De Kjeng villagers join hands to "preserve the soul" of traditional communal house

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Traditional communal house of De Kjeng village. Photo: RH

We arrived at De Kjeng village at the end of the year. Pointing to the communal house, it stands tall and majestic on a relatively flat hillside, surrounded by cool green trees. Village elder Hyêk said: Previously, this communal house was built with a corrugated iron roof and concrete pillars, so it gradually lost its traditional identity.

In 2018, based on the wishes of the people who wanted to restore the original traditional communal house with a structure made of natural materials. Therefore, the village held a meeting and agreed to establish 7 construction teams (25-40 households/team) to take turns going into the forest to search for wood, cogon grass, bamboo, rattan... After fully preparing the materials, the village elders directly urged and guided the villagers to build to ensure the aesthetics according to traditional architecture. With the determination and solidarity of the people and the support of the local government, by early 2019, the communal house of De Kjeng village was completed with a total cost of more than 400 million VND.

The communal house of De Kjeng village is 4 m wide, 8 m long and about 12 m high. The walls and floor are covered with old bamboo; the roof is thatched, wooden pillars... ensuring the cultural identity of the Bahnar people. Inside the communal house, the achievements of the village are displayed and traditional objects are stored, such as: baskets, to rung zither, crossbows... In front of the communal house, there are very unique statues of people and animals carved by the artisans in the village.

In front of the communal house are wooden statues of people. Photo: RH

“The communal house is not only a place for the villagers to hold traditional festivals, but also for carrying out propaganda activities, encouraging people to comply with the Party's policies and the State's laws. Therefore, on the inauguration day of the communal house, the village held a celebration and invited local officials and neighboring villages to join in the fun, play gongs, dance xoang, and eat and drink heartily," village elder Hyêk recalled.

Village elder Hyêk plays the to rung zither in the village's communal house. Photo: RH

Talking to us, Mr. Khih - Head of De Kjeng village said: De Kjeng village has 230 households with 1,010 people, 100% of whom are Bahnar people, living on agricultural production. Currently, the village has 2 communal houses, including: a communal house built with a corrugated iron roof and a traditional original communal house. The communal house is the face of the village, so everyone often advises and reminds each other to take care of and manage it carefully.

“Every day, we assign people to protect and prevent fires at the communal house. Not only do we restore the traditional communal house, the villagers also maintain the craft of weaving, carving statues and preserving gongs,” said Mr. Khih.

Inside the communal house of De Kjeng village. Photo: RH

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Hyu - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ayun Commune - informed: Currently, Ayun Commune has 9 hamlets and villages with 5 communal houses. Over time, the communal house of De Kjeng village has been degraded by rain and wind. Therefore, the people hope that the authorities and sectors will support the maintenance and repair costs.

“In addition to managing communal houses, the commune also manages cultural houses in villages and hamlets to ensure that people can organize activities and meetings. The commune wishes that the superiors create funds to repair the De Kjeng communal house to ensure safety, contributing to preserving and promoting the cultural identity of the local ethnic group,” said Mr. Hyu.

Source: https://gialai.gov.vn/tin-tuc/dan-lang-de-kjeng-chung-tay-giu-hon-nha-rong-truyen-thong.78839.aspx