|
|
 |
| |
|
| |
 Photo
essay:
Vietnam Bicycle Tour: Imperial Roots (Central)
|
| |
|
Quang Ngai – Kon Tum (160km, 100mi) (elev 750m). Leave Highway 1 and
head to the scenic and culturally rich Central Highlands
Points of interest: picturesque valleys and mountains, Mandan Pass and Violac
Pass, Hre and Jarai ethnic minorities, long houses, stilt houses, brick kilns, Kon Tum,
monastery |
|
| |
|
A not insignificant aspect of the
day is we get off of Highway 1. A real bonus is some very beautiful and
interesting country. Flat rice-growing valleys extend about 40 miles
into the interior. The region is inhabited by the Hre, a Mon-Khmer / North Bahnaric people. |
 |
| |
|
Hre is an official ethnic community
in Viet Nam. They are wet rice farmers and raise buffaloes, pigs, dogs and
chickens. Traditionally they built long stilt houses with thatched roofs, often
just up the side of the valley from the flood plain (left). They are
patrilineal, but boys and girls can inherit. Wedded couples can reside with
either the bride or grooms family. For the wedding, there is a bonding ritual
in which the couple exchanges a bowl of wine or betel nuts, or they could be
tied together by one string. The names of newborn must not coincide with name
of a lineage member. |
 |
| |
 |
Burial in boat like coffins, which
are then interned under decorated grave-houses. Widows(ers) can marry the
spouses sibling of the opposite sex. |
 |
| |
 |
Hre literature includes a rich body
of folktales and poems. Music uses gong, drums, flutes, and two-stringed
zither |
|
| |
|
At the end of the valley there is a
steep climb to Mandan Pass and the central highlands. |
 |
| |
 |
The central highlands range from
fairly flat plateau to quite hilly plateau. |
 |
| |
|
Natural forest (left) is quite mixed
and dense, but increasingly rare. Some of the natural forest is being
replace by pine forest (plantation) (right) for present and future harvest. |
 |
| |
|
Market in "logging camp" |
 |
| |
|
After passing Violac Pass there is a
nice run down into the Dak Po River valley. |
 |
| |
 |
On the western slope of the
highlands it is considerably drier. At the time this picture was taken
there was a severe drought in the southern Central Highlands and the fire danger
was extreme. |
 |
| |
|
This is the area of the Jarai or Gairai, a
Malayo-Polynesian / Chamic ethnic group, an official ethnic
community in Viet Nam. They primarily cultivate rice (right) and corn, with
rotating cut and burn method, traditionally using
simple agricultural tools such as the cutlasses and digging sticks. Nowadays it
is more common to see ploughs and harrows drawn by buffalo and cows. There
are permanent, terraced, rice fields in valleys (top). There are also
non-traditional crops like pineapple (bottom). |
Bridge at Kon Ray, Dak Po River, Kontom District |
| |
 |
Animal husbandry includes:
buffaloes, cows, elephants (in west for transport), pigs, dogs and chickens.
Handicrafts comprise carpentry, forging and weaving with an Indonesian style.
The Jarai live in long and small houses built on stilts. |
 |
| |
 |
Each village (ploi or boun) has a communal house,
either long stilt houses (top) or Rong houses (bottom). Villages are lead by an elderly
man who has prestige. Traditional families are matrilineal. Women play an
important role in their family. Women take the initiative in the matrimonial
relations. Traditional polytheistic religion, They worship different kinds of spirits
(Yang) such as: Spirit Protector of the House (Yang Sang), Spirit of the Village
(Yang ala Bon) and Spirit of the Kings (Yang Po Tao). The most important
festivals are the “abandonment of the tombs.” They also organize ceremonies to
pray for rain and to celebrate a new house. The have a rich tradition of oral
literature. |
|
| |
 |
Jarai are buried with their mothers family when they die.
These graves don't have the funerary statues that are seen in some ethnic
communities, but they are uniquely covered by thatch and metal roofs. |
 |
| |
 |
In the same area is this more
distinctly Buddhist cemetery. |
 |
| |
|
Adjacent to the Buddhist cemetery is
a Viet Cong cemetery. Though relatively sparsely populated at the time,
the Central Highlands were fiercely fought over during the Vietnam-American War.
Some ethnic groups were accused of aiding the Viet Cong and others accused of
aiding the Americans -- always by the other side and locals were largely
defenseless to the outcome. |
|
| |
|
Western culture shows its reach
again in Kon Tum |
 |
| |
|
Bicycles are the primary means of
transportation for students. |
 |
| |
 |
|
 |
| |
|
 The Cathedral in Kon Tum; exterior
(left) and interior (right) |
 |
| |
|
|
 |
| |
|
A sculpture from a single tree on
the grounds of the Cathedral in Kon Tum. |
|
| |
 |
Ritual mast at the cathedral in Kon
Tum. Usually these mast are associated with traditional religion, but the
cathedral has several elements connected with indigenous ethnic groups including
a communal Rong house (background left). |
 |
| |
 |
Former Catholic Monastery in Kon Tum
(left). It has been closed by the communist government. There are
other monasteries still open in the country. |
|
| |
|
| |
 |
|
    |
|
|
 |
 Please
contact us if you would like to be added to
Ibike's mailing list or have questions, comments, corrections or criticism. (Also, please let us know how you learned about us and
found this site.) Privacy policy.
IBF Homepage
Ibike Programs
Ibike Schedule
Search
"Hosted by
DreamHost - earth friendly web hosting"
Created by David Mozer
Copyright ©1993-2022 Ibike LLC. All rights reserved.
|
The Cathedral in Kon Tum; exterior
(left) and interior (right)
