When talking about the traditional cultural identity of the Central Highlands ethnic groups, people first always mention the Rong house as the most complete symbol of Central Highlands culture. In the Central Highlands provinces, KonTum and GiaLai are considered the cradle of the Rong Dynasty - a typical cultural heritage of indigenous peoples.
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| Communal house - Typical cultural heritage of Kon Tum people |
According to the beliefs of ethnic minorities, if there is a village, there must be a communal house. Any village without a communal house lacks original vitality. According to the traditional thinking of ethnic minorities, the communal house is an indispensable element in community life (village culture). The communal house encompasses all the quintessence of human culture and creativity in the natural ecological environment, is both majestic and has hidden spiritual elements, and is an expression of forest culture and the cohesion of the human community associated with the forest. nature
The communal house is a miniature image of the traditional cultural elements of a village or ethnic group. It occupies the most important position in the thinking and reality of daily life of all members of the community. For the ethnic minority community, "Ethnicity - Village - Communal House" is an inseparable relationship, just like the Kinh village is associated with the banyan tree, water wharf, and communal house yard. The majestic communal house rising into the sky with the shape of a giant hammer represents the strength of a village community, showing martial spirit and authority, as if dominating space and time to assert sovereignty and territory of the village.
Regarding architecture, the communal houses of each ethnic group are different, according to the customs of each ethnic group, but if talking about large scale, we must mention the communal houses of the Ba Na, Gia Rai and Xe Dang ethnic groups. There is a rather strange point in practice: if calculated from the location in Kon Tum city up to the northern localities, the communal house gradually gets lower. Perhaps it comes from the culture of residence from lowland to highland areas.
Each ethnic group has different customs of making doors to communal houses, usually there are 2 - 4 doors including the front, back and two sides. The main staircase to the communal house has columns and handrails decorated with wood carvings, creating many folk images with strong, rough lines. On the floor of the communal house there must be a fire. The kitchen here does not have a stove above like in households. There must be at least 1 stove, usually 2 stoves, some communal houses have 3-4 fires for the evening. People light fires to organize community cultural activities such as conducting rituals, traditional customs and laws, playing gongs, singing epics, folk tales, playing and responding to folk songs, and dancing... The communal house is where the village's young men who have reached adulthood come to sleep every night to protect the village, and is also a place to serve visitors to the village; Therefore, both sides have a platform for blankets and mats, which is very neat and tidy. The decoration inside the communal house is mainly patterns depending on each ethnic group shown on columns, rafters and walls... Each communal house has a sacred corner where sacred objects have spiritual meaning according to folk beliefs. according to the customs of each ethnic group; The objects inside are displayed and arranged like a village exhibition room, buffalo heads and animals sacrificed in festivals, and hunted animals are hung on the walls.
Villages - communal houses - festivals of ethnic minorities have a close relationship. Village culture produces festival culture and communal house culture. Traditional folk festivals honor the authority of the communal house and the communal house is the condition and environment to express the festival. Both are meant to sustain each other and reside within each other. Meanwhile, festivals are the living land of almost all types of traditional culture and folk arts, from rituals, customs, and practices to various types of folk performances, ethnic musical instruments, costumes, language, behavior... Therefore, the communal house has an even more important position in community cultural activities. The communal house has both tangible and intangible cultural value. has intangible cultural value (internal content, place of festival expression). The images of the communal house's flickering fire, the wine jars tied in rows on both sides of the kitchen, the majestic sound of gongs, the winding sinuses and the radiant faces of the village elders, boys and girls in the village. The festival in the communal house represents a very rustic, warm cultural space, gathering in an inseparable community bond, creating a rich and unique identity of traditional culture under the communal roof.