Listen to the story of life...

For the indigenous peoples of Bana, Jrai, Ede… ghe is a diverse and rich world closely associated with each person from birth, adulthood until death (Atâu).

Not only an item in daily life, jars are also a traditional cultural element in the life of the ethnic communities in the Central Highlands through worship rituals, festival activities... The more jars a family has, the more it demonstrates its wealth and social status. The more unique, special and rare the jars are, the higher the wealth and social status.

The couple's jars were collected by collector Ngo Ngoc Tam from Lam Dong province. Photo: Phuong Duyen

Collector Ngo Ngoc Tam (Thong Nhat ward) said he was very pleased when he collected a pair of “husband and wife jars” from a family in Lam Dong province a few years ago. They are called “husband and wife jars” because they are a pair with similar designs and patterns.

However, traces of matriarchy are shown through the size: The wife's jar is higher than the husband's jar, affirming the decisive role of women in the community. According to custom, this pair of jars is used in wedding ceremonies, the bride and groom will drink wine together from the two jars, as a metaphor for a beautiful couple and the wish for happiness.

Recalling the old story, collector Ngo Ngoc Tam smiled and said that the pair of jars was made around the 14th - 15th century, belonging to the Go Sanh pottery line (an ancient pottery produced in a village along the Con River in Phu Quang hamlet, Nhon Hoa commune, An Nhon town, old Binh Dinh province, now Gia Lai province). The owner of the pair of jars insisted on selling the pair instead of selling them individually, because selling each one separately would be like breaking a happiness.

Another unique Go Sanh pottery artifact that he owns is the “mother carrying her child” jar. It is a brown glazed “mother” jar with an additional “child” jar attached near the top of the mouth. The “child” jar is only about 10 cm high, connected to the “mother” jar and has identical patterns and designs. Normally, a “mother” jar carries from 1 to 4 children. This type of jar is said to symbolize maternal love and is very precious to the people of the Central Highlands.

If you study the jars in depth, you will see that every detail on them has its own meaning in addition to the aesthetic factor. Many people are quite surprised when looking at the jars decorated on the body with the image of a mighty coiled dragon with sophisticated details and patterns, but the jar ears are stylized into small animals such as squirrels and mice.

Doctor Vo Van Hung (Pleiku ward), also a famous collector in Gia Lai plateau, explained: Squirrels and rats are animals that destroy crops; in particular, rats have caused terrible plague in many places.

Therefore, the images of these animals appearing on the jars are to serve the rituals of praying for good harvests and peace for the whole community.

Tay Nguyen's Ghe contains many interesting stories. Photo: Phuong Duyen

Meanwhile, collector Nguyen The Phiet (Dien Hong ward) explained in a different way that he recorded after field trips: On occasions when village men returned from hunting wild animals, they gathered around the fire and would enjoy wine stored in jars with ears carved with the shapes of animals such as mice, squirrels, frogs or salamanders...

When drinking wine from this jar, they will be more agile and resilient in the next hunting trip. Mr. Phiet said that the differences in the above explanations depend on the beliefs and customs of each region and each community.

According to Mr. Phiet, since ancient times, jars have been classified by the people of the Central Highlands depending on their purpose of use. Sacred jars used to worship gods often have embossed images of dragons, cranes, birds, trees and leaves on the body or tigers on the ears.

The Jrai, Bahnar, and Xe Dang people believe that if they offer such special jars to the Gods, the Gods will bless the community with good crops and favorable weather...

Interestingly, jars are also classified by gender. For example, precious jars used for brewing wine are called “male jars”; while jars used for storing food and pickled foods are called “female jars”, which are simple in color, do not have ears like “male jars” and are often placed in the corner of the kitchen.

Over hundreds of years, precious jars are becoming increasingly rare due to damage over time or due to the custom of dividing property among the dead of the Central Highlands people. Therefore, the efforts of collectors in the province are a good way to preserve memories and community culture.

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/nghe-ghe-ke-chuyen-nhan-sinh-post566563.html