Keeping swifts to produce edible nests as a delicacy is now possible in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, not only in the traditional high cliffs along the coast as usual. Ayun Pa Town in Gia Lai Province is a pioneer of the movement in the central highland locality. Some farmers in the province started keeping swifts in 2010 and now it has over a dozen families with facilities to lure the birds in to make nests. To attract the birds, farmers have built closed houses, with only holes high in the walls acting as entrances for the swifts. The houses are well equipped with different kinds of machines to spray water and create wind and moisture, as well as speakers to emit the singing and cries of the birds to attract them to make nests in those houses. On average, each house has a thousand pairs of swifts to make nests. The birds have transformed Ayun Pa from ‘a fire valley,’ due to its high temperatures, into an ‘attractive land of birds.’ A farmer … [Read more...] about Keeping sea swifts for nests in the Central Highlands of Vietnam
Central highlands of vietnam
Space of gong culture in the Central Highlands of Vietnam: Crystallisation of the country’s supernatural spirit
Gongs play important role in the spiritual lives of people, especially people in the Central Highlands, and is also a manifestation of religion and a means to communicate with the "supernatural." It is one of the reasons that the gong culture of the Central Highlands is recognized as a masterpiece of oral and an intangible cultural heritages of humankind by UNESCO. On Mar.28, Mr. Gadi Mgomezulu, Director of the Cultural Heritage Division, talked with a reporter of the Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper on issues relating to the space of gong culture in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Reporter: What is the special features of the space of Vietnam's gong culture compared to other countries in the region that made UNESCO recognize it as an intangible cultural heritage of humankind? Mr. Gadi Mgomezulu: The approving council of UNESCO highly praised the space of gong culture in the Central Highlands - a space that spreads throughout many provinces and where, 17 ethnic groups are living. The … [Read more...] about Space of gong culture in the Central Highlands of Vietnam: Crystallisation of the country’s supernatural spirit
French professor actively introduces culture of Central Highlands of Vietnam
Prof. Georges Condominas, a well-known French professor of ethnology and also one of the top experts of Southeast Asian ethnology, has actively brought the culture of ethnic minority people in the Central Highlands of Vietnam to the world through his collection of ethnology's artifact. Since 1940, Prof. Condominas has researched on ethnology in Vietnam. He lived with the M'Nong in the Sar Luk in Dak Lak province for many years and wrote a famous work titled "We eat forest," which was published in France in 1957 and in Vietnam last year. Prof. Condominas is a person who deserves credit for discovering "dan da" (an ancient musical instrument made of stone. Being a close friend of the famous Vietnamese ethnology professor Tu Chi, Prof. Condominas also has made important contributions to the design of the Vietnam Ethnology Museum. To recognize the professor's great contributions to Vietnamese ethnology, on Mar.12, the Institute of Science and Society of Vietnam conferred the medal, for … [Read more...] about French professor actively introduces culture of Central Highlands of Vietnam
Gong music in the Central Highlands of Vietnam
For a century, national and international scholars and collectors have studied gong music and its concomitant cultural and religious manifestations in the Central Highlands. Their research results, which have been published in Vietnam and abroad, contribute to the growing knowledge of the space of gong culture in the Central Highlands. In comparison with other musical instruments which can be played solo, gongs are always played in orchestra. Each gong has a fixed position in the orchestra and sounds only one musical note. The Jarai and Bahnar possess different gong orchestras. The most important is the cing (five bossed gongs and eight flat gongs) and among Bahnar of 11 gongs (three bossed gongs and eight flat gongs). The cing mhhum orchestra has nine pieces: six flat gongs and three bossed gongs, played during festival when wine is drunk from a jar. The cing trum consists of three bossed gongs and one or two drums. The Ede have gong sets of great renown, usually played in a long … [Read more...] about Gong music in the Central Highlands of Vietnam
Exhibition Gong Music in the Central Highlands of Vietnam to be open in Hanoi
Nearly 90 photos are chosen from the archives of of the École française d'Extrême-Orient, Missions Étrangères de Paris and Quai Branly Museum. They were taken by French colonial officials, military officers, missionaries and scholars from 1930s to 1960s at Bana, Giarai, Mnong Gar villages. They testify the concern and interest of French toward this art of gongs and the tradition of gong playing by the ethnic groups in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Therefore, the post cards of gongs have appeared since 1908s. Many photos were taken by French scholars who lived for many years in the communities which they studied. For example, Georges Condominas lived with the Mnong Gar, Jacques Doumes with the Jarai, Jean Boulbet with the Ma. Their photos which are usually magnificent and perfectly documented are invaluable evidence of an intangible heritage which is now in danger of disparition. Thanks to the active collaboration of Christine Hemmet, an expert from … [Read more...] about Exhibition Gong Music in the Central Highlands of Vietnam to be open in Hanoi