In addition to attractive tourist attractions or unique dishes, Dak Lak culture is also an important factor holding visitors when visiting this great land.
With immense primeval forests, long stretching coffee hills, solid wooden houses or the pungent flavor of the cups of wine needed in gong dances … have made culture and people. in Dak Lak became fascinated footsteps of tourists travel more.
The interesting cultural features of Dak Lak make visitors fascinated
1. Community culture
In the Central Highlands in general and Dak Lak in particular, the essential social relations of ethnic groups are not only bold by blood but also have strong collectivism. They always uphold the spirit of solidarity. Any job, from small to great, must have a collective decision and done by a team. It is a valuable culture of Dak Lak that many people or places need to study.
2. Long house culture
The communal house or the stilt house is probably no stranger to us, but when it comes to the long house, many people will feel quite surprised to see. While today, most families are separated, families with 3 generations living together can be counted on the fingers, in Dak Lak, people can live from 5 to 10 households together in a long house, even when they don’t have the same bloodline.
Usually enough for 5 to 10 households (Photo @baileynguyensg)
Because according to their conception, making such a long house will reduce the cost of covering the side wall, if families want to meet each other in the rain, they will not be afraid of getting wet, when someone dies, they will not fear ghosts, especially. When living like that, they can help each other to overcome the tribulation – a cultural feature of Dak Lak that is worthy to be appreciated.
The long house of ethnic people is designed in a clear order: upstairs rice warehouse, in the middle is the cooking stove, the two sides are the sleeping places of the households. The column of the house is built of good wood so as not to be eaten by termites, the roof is covered with rattan or beaten into panels, simple but very solid, very difficult to turn over.
The long house is designed very firmly (Photo @ p.chaniee)
If you come to Dak Lak , do not forget to explore the culture of the long house to feel the love and solidarity of the peoples in the Central Highlands.
3. Gong culture
It will be a huge omission when referring to Dak Lak culture , ignoring the gong culture honored by UNESCO as the Oral Masterpiece and the human intangible masterpiece in 2005, after the Hue Royal Court Music.
A unique festival of the Central Highlands (Photo @sonmo___)
You know, many countries in Southeast Asia have gongs, but only the Central Highlands gongs in Vietnam are recognized by UNESCO, from which we can see the great cultural value of this musical instrument. this.
Moreover, instead of making it professional and bringing the royal and royal elements such as Thailand, Laos, Indonesia …, in Dak Lak in particular and the Central Highlands in general, gongs are still part of the community. It is a precious and sacred asset of the ethnic minorities, thereby showing respect for those who gave birth to it.
The people here worship gongs to the point of even organizing the gong festival – the biggest festival in Dak Lak of the year both to preserve cultural identity and to develop tourism. Come here, listening to the vivid sound of gongs resounding throughout the mountains and forests, being immersed in the cheerful, bustling atmosphere, full of laughter, you will surely find more love and appreciation of life. aquí.
The gong dance by the fire is very interesting (Photo @ iim.quinn_
4. Epic culture
Surely those who have gone through the “struggling” high school period cannot forget the impressive Epic of Hunting praising the hero for defending the village, against the dark forces. Yes, it is just one of the countless epic works of the Central Highlands bringing with it the great humanistic ideal of the whole community, and also a unique cultural feature of Dak Lak .
Epics often praise national heroes
The epic is an encyclopedia that contains a rich cultural depth and thickens with the length of history, it can even compare with the world famous Greek mythology.
The special thing about epic culture is that it is passed from generation to generation by word of mouth and saved in people’s memory. Whenever there are holidays such as: weddings, new homes or full month children … the epic is played in the form of singing, telling or performing. Thereby, it can be seen that, instead of just existing in books, on letters, the epic in Dak Lak as well as the Central Highlands “live” with the community in daily life, deeply connected. .
Currently, Dak Lak is a rare place that still exists artists who sing and tell epic. Therefore, if you listen to the epic in the middle of a vast and mysterious forest, the fire flickers and enjoy a cup of wine that needs to be spicy, surely that feeling of half-lost charm will make You never forget to show it.
5. Matriarchal culture
After experiencing a feudal society, patriarchal, even feminist ideology was formed. Although equality has been respected today, but the culture of boys marrying and living in their husband’s family is still practiced by Vietnamese families, and in Dak Lak there is still a matriarchy. Expression in customs: marrying a husband, picking up a husband, staying in-law and a child following the mother’s family name – an extremely impressive cultural identity in Dak Lak .
Matriarchal culture is also expressed even on architecture, sculpture, decorative patterns and embroidery on brocade. Accordingly, the moon is the symbol of the woman, when placed on the tree will symbolize the mystery, and when placed on the stairs, it shows the matriarchal power in the family.
Maintaining the matriarchy not only creates a unique culture for Dak Lak but also enriches the customs, rituals and festivals of the majestic land, making visitors more and more attractive.
6. Culinary culture
Culinary culture in Dak Lak is also rich in regional features with the maximum use of available ingredients in the mountains and in daily life. They are still familiar animals such as chickens, pigs, fish, buffaloes, cows, birds, animals … but because there is no storage refrigerator, they will often dry in the sun or watch the kitchen for longer, later that is then processed into favorites.
The vegetables in daily meals are usually picked in the forest such as lentil leaves, ktuồng, ktuônh, ayôk … with their very special flavor. And also that makes the culture of Dak Lak become richer and more attractive.
Unique dishes (Photo @ trohbu.homestay)
If you have the opportunity to visit the Central Highlands, do not forget to explore the cultural identities of Dak Lak which are extremely interesting.