Traditional K'Ho cultural space at the foot of Lang Biang mountain

A traditional stilt house of the K'Ho people is made from natural materials such as bamboo, wood, rattan, leaves... Located quietly on a hillside at the foot of Lang Biang mountain, the simple house seems to separate itself from the noisy city.

Mr. Dagout Brice Liem and the future generation of the village

One August morning, when the sun had just risen, standing from Mr. Liem's house looking out at a green forest, breathing in the fresh air brought a very pleasant feeling. That place is called Bang Yo Hoi Quan. Bang Yo, according to the owner of the house - Mr. Dagout Brice Liem, a K'Ho artist and singer. According to him, Bang Yo means ancestors, and more broadly, it also means origin. In the main space of the house, which is also the most well-cared for place with a pole in the middle and musical instruments and tools of the K'Ho people such as: gongs, drums, lithophones, baskets, brocades... This is also the place where Mr. Dagout Brice Liem welcomes guests and organizes community cultural activities.

Dagout Brice Liem collects lithophones to enrich folk music.

The stilt house is 17 m long, 7 m wide, has 2 floors, and was meticulously and elaborately built by him within a year. Although it is not 100% restored according to the original culture of the K'Ho Lach ethnic group, the expansion of the living space also brings comfort to visitors.

The effort to restore the house is also the realization of a dream that Mr. Liem has cherished for a long time on his artistic path. As a professional cultural worker, performing on hundreds, even thousands of large and small stages across the country, Mr. Dagout Brice Liem always longs to have a stage where the most quintessential, rustic, and original things of the K'Ho people's culture can be presented. Because he always believes that to be the most rustic and original, gongs or any music must be in its inherent space.

He said that he was also inspired, guided, and oriented by the previous generation to return to his roots and to folk culture. Then, after years of wandering, in 2017, he decided to stick with the village life and was determined to do something for the land that raised him. That was also the beginning of a series of days of working in the fields in the morning, taking on gong performances in the evening, gradually saving up to have capital to build a house, shop, and collect items.

Traditional items collected by Mr. Liem

After more than a year, he organized a housewarming ceremony, starting to welcome guests to enjoy traditional cuisine and culture. In that space, the story of national culture with Dagout Brice Liem became more intimate, the words contained in his heart seemed to have the opportunity to be revealed. Born and raised at the foot of Lang Biang mountain, a land that people have long believed to be endowed with singing voices, smiles... that have captivated people's hearts. On that journey, Dagout Brice Liem is not alone. He is leading a group of young people, mostly descendants of his family, to gongs, to music, to traditional Vietnamese folk instruments such as: Drums, lithophones, T'rung. Graceful K'Ho girls in traditional costumes, graceful with simple dance movements. Strong boys with each rhythmic move when playing gongs. All create a charming, rustic, wild beauty, close to nature. Looking at the concentration and diligence of each person, Dagout Brice Liem's eyes were also filled with confidence.

The most difficult thing is to nurture a generation of successors, so that in the diverse development of culture, young people have both passion and work to maintain. They are the future of the village, and also the future of preserving culture.

Mr. Dagout Brice Liem shared

Despite having spent many years in the profession, participating in performances in many different spaces, when welcoming the first guests to the stilt house, Dagout Brice Liem could not hide his happiness. At the same time, receiving sincere comments from guests to improve the space, services... gave him more motivation to continue pursuing his goals.

According to statistics from the Department of Culture and Information of Lac Duong district, currently, there are about 11 gong groups operating in Lac Duong town. The cultural sector has also been actively promoting activities to promote and introduce tourism products, contributing to preserving and promoting the traditional cultural values of ethnic minorities in general and the K'Ho people in particular.

According to Mr. Nguyen Vu Hoang - Head of the Department of Culture and Information of Lac Duong district, the cultural tourism models associated with the community of the K'Ho people are the highlights, contributing significantly to attracting tourists to the locality. Among them, people like Mr. Dagout Brice Liem are important cores, choosing a different direction than the rest, which is to organize activities in a traditional stilt house space of the K'Ho people.

Mr. Liem said that he still remembers the advice of the leader of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, that because of the immediate difficulties, we should not operate the stilt house in the wrong direction, follow the taste and go into a rut, losing the traditional cultural identity.

“I will always remember the moments when my grandparents and parents sat by the fire, by the jar of rice wine, and my grandmothers and mothers slowly hummed lullabies... Everything seemed to be intact, but only in my memory. Now there is not much left and if I do not preserve and keep it now, I am afraid it will be too late, when...”, Dagout Brice Liem's sentence left unfinished.

Everyone knows what Dagout Brice Liem means. That is also what all those who care about culture see. However, restoring culture is not a matter of a day or an afternoon, it is not an individual effort. But without the efforts of individuals, there will be no beginning to look towards the future.

Source: http://baolamdong.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/202408/khong-gian-van-hoa-truyen-thong-kho-duoi-chan-nui-lang-biang-70a29d6/