Jarai Sculptures

The Jarai (also spelled Jorai, Jrai, or Giarai) people are an ethnic group indigenous to the central highlands of Vietnam. Today, there are fewer than 350,000 Jarai living in their homeland. They were allied with the United States during the Vietnam War, and during the post-war period, many were resettled in the US, particularly here in North Carolina.

This style of Jarai sculpture is traditionally connected to funerary practices. Jarai tombs are small house-like buildings that also contain offerings and the deceased’s belongings. The burial ceremony can be very elaborate and expensive. However, several years after the death and burial, the Jarai hold a final ceremony, known as po thi, adorning and then abandoning the gravesite. This ceremony, often several days long, marks a permanent farewell to the deceased and releases their spirit into the afterlife. This type of sculpture would be part of a group placed around a tomb on wooden pillars at that time as a final gift to the deceased and to serve as guardians. Jarai funerary sculptures can take many forms including human figures mourning, engaging in sexual acts, or performing daily activities, monsters, and animals.

During the post-war period, artists began to create this style of sculpture for more secular decorative purposes removed from their funerary context. These sculptures came to the Lam Museum from the Museum of World Cultures at UNC-Wilmington. Unfortunately, not all of the artifacts in this collection have clear origins, so we cannot say for certain whether these sculptures come from a funerary context or not. These sculptures are on display in Museum of World Cultures: Highlights from the UNC-Wilmington Collection through February 14, 2026.