all aspects, especially in the issue of property division including land, in the Cham ethnic community, its customs and habits still has been an important institution governing and tying individuals. Women still continue enjoying the priority of land division. The public opinion is a mechanism to control effectively the actions of individuals in the community.