Attractive tourist destination associated with the unique culture of the Ede people

The Ede people living in Song Hinh district (formerly Phu Yen province), now in the communes of Song Hinh, Duc Binh, Ea Ly, Ea Ba (Dak Lak province), still preserve many unique and distinctive traditional indigenous cultural values.

After merging administrative boundaries, the local government has made efforts to promote those values to become highlights in the local cultural flow, creating more new jobs and increasing income for the Ede people through community tourism development projects.

Promoting indigenous cultural values

Currently, in the communes of Song Hinh, Duc Binh, Ea Ly, Ea Ba ( Dak Lak province), there are about 10,000 Ede people living and working; united and harmoniously in the community of other ethnic minorities such as: Ba Na, Tay, Nung, Thai, Dao, Cham, Muong...

Even though the commune-level administrative boundaries change or the local names change, the Ede people here always strive to preserve and promote the unique traditional cultural values of their people.

In 2018, the coming-of-age ceremony of the Ede people (Song Hinh district, former Phu Yen province) was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Over the years, this cultural heritage has been preserved and promoted by the local government, relevant agencies and the Ede community. The time for performing the worship ceremony has also been shortened to avoid waste and affecting the work of relatives and family members.

Ede people in Song Hinh commune (Dak Lak province) perform their traditional musical instruments. (Photo: Tuong Quan/VNA)

Elder Ma Trut (Song Hinh commune) shared that according to the traditional culture of the Ede community, every person from birth is worshiped and given a ring 7 times from low to high, equivalent to each jar of wine. The 7th jar worshiping ceremony is the biggest and that person is considered an adult. In addition, many unique cultural features of the Ede people are also being preserved such as: Worshiping the water wharf, worshiping the village head, worshiping the ring; gong performances, cuisine, costumes...

Through the coming-of-age ceremony and other ceremonies, the Ede people pray to receive the transmission of the traditional strength of the tribe, and at the same time send their faith and hope for the strength to help protect and build the developing village.

These spiritual rituals have existed since ancient times, passed down from generation to generation and have become deeply ingrained in the minds and daily lives of the people. The ceremony brings joy and pride to the Ede community here.

According to Chairman of the People's Committee of Song Hinh Commune Nguyen Chi Hien, the coming-of-age ceremony of the Ede people not only represents the typical cultural identity of the local ethnic minorities but also has value for the culture of the community and the entire Vietnamese nation.

During their long-term residence in the old Phu Yen province, with their unceasing cultural creativity, the Ede people have had their own cultural characteristics, expressed in customs, practices, beliefs, and festivals.

Nowadays, under the influence of many factors such as economy, culture, society, the life of the Ede people has changed a lot. Therefore, the rituals also have appropriate changes on new cultural values suitable for the general development, promoting positive factors, creating internal strength and motivation to maintain the ethnic cultural identity.

In the coming time, the People's Committee of Song Hinh commune will strengthen the direction of villages, hamlets, families and individuals of the Ede people to continue to preserve and promote the cultural identity of the coming-of-age ceremony to become a unique cultural feature in the locality.

Community tourism and cultural value preservation

The Ede people in Dak Lak create traditional products of their ethnic group to promote their brand widely in the market. (Photo: Tuong Quan/VNA)

In April 2025, the People's Committee of Song Hinh district (formerly Phu Yen province) officially approved the Project "Developing community cultural tourism in Le Diem village." The project aims to gradually build Le Diem village (now in Song Hinh commune, Dak Lak province) into an attractive tourist destination associated with preserving and promoting the unique cultural identity of the Ede people.

Buon Le Diem currently has about 160 households, mainly Ede people living here. This place has many unique traditional cultural values such as: Long houses, folk dances, gongs, indigenous cuisine (stream fish, upland rice, wild vegetables...), brocade weaving, basketry, traditional wine brewing...

These cultural values are considered to have great potential in developing community cultural tourism. However, up to now, tourism activities in the village are still small, spontaneous, lacking planning and lack of proper investment.

The project “Developing community cultural tourism in Le Diem village” proposes many practical solutions such as: Building a community tourism management model, investing in infrastructure and landscape for tourism, incorporating Ede culture and traditional occupations into tourism products, training local human resources, promoting the image and enhancing the brand of Le Diem village. The total investment capital is expected to be about 30 billion VND, mobilized from calling for investment and other legal capital sources.

Ede people in communes of Song Hinh district (formerly Phu Yen province), now Dak Lak province, perform gongs. (Photo: Tuong Quan/VNA)

Currently, the People's Committee of Song Hinh commune prioritizes the implementation of some immediate contents such as: Building a set of explanations and destination stories; developing OCOP products; organizing training to improve skills and community awareness in tourism activities.

The effective implementation of the Project is expected not only to promote local socio-economic development but also to contribute to preserving and promoting the traditional cultural values of the Ede people in a sustainable manner.

Ms. K'Sor Ho Yen (Le Diem hamlet, Song Hinh commune) said that with the encouragement of the local government, she built a new house in the traditional architecture of the Ede people. Her house both ensures family life and serves as accommodation for tourists. She also participates in training courses to improve her skills in community tourism, contributing to the socio-economic development of the locality. She and many households in the hamlet also strive to preserve the traditional lifestyle and culture to spread to tourists in and outside the province.

According to Chairman of the People's Committee of Song Hinh Commune Nguyen Chi Hien, there are currently 20 ethnic groups living together in the area, so there are many unique and distinctive cultural features.

In the coming time, the commune will focus on promoting propaganda and education activities, contributing to raising awareness of the position, role, and significance of preserving and promoting cultural identity and the responsibility of the entire political system for preserving and promoting the cultural values of ethnic minorities.

The locality mobilizes resources to invest in facilities, equipment and build programs and activities according to the Le Diem cultural and tourism project, in conjunction with prioritizing the restoration of traditional village spaces, forest spaces, and wharf spaces, creating a healthy and developing cultural space, especially the heritage of "gong cultural space"./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/diem-den-du-lich-hap-dan-gan-voi-van-hoa-dac-trung-cua-dong-bao-e-de-post1081227.vnp