Hi guys, how are you today?
It's Wednesday again. We're back with the exciting Wednesday Walk on Hive. Currently I am enjoying Tet holiday with my family in the highlands of Vietnam. So today I will walk you around a Mnong ethnic minority village near me to discover interesting things.
First let me introduce a little about this small village. Jun village is a village of the Mnong ethnic minority people located right by Lak lake. Lak Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake in Dak Lak province and the second in Vietnam after Ba Be Lake, it has a surface area of about 6.2 square kilometers. It is covered with more than 12 thousand hectares of special-use forest. So it becomes a peaceful place for the Mnong people to live in the middle of poetic nature. Over a long history, Jun village still preserves and promotes its own traditional cultural beauty and customs. The lifestyle of the people here has a unique feature that was shaped hundreds of years ago. Okay, let's start our walk.
The first thing that can be easily noticed is that this is a rather small village with only a few dozen houses, and the typical architecture here is the houses on stilts. The stilt house is a typical structure of the Mnong people in particular and other ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands in general, inherited from their ancestors many years ago. When formed many years ago, these villages were nestled among the mountains and forests, and houses on stilts were a way for the natives to avoid danger from the surrounding wild animals. Although today, they are no longer threatened by wild animals, but the houses on stilts are still retained and are their characteristic beauty. The living part above the floor is the living space of the family and the part below the floor becomes a warehouse or a place for livestock and poultry.
The people here are very friendly and honest. I spoke to a girl here to understand more about the people and culture of this village. This girl is only 21 years old but already a mother of two children. Villagers here earn their living mainly by growing coffee, growing rice, pepper and fishing in Lak Lake. They lead a very simple and peaceful life. I can see that through the activities of the people here. Simple objects such as bottles, ropes, and brooms also become toys for the children here. Soft drinks bottles, candy packs also bring happiness to them. The innocent smiles of the children here have also brought me a lot of joy. While the elderly stay at home to take care of the poultry and livestock, the adults go to the fields to take care of the coffee fields, rice fields or go fishing. I caught a group of teenagers gathering in a nearby field in the afternoon to play soccer.
Another interesting feature you can notice when coming here is the livestock and poultry around the village. You can easily see buffaloes, cows, pigs, chickens and dogs everywhere. They live in harmony with people and other animals in the village. Their home is the part below the floor. They really have a very chill life and are not afraid of humans. The buffaloes and cows enjoyed their meals without stopping. The dogs enjoy the warm afternoon sun on the street or in the front yard. The chickens are walking everywhere in search of leftover food. My favorite are the pigs, they look so cool. I don't know which family these pigs belong to, but they have the right to go around the village looking for food. This shows the solidarity and the very sense of community of the villagers here.
In addition, when you come here, you will also encounter a lot of things that you may not see in other places. Local tractors are a type of vehicle characterized by mountainous terrain and red basalt soil here, it is used as a truck to transport heavy loads such as coffee and rice. Also its locomotive is used as a plow when its wheels are replaced by plow wheels. Kayaks made from tree trunks are also a typical means here, they are used by local people to move and fish on Lak Lake. Bamboo backpacks are also a popular item used to carry things. Can wine is also a symbol showing the solidarity and sense of community of the local people here. It is a large decanter with many tubes so that many people can drink at the same time.
Okay, it's been a long time since I had the opportunity to walk around an indigenous village in my hometown, everything is both familiar and new to me. I hope you enjoy the walk with me too. Thank you for taking the time to read my post and have a nice day!