In June 1937, Montagnard villages from many different tribes led by Sam Bram, a prominent Jarai chief in the vicinity of Cheo Reo, began to form an esoteric Christian religious movement. The chief announced that his daughter had given birth to a python who was believed to be an incarnation of the Python God called Dam Klan. Sam Bram distributed magic water (Jarai: la Iun) to his followers, and preached about how the expulsion of white people and Vietnamese from the highlands would fulfill a Biblical prophecy. The new faith spread quickly to Kontum, Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi, and to Rhade recruits of the French garrison of Buôn Ma Thuột. Followers of Sam Bram then attacked French patrols in the highlands. The movement was quickly suppressed by the French military, although Dieu Python groups in the north of the highlands continued to resist French pacification until 1940 when tribal resistance eventually linked up with Vietnamese communists active in the region.
In June 1937 Montagnard villages from many different tribes led by Sam Bram, a prominent Jarai chief in the vicinity of Cheo Reo, began to form an esoteric Christian religious movement. The chi,ef announced that his daughter had given birth to a python who was believed to be an incarnation of the Python God called Dam Klan. Sam Bram distributed magic water (Jarai: la Iun) to his followers, and preached about how the expulsion of white people and Vietnamese from the highlands would fulfill a Biblical prophecy. The new faith spread quickly to Kontum, Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi, and to Rhade recruits of the French garrison of Buôn Ma Thuột. Followers of Sam Bram then attacked French patrols in the highlands. The movement was quickly suppressed by the French military, although Dieu Python groups in the north of the highlands continued to resist French pacification until 1940 when tribal resistance eventually linked up with Vietnamese communists active in the region.