Since ancient times, Buon Don Elephant Festival has been one of the unique festivals, imbued with the long-standing cultural traditions of the M'nong ethnic group living in Buon Don district, Dak Lak province. This year's Buon Don Elephant Festival will take place on March 11 and 12, as part of the tourism itinerary of the 9th Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival in 2025, with many attractive and unique activities, promising to attract a large number of people and tourists.
Elephants participating in Buon Don Elephant Festival.According to historical documents at Dak Lak Museum, Mr. Y Thu K'Nul (also known as Khu Sa Nup, born in 1827, died in 1938) was one of the first M'nong people to establish the profession of hunting and taming wild elephants into domestic elephants. Throughout his life, he captured nearly 500 wild elephants and tamed them, so people honored him as the "King of Elephant Hunting". Originating from Y Thu K'Nul, hunting and taming elephants gradually became a tradition in Buon Don. This place gradually became considered the capital of elephants. Buon Don Elephant Racing Festival was born from that time and became a famous festival in the Central Highlands. Elephant racing not only demonstrates the spirit of martial arts but also conveys the message of the strong lifestyle and long-standing traditions of the Central Highlands villages. However, due to activities affecting the health of domestic elephants, in recent years, elephant racing has no longer taken place in the Buon Don Elephant Festival. Buon Don Elephant Festival takes place every two years in early March along with many other unique festivals of ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands.
This year's Buon Don Elephant Festival took place at the Festival Center of Krong Na Commune, Buon Don District, Dak Lak Province, consisting of two parts: the ceremony and the festival. The ceremony includes the water wharf worshiping ceremony at Ben Bay Rong, Buon Don, Krong Na Commune, Buon Don District; the health worshiping ceremony for elephants before the festival at Ben Bay Rong, Buon Don, Krong Na Commune, Buon Don District; the opening and closing ceremonies of the Elephant Festival; the worshiping and bathing ceremony for elephants after the elephant activities are finished. The festival includes an elephant makeup contest; a beautiful image contest of elephants and elephants greeting and interacting with tourists; an elephant soccer competition; Buffet party for elephants combined with interactive program between guests, audience, tourists buying food and feeding elephants... During this time, the Traditional Cultural Festival of Ethnic Groups of Buon Don district also took place with many exciting cultural and artistic activities such as: Gong performance, brocade weaving, knitting, new rice celebration, throwing ball competition, archery... creating a more joyful, exciting and enthusiastic festival atmosphere.
Chairman of Buon Don District People's Committee Pham Trung Nghia said: Elephants are rare animals of the ethnic groups in Buon Don District, becoming a cultural symbol here. Elephants are associated with the development of the nation, deeply penetrating social relationships, affecting culture, art, beliefs, customs, festivals and many other forms of community activities of the ethnic groups in the Central Highlands. Talking about Buon Don, it is impossible not to mention the Elephant Festival, a unique festival that only occurs in Dak Lak. Since ancient times, elephants have always been friends, a means of transporting ammunition, transporting food, pulling forest trees to help the army and the people of the Central Highlands defeat the invading imperialists, and build villages. Today, elephants have become a form of tourism that attracts tourists in Buon Don. The Elephant Festival and the Traditional Cultural Festival of Ethnic Groups in Buon Don District aim to introduce and promote the potential for cultural development and eco-tourism of the district; honoring the cultural values of the ethnic groups in the Central Highlands, especially the tradition of hunting and taming wild elephants, the space of gong culture, creating an attractive investment environment for socio -economic development in general and tourism in particular, gradually turning tourism into an economic sector with high and sustainable growth rate ■
Source: https://baodaknong.vn/dac-sac-hoi-voi-buon-don-243294.html
Comment (0)