Located in the center of the Central Highlands and home to a large number of ethnic minorities, there is a strong cultural interference in Dak Lak, producing unique material and spiritual values. The most valuable is the traditional culture, typically the Dak Lak festivals, preserved and passed down through the generations.
Discover the uniqueness of the Dak Lak festivals below!
1. Gong Festival – the biggest Dak Lak festival of the year
Cultural space of Central Highlands Gongs is one of the most valuable and unique cultural features of the Central Highlands in general and Dak Lak tourism in particular, recognized by UNESCO as an oral masterpiece and intangible. of mankind in 2005.
With the advantage of being the cultural, political and social center of the Central Highlands, Dak Lak is regularly chosen as the venue for the gong festival, and this is also the biggest Dak Lak festival of the year. During the festival, artisans of the provinces will perform their own cultural space of their own people and provinces. Gongs always walk and are performed collectively, each ethnic group has a different set, when performing, each artist takes on a musical instrument, creating a very special sound choir. sharp.
Dak Lak gong festival
The festival of gongs reflects the culture, life and aspirations of the people in the Central Highlands, at the same time is also a sacred spiritual object preserved, preserved and passed down by people for generations.
2. Elephant racing festival – Dak Lak festival is loved by many tourists
Elephant racing festival is usually held in March of the calendar, every two years, is one of the most loved and anticipated Dak Lak festivals . Buon Don is the chosen place to organize the festival because it is the cradle of hunting and taming wild elephants.
The healthy elephants gathered from many villages flocked to the festival extremely bustling. Elephant racing ground is a very large yard with a length of about 500 meters and a width enough for about 30 funny animals to wait in line. When entering the race, the elephants let their elephants stand neatly in front of the starting line, when they heard the command from the sound of the horn and the elephants ran eagerly forward. The sound of gongs and cheers resounded in the sky.
Elephant racing takes place in many forms such as racing, pulling trees, throwing wood, swimming, kicking … The elephants are controlled by extremely skillful and talented elephants. The winning elephant was rewarded with laurel wreath and many delicious foods.
Unique elephant racing festival in Dak Lak
Besides the elephant racing festival, there are also a number of other elephant-related festivals that the Dak Lak organize, such as elephant wedding, elephant health ceremony, ivory cutting ceremony. Elephants are animals that are highly valued by the Central Highlands people, not only their property, but also a friend, the embodiment of mountains and forests …, they have a profound meaning in daily life and spirituality. That is why activities such as wedding ceremonies and ivory cutting are carefully organized to ask for divine permission. This is a unique feature of the Dak Lak festival .
3. Buffalo stabbing festival
The buffalo stabbing festival (also known as Koh Kpo or Groong Kpo Tonoi) is organized by the Banar people, taking place around December to March of the lunar calendar. This is one of the Dak Lak festivals celebrating the New Year, praying for the health of the people and praying for a year of good and rich crops.
The festival takes place at the communal house, people in the village, dressed beautifully, gather to participate. On the day of the festival, choose an empty land to invite the gods to witness, the most important is the wooden pillars used to tie the buffalo firmly, in addition to being decorated with bamboo, woven fabric, beams wind fryer …
Buffalo kill Festival
After the village patriarch completes the sacrifice, the healthy man with his head is covered with red scarf, the villagers and the women go in circle to stab them, and the villagers and women stand outside in circle to play the gongs and cheer around. When buffalo die, they can share their meat to the village, a part to drink wine together at the communal house, and also dance around the fire at night …
4. The rice-flowering ceremony
The rice-flowering ceremony takes place around September to November, when the rice plant is fully absorbed and ready to flower, wishing to pray to the god to bless the rice plant to be evenly blossoming, with many seeds and fertility.
People do the rice-flowering ceremony
The offering ceremony is quite simple, without too much preparation, including a pot of wine, a chicken, a pig, and a bamboo tree made from an umbrella. After presenting the offerings, the priest will read the offering, the villagers sit behind to pray. The tree planted on the field implies that the spirit dwells on the tree and keeps the rice spirit in peace and peace of mind.
5. New rice ceremony (new rice ceremony)
When the crop has been harvested completely, the paddy is dried around the yard. It is also the time when the Central Highlands people eagerly prepare a new rice celebration (also known as the New Rice celebration). This is one of the most meaningful and anticipated Dak Lak festivals of the year
The Central Highlands people think that after the rice is brought home, the first meal cooked from new rice will be offered to the gods to report the results of labor for a year, thank God, heaven and ancestors. Fairy has blessed a good crop and green mussels.
The new rice festival in Dak Lak takes place in a joyful atmosphere
The new rice festival takes place in a joyful atmosphere, after the ritual, the festival is celebrated in the communal house, gathered together to enjoy dishes in Dak Lak cuisine , drink can wine, play gongs …
6. Grave removal ceremony
The people of the Central Highlands believe that after death, the soul has to undergo 7 more deaths to turn into dewdrops and be reincarnated as a human. The dead are carefully built with wooden statues surrounding the tomb.
Grave removal ceremony is actually to pray for the early reincarnation of the deceased’s soul, the death ceremony is usually done when the person dies from one to three years, depending on the conditions of the owner, when enough buffaloes and cows, do alcohol.
The tomb of the Central Highlands people with wooden statues is placed outside
This is one of the Dak Lak festivals that is extremely important because it is related to the spirituality and the next life reincarnation of the person should be conducted carefully. The main ceremony of the ceremony to remove the graves is held in a large area of the graveyard, with a table to worship the dead, with wine and buffaloes to cut meat to share with the attendees.
7. Water wharf worshiping ceremony
The water wharf worshiping ceremony is usually held after the annual harvest season with the aim of giving thanks to the gods for good rain, good crops and for a new year with more luck and better.
The waterfront worshiping ceremony took place in a joyful and bustling atmosphere
The ceremony of worshiping the waterfront starts with a long gong, people burn incense to worship their ancestors, the second is to worship God to pray for rain. People in the table arrived at the first wharf to return the country. At the end of the ceremony, everyone gathered together to eat traditional dishes, drink wine and have a good conversation.
The waterfront worshiping ceremony is one of the happiest and happiest Dak Lak festivals !
Conclusion
Dak Lak festival reflects the unique cultural and spiritual life of the Central Highlands people, expressed through the rituals of worship and the meaning that the festival convey to the attendees.
If you have a chance to travel to Dak Lak, do not forget to join these unique and unique festivals!