The M'nong people have a diverse and rich culture.
Rich in historical value
The epics of the Central Highlands are a long-form form of folk narrative, primarily existing in the form of oral performance. Each ethnic group has its own name: the Ede call them khan, the M'nong call them ót n'drông, and the Ba Na call them h'mon, but they all share the characteristics of large length, layered structure, repetitive language, and powerful rhythm.
Unlike fairy tales or legends, epics do not merely recount a single event but recreate a vast social space, encompassing multiple generations of characters and a series of interconnected events. An epic can be told continuously over several nights, requiring the storyteller to possess a remarkable memory, performance skills, and a deep understanding of the customs and traditions of the community.
Beneath the veil of legend, epics quite clearly reflect the traditional social life of the ethnic groups in the Central Highlands: village organization, kinship relations, warfare, labor and production, and polytheistic beliefs. Therefore, epics are considered a valuable source of information in the study of the region's history and culture.
The community's philosophy of life
The central characters of the Central Highlands epics are mythical heroes, representing the ideals and aspirations of the community. Heroes such as Dam San, Dam Di (Ede), Y Dit, and Y Dung (M'nong) do not fight for personal gain, but for the honor, prosperity, and peace of their villages. Through these heroic figures, the epics convey the core values of traditional Central Highlands society: solidarity, community spirit, courage, loyalty, and respect for customary law. This is also how the community transmits moral standards and ideals to future generations.
In particular, epic poetry clearly expresses the philosophy of living in harmony with nature. Forests, rivers, mountains, and animals are not merely settings, but entities with souls, intimately connected to humanity. This concept reflects traditional ecological thinking and carries profound humanistic values in the context of sustainable development today.
Epic poems are deeply intertwined with community life, profoundly reflecting all aspects of social life in the Central Highlands, from people and nature to the supreme beings who govern all aspects of community life. Therefore, epic poems are likened to the "encyclopedia" of the Central Highlands people. This is because epic poems contain the rich cultural heritage, long history, and accumulated life experiences of the ethnic communities in this region.
According to researchers, the epics of the Central Highlands ethnic groups exist in oral form, originating from folklore, with varying lengths. Some epics are sung for only one day and one night, while others can last up to seven days and nights. Depending on the memory, imagination, and the way the artist conveys the message through singing, storytelling, and performance, the listener will understand the work completely. The artist singing or telling the epic must embody the characters in their work, thereby expressing the characters' emotional states.
Epics often contain fantastical elements, and in the epics of the Central Highlands, the heroic character is the central figure. The beauty of the heroic character is intertwined with the landscape of mountains, forests, rivers, streams, trees, birds, and animals... of the land where the community lives. The heroic character is a typical representative of the spirit, talent, courage, and wisdom of the community, all expressed through glorious actions and victories.
Furthermore, epics often clearly depict the formation of villages, the wars of tribes to protect their communities, and romantic love. They reflect both good and evil within a work… Some epics are often linked to specific real-life places, objects, and phenomena so that listeners can understand, visualize, and feel the work that the artist wants to convey.
M'nong artisan keeps the rhythm of the gong.
Preserving and promoting the value of epic poetry.
In the context of modernization, the epics of the Central Highlands are facing many challenges. Community spaces are shrinking, many elderly epic storytellers are passing away, while the younger generation is less involved with traditional performance forms. The risk of the epics' transmission being disrupted is real.
Recognizing the immense value of this heritage, over the years, the State and the cultural sector have implemented programs to collect, record, translate, and publish the epics of the Central Highlands; and have also bestowed titles upon artisans who have contributed to preserving this heritage. Some localities have incorporated the epics into community cultural activities, schools, and traditional festivals.
However, cultural managers and researchers argue that preserving epics should not be limited to storage, but should be linked to restoring traditional cultural spaces and promoting the role of the community as the main actors. Only when epics continue to be told, heard, and lived in the life of the village will this heritage truly have lasting vitality.
Preserving and promoting the epic values of the Central Highlands is not only the responsibility of the ethnic communities in this region, but also a shared task in the effort to preserve and promote the cultural identity of the Vietnamese people.
Source: https://baolamdong.vn/su-thi-bach-khoa-toan-thu-cua-cac-dan-toc-tay-nguyen-423995.html
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