People portray Kon Tum ethnic culture through artifacts

Stemming from his curiosity about the history and culture of the ethnic groups in Kon Tum , Mr. Huynh Dang Hien (46 years old, Tran Hung Dao ward, Kon Tum city, Kon Tum province) has spent over the past 15 years collecting artifacts related to the daily life, customs, and traditional festivals in the place where he was born.

Wandering around the villages looking for artifacts

Mr. Huynh Dang Hien (left) currently owns a collection of more than 3,000 artifacts. Photo: Le Nguyen

While inviting me to have a drink, Mr. Hien began to tell me about the first days of his unique love. He said: “Before, I was not very interested in antiques or cultural artifacts of ethnic groups. But after trips to countries around the world , I saw the pride of each ethnic group when mentioning the artifacts on display. So from then on, I began to learn, research and collect artifacts related to daily life, customs, and traditional festivals in Kon Tum land”.

The milestone came in 2008, when Mr. Hien began to travel to each village and came into contact with the first artifacts. Many of them he bought with his own money, many were given with the precious affection of his fellow countrymen. These stories further motivated him on his journey of discovery and collection of artifacts.

Mr. Hien shared: “Collecting artifacts comes from my own passion, so I cherish them just to keep and display them, not to sell or exchange them for fear of losing their value. During the past 15 years, I have never joined any groups and only officially announced my collection in recent years."

"My biggest dream is to build a private museum so that people can visit and learn more interesting stories about this land of the Northern Central Highlands," Anh Hien confided.

Portraying each historical period of the Northern Central Highlands

The bronze arrow mold shaped like a swallow is currently unique to the Central Highlands. Photo: Le Nguyen

Up to now, his collection has reached more than 3,000 artifacts, including antiques made of stone, bronze, and ceramics with historical significance dating back thousands of years. Most of these were collected by him at the Lung Leng Archaeological Site (Sa Binh Commune, Sa Thay District).

Besides rare stone artifacts such as stone axes with shoulders, drilled stones, lamp stands, adzes, grinding feet, and brass tools, Mr. Hien also owns a bronze arrowhead mold shaped like a swallow's wing (unique in the Central Highlands).

This is the antique that he is most fond of and was brought to display at the 2023 National Archaeological Announcement Conference in Hanoi. It is also from this antique that he met many famous archaeologists across Vietnam.

Pointing to each item in the collection, Mr. Hien clearly told about its origin and the story of how he was able to own it. The most special is the collection of ancient jars with historical significance during the period of trade and migration to Kon Tum land such as Bau Truc pottery (from the 10th-13th century), Go Sanh (from the 13th-15th century), Quang Duc (16th century), Cay Mai, Bien Hoa, Lai Thieu (from the 17th-19th century).

To add diversity to the display space, Mr. Hien also collected many typical artifacts of the ethnic groups in the Central Highlands such as Cham tobacco pipes; bronze bracelets and earrings, and terracotta handicrafts of the Ba Na and Xo Dang people.

Not only does he have an indoor display space, Mr. Hien also uses his garden to display cultural artifacts of local ethnic groups in Kon Tum such as ancient wooden coffins used to bury the dead, wooden mortars, tomb statues, masks, swords, and dugout canoes.

In addition, he also owns many artifacts of Kinh people's production from the mid-19th century such as stone rice mills, chicken irons, wooden saws, dugout canoes, masks, knives and swords, and war relics such as canteens, pith helmets, personal belongings, and ammunition.

Desire to develop Kon Tum's unique culture

Collection of wooden coffins used to bury the dead by ethnic minorities. Photo: Le Nguyen

Mr. Hien shared: “From the stories collected through the artifacts, I hope to enrich the history of my homeland. When people mention Kon Tum, they not only think of gongs and xoang dances, but also an ancient culture with a strong identity that only this land possesses.”

Mr. Pham Binh Vuong, working at the Heritage Department (Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism), who has many years of research on archaeology and culture of Kon Tum, commented: “Mr. Hien's collection is especially helpful for the research of the Lung Leng Archaeological Site and the history of the ancient land of Kon Tum. At the same time, it supports the state in the work of preserving heritage and preserving the historical and cultural values ​​of the local ethnic people. Mr. Hien's discovery of the swallow-shaped bronze arrowhead mold is also highly appreciated by the archaeology community in Vietnam.

"In the future, we will continue to advise and support Mr. Hien in inventorying, classifying, preserving and appraising to clarify more information related to the artifacts," Mr. Vuong emphasized.

Source: https://dantoctongiao.laodong.vn/van-hoa-kien-truc/nguoi-khac-hoa-van-hoa-dan-toc-kon-tum-qua-cac-hien-vat-1359349.html