Dak Lak is known by many people for its elephants and the profession of hunting and taming wild elephants. However, few people know that, to conquer wild elephants, the workers need many tools, including an elephant harness.
One early winter day, we had the opportunity to return to the legendary Buon Don land, and were led by the locals to visit the house of Mr. Y Thu Knul (1828-1938), who is known as the founder of the profession of hunting and taming wild elephants; he was also the one who had the merit of clearing, opening up land, and establishing the present-day Buon Don area. In the ancient stilt house, we turned each page of documents about the tools used in hunting and taming wild elephants.
According to documents, in the past, in the vast forests of the Dak Lak plateau, there were many herds of wild elephants living. To capture and tame wild elephants, in the villages there were often strong, agile people who knew the forest paths and understood the characteristics of elephants, so they chose the job of hunting and taming elephants as a joy, a pride, showing intelligence and bravery, especially young men often competed to challenge each other. Therefore, family members, even women, actively participated in their husbands' work to best prepare for trips to the forest.
Mr. Y Thot Knul, an elephant owner in Ban Don, said that when capturing an elephant, the M'Nong people take the elephant to a taming ground next to the village, where there is a grassy area, along the stream with trees that provide shade and allow the elephant to practice. At first, the tamer tries to get close to the elephant, letting the elephant get used to people. The first exercises must follow simple commands, then gradually increase the difficulty, the elephant is trained to walk under human control, knows how to carry people, carry goods and pull wood. At the end of the taming process, the elephant knows how to obey, remembers the exercises and can participate in some activities.
From then on, people held a ceremony to bring elephants into the village, at this time they considered elephants as members of the village, cared for and treated kindly. In daily life, elephants help people pull wood, transport goods, and are an effective means of crossing streams and wading through forests. Not only are they closely associated with the production and development of households, elephants also help protect the peace of the village, being loyal and affectionate friends.
Seeing many tourists interested in learning about the elephant saddle on display at the ancient stilt house of Mr. Y Thu Knul, Mr. Y Hoi Byăh, owner of the elephant Kham Sinh, introduced that the saddle is placed on the elephant's back. Before each long trip, hunters must prepare food, provisions, and elephant-catching tools, all of which are placed in the elephant saddle. At the same time, the elephant saddle is also the hunter's resting place. If a household has an elephant but does not have a saddle, they must ask someone to weave one and exchange it for two or three buffaloes. Before the elephant saddle is put into use, the homeowner must hold a ceremony. The offerings include a jar of wine and a pig.
“In the past, people used elephants with saddles to transport weapons, ammunition, food, etc. to serve soldiers in battle. In today’s life, people use elephant saddles to transport tools to the fields and bring agricultural products home,” Mr. Y Hoi Byăh shared.
Nowadays, the profession of taming wild elephants, the journey of conquering and mastering elephants of Dak Lak people on the great plateau is only a beautiful story and memory. However, when coming to Buon Don, visitors can immerse themselves in the cultural space of the ethnic groups, learn about interesting stories and artifacts about the profession of hunting and taming wild elephants, and discover many new things.
Source: https://baolamdong.vn/huyen-thoai-nghe-san-bat-va-thuan-duong-voi-rung-405730.html
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