travel-customs and culture of the Central Highlanders

Those who take time to not only fleetingly glance over the landscapes and lives in the Central Highlands will discover that local people have many interesting and special customs.

For one, the region, which consists of Lam Dong, Dak Lak, Kon Tum, Gia Lai and Dak Nong provinces, is home to many ethnic minorities, including the M’Nong, E De, Gie Trieng, J’rai and K’ho.

When thinking of ethnic minorities in the region, one might evoke images of their more famous customs and traditions - their dresses, dances, epics, gong beating performances and festivals.

Another typical feature of ethnic minority culture is the nha mo (grave houses), where the souls of the deceased rest according to the group’s ancient customs. After the burial, family members erect a hut on the new grave to provide shelter for the dead person under ground.

The hut, covered with iron sheets, leaves or tiles, is usually stocked with the deceased person’s belongings, such as water bottles, hammocks, pots, gui (bamboo baskets) and even statues.

Two or three years later, family members remove the maker-shift hut and build a new larger wooden house in a ritual called le bo ma (grave-leaving ceremony). The ceremony is usually organised in the spring and is considered a festive day. Villagers gather at the cemetery grounds, and the family members bring offerings of food.

After the offerings are presented to the deceased, villagers sing songs, dance and enjoy the food and drinks taken from the altar, in the belief that the deceased returns to join the feast with them.

One of the main rituals in le bo ma is carving wooden statues, which are than placed in front of the grave house, surrounded by a fence.

The various statues, often resembling humans or animals, especially birds, are seen as original sculptural work of Central Highlanders.

After the le bo ma, relatives of the deceased no longer care for the grave, so many statues and graves decay.

In addition, many locals have started to build brick grave houses and have paid little attention to preserving the custom of carving wooden statues.

Although visitors to Dak Lak can still find many wooden grave houses and statues, the Dak Lak Museum, fearing the tradition may die out, began to collect grave house statues for preservation three years ago.

Because the statues are holy to the ethnic minorities, and nobody is allowed to carry them away from the graves, the museum pays artisans to make replicas of the ones they create at the le bo ma. Now the museum has a large collection of statues to display to the public, but many tourists still prefer to make excursions to grave houses to learn about the local culture and sightsee the original statues. Some even get a chance to attend a Le bo ma.