Elephant Race Festival, Dak Lak - Elephant Race Festival, Dak Lak

Tradition & Culture » Festivals and ceremonies

Source: vietnam-beauty - 2009/12/27, 19:36 GMT+7 - Total view: 880

Elephant Race Festival, Dak Lak

If you have a chance to Dak Lak Province in springtime, you should not miss the Elephant Race Festival, normally celebrated in the third lunar month. Attending the festival, you will be lived in the boisterous atmosphere of the echo of gongs and the spectacular performances of the elephants from the Central Highlands forest.

TheElephant Race Festival is usually held in Don Village or in forestsnear the Sevepoi River. In preparation for the festive day, people taketheir elephants to places where they can eat their fill. Apart fromgrass their food also includes bananas, papayas, sugar canes, corns,sweet potatoes. The elephants are free from hard work to preserve theirstrength. On the big day, elephants from different villages gather atDon Village. The race track is on even ground, preferably wide enoughfor ten elephants to stand simultaneously in a line with a length ofone to two kilometres. People from near and far in their best andcolourful costumes flock to the festival.

With the signal of of tu va (horns made intomusical instruments), the mahouts command their elephants to go to therace track, standing in a row at the starting point. The leadingelephant stands in front, whirling his trunk and nodding his head ingreeting the spectators. Atop each elephant there are two handlers intraditional costumes for generals. The tu va signals the start of therace and the elephants rush ahead, excited by the sound of the drums,gongs, and cheering from the spectators. Upon seeing the first elephantdashing to the destination, the spectators shout boisterously amidstthe echoing sound of drums and gongs. At the end of the race, thewinning elephants lift their trunks above their heads to wave to theviewers, walk deliberately flapping their ears gently, gazing throughhalf-closed eyes to receive sugarcane from their viewers.

The winning elephant is given a laurel wreath. Like its owner, theelephant expresses its happiness and enjoy the sugar canes and bananasfrom the festival-goers. After this race, the elephants participate inthe competition of swimming across the Serepok River, of tug-of-wars,or throwing balls and playing football. When the race comes to an end,the competing elephants bring back the atmosphere of the festival totheir villages. Upon returning to their village, they receive warmwelcome from the villagers. Very often, the elephants from Don Villagewin the prizes as the village has a tradition of training and tendingelephants.

Theelephant race is the biggest festival in the Central Highlands. Cominghere, you will not only feel the martial spirit of the M'nong ethnicpeople, who are very famous for their bravery and skill in hunting wildelephants, but also the magnificent landscape of the Central Highlandswhich further stresses the grandiose characters of this traditionalfestival.

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