Elephant hunting and taming tools of the Great Mahout

Elephant hunting and taming tools of the Great Mahout

VietNamNet Bridge – Kham Phet Lao – a Mnong ethnic man from Ea Tu commune, Buon Ma Thuot city, Dak Lak province – has presented more than 20 tools used to hunt and tame wild elephants to the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology.

The tools – made from bamboo, rattan, animal horns, wax and buffalo leather – were also used in ritual practices that took place during the hunt.

The tools belonged to Khun Ju Nop (1828 – 1938) before being passed down to his son-in-law Ama Kong (1910-2012), who captured and tamed 298 elephants during his life and was named the Greatest Mahout of Vietnam.

The tools have not been used since 1992, when wild animal hunting was prohibited. Instead, they have been displayed to visitors at the house of Kham Phet Lao, the son of Ama Kong, as a vivid illustration of the role of elephants in the life and culture of the Mnong people and other ethnic minority groups in Dak Lak province and the Central Highlands Region.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Museum Director Vo Quang Trong said it was the first time the museum had received a collection from an ethnic minority donor. He also pledged that the museum would continue its research on the role of elephants in the hope of curating an exhibition for the public in the future.

Nhan Dan/VNE

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