DAK LAK – The ancient stilt house of the elephant king Y Thu Knul is a unique architecture and associated with the myths of hunting and pureeing elephants in Buon Don.
The old stilt house in Buon Don, also known as Ban Don (in Krong Na commune, Buon Don district, Dak Lak province) is a must-visit for tourists coming here. Buon Don is a famous place throughout Southeast Asia for hunting and taming wild elephants. This house is owned by Y Thu Knul (1828-1938), known as the ancestor of elephant hunting, who openly cleared and opened the land, founded the Buon Don area and was respected by the people as chief.
During his life, he hunted and tamed nearly 500 wild elephants. Y Thu Knul has a Lao father who immigrated to this land, marrying his mother who is M’Nong. His old house in Buon Don was built entirely of wood, following the pagoda architecture of Laos – Thai, with 3 adjacent parallel rooms, commenced from October 1883 and completed in February 1885.
According to the village elders, in 1861, Y Thu Knul can hunt a rare white elephant; with fur, skin white, ivory amber. He brought this precious elephant to the king of Siam (Thailand). In response, the king of Siam gave Y Thu a lot of gold, silver and wealth and conferred the nickname Khun Yu Nop (Khunjunob) – which means “King of the hunt for elephants”.
The house of the elephant king was the most beautiful house in Buon Don at that time. The lower floor is a place for cattle and a barn, and the upper floor is for living. The middle room has a wooden staircase going up. In front of the house is a large porch that spans two rooms. According to the genealogy recorded, to build this house, the owner had to mobilize 18 elephants to pull wood, 14 skilled craftsmen by the master craftsman Tha Vi Vong Kham Sao (a Lao wood sculptor). design. The value of the house at that time had to exchange all 12 elephants over 60 years old with long tusks for workers, designers, trees, scissors … When worshiping according to the “housekeeper” custom, the owner cut 22 children. buffalo.
The most unique feature of the house is that the roof is completely covered with wooden tiles. The tiles are handcrafted very meticulously. To roof enough, the workers had to cut 8,726 wooden slats (2 x 12 x 25 cm on average) to make tiles, costing nearly 10 m3 of steak. In 1954, a tamarind tree collapsed inside space. Although restored, the house no longer has the original wooden tile roof.
The house is made of fine wood of Buon Don forest such as incense wood, car plug, and chit. Through the ups and downs of time and the smoke of war, the house has been somewhat degraded but still retains the structure and identity of the Central Highlands.
It is important that the villagers still keep many mementos of the elephant kings for generations. Currently, the two outer pavilions are used as the altar, where they receive guests and display images and memorabilia of the elephant kings. The inside space is a place for family activities.
The corner displays memorabilia and hunting tools of the elephant king Y Thu Knul and his successors.
Buffalo leather rope (right) is the main tool of an elephant hunter, used as a noose for hunting wild elephants, with a length of 90 – 120m. To make a rope like this one must use the skin of 7 male buffalo. After being braided into a rope, it must be exposed to 90 sunshine, 90 dew (about 3 months), then keep the kitchen up for a season before making offerings and bringing them to use. Wire is very durable and strong, if left outside, it can still last 100 years without rotting.
The bronze tray (left) is a souvenir left by King Y Thu Knul. The tray is used to place offerings to the forest god or river god when going to hunt for wild elephants; and a ritual to import villages for tamed elephants. The tray was brought from Laos to Vietnam in 1859.
The sword of King Bao Dai presented to the elephant king Ama Po Pho Kham Cuc – chief of the plateau, his biological nephew and successor of the elephant king Y Thu Knul’s career. In the years 1942-1943, when hunting in the Mekong forest (now in Cu M’ga district, Dak Lak province), King Bao Dai was attacked by a wild elephant. Ama Po Pho Kham Cuc used the king’s sword to fight the wild elephants. After that, King Bao Dai gave this sword back to him.
This buffalo skin coil is the device that fastens the elephants during an excited period – once a year on average, for 2 to 4 weeks and then goes away on their own. During this time, the sex hormone is stimulated (in heat), the elephant becomes very aggressive, not allowing anyone to come near. When an elephant is found to show such behavior, the owner will use this rope to tie them to the tree trunk.
Y Prung Eban (commonly known as Ama Kong, 1909-2012) is the grandson of the elephant king Y Thu Knul, son-in-law of the elephant king Ama Pu Pho Kham Cuc and also the last heir to the elephant hunting in Buon Don. At the age of 13 he was an assistant working in the elephant hunting crew and 17 years old he was the main hunter. During his life, he hunted 298 wild elephants, including 3 white statues – a rare white elephant. Ama Kong’s last elephant hunt took place in 1996; He caught 7 elephants. He then moved on to elephant training for Yok Don National Forest . Ama Kong died at the age of 103.
Elephant King Ama Kong has 21 children, 118 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He is also known for his glorious heirloom remedies, which are praised by many people. Currently, in the elephant king’s old house, there are many traditional medicines sold, including traditional medicinal alcohol for men’s health.
Ms. H Kua Agun, 33 years old, the great-grandson of the elephant king Ama Kong, said: “Currently there are six people in the family. Because to save the exhibition area and visit, the family has built a new house. after to live and live “. Follow vnexpress