Charai

Charai (Jarai), a hill tribe of Indo-China on the left bank of the Sekong affluent of the Mekhong about the frontiers of Annam and Camboja; remarkable for their extremely fair complexion and Caucasic type in the midst of a Mongolic population. The language, which shows much analogy with Malay, possesses a peculiar character in which have been composed historical and other works. The Charais appear to be a fragment of the Cham nation, who have lapsed into barbarism since the overthrow of the Cham power by the Annamese in the fifteenth century.