{"id":451,"date":"2010-08-31T16:06:37","date_gmt":"2010-08-31T21:06:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hilltribeart.com\/wordpress\/?p=451"},"modified":"2014-03-31T16:29:48","modified_gmt":"2014-03-31T21:29:48","slug":"visiting-the-rong-house-in-vietnams-highlands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hilltribeart.com\/wordpress\/?p=451","title":{"rendered":"Visiting the Rong House in Vietnam\u2019s Highlands"},"content":{"rendered":"

Visiting the Rong House in Vietnam\u2019s Highlands<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our translator, Mr. Vinh, smiles proudly as we arrived at his small village an hour outside the city of Kontum in Vietnam\u2019s Central Highlands.\u00a0 The Bahnar village is nestled in a lush copse near the river; large leaved trees protect us from the harsh, hot sun. The ground is packed dirt, and the dogs, pigs and children wander freely between the small homes that alternate thatched and corrugated metal roofing.<\/p>\n

\"Mr.<\/a>

Mr. Vinh with his daughter at the loom.<\/p><\/div>\n

First we visit Mr. Vinh\u2019s adopted daughter, a talented weaver who has a physical disability.\u00a0 She sits under a shaded porch at her loom, a beautiful long cotton shawl half-created in front of her.\u00a0 Mr. Vinh points out the modifications of the loom that allows his daughter to fold her awkward legs under but positions her to fully operate the loom\u2019s complexities.\u00a0 \u201cShe has such talent,\u201d he beams.\u00a0 \u201cI had a special loom made so she can work even if her legs won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow you must see our village\u2019s Rong<\/i> House.\u201d\u00a0 I must have misheard him \u2013 \u201cWe\u2019re going to the wrong house?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cOur communal house,\u201d he clarifies.\u00a0 \u201cThe place where our village gathers and celebrates.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Maren<\/a>

Maren in front of the Bahnar Rong house in Mr. Vinh\u2019s village.<\/p><\/div>\n

The immense thatched-roof structure in the village\u2019s center couldn\u2019t be missed.\u00a0 Rong<\/i> houses are shaped like thick axe blades, with steep-sloped sides and a long sharp ridgeline up to 50 feet off the ground that is decorated with buffalo horns or other ornaments. The building is rooted to the ground with nine thick hardwood logs that lift the 30\u2019 x 15\u2019 bamboo floor about five feet off the ground. A five-step ladder carved from a tree trunk invites us up to the entrance.\u00a0 Some Rong<\/i> houses have a low railing and open sides to let the warm jungle breeze flow right through; this Bahnar Rong<\/i> house has tight-fitting bamboo walls fully enclosing the open space, leaving the interior dark and, by afternoon, pretty steamy.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Men<\/a>

Men in a Katu community house during their New Year\u2019s celebration in Laos \u2013 see the gongs?<\/p><\/div>\n

Both in and outside some Rong<\/i> houses (and other community houses in Laos), village artists have carved wooden animal figures both into of the wooden structure\u2019s frame or as stand-alone decorations \u2013 sculptures of birds, monkeys, eight-pointed stars, the sun and humans.\u00a0 The carvings symbolize myths of ancient deeds and spirits as well as daily village and farm life.\u00a0 Some of the figures are brightly painted.\u00a0 A large two-sided drum hangs from an animal-hide strap ready to call the villagers to an event or meeting.\u00a0 Tucked into a back corner are brass gongs, crossbows, ceremonial shields, clay flasks of wine, and other ritual wares awaiting their\u00a0next use.\u00a0 A large flat-stoned fire-pit, used for ritual cooking as well as lighting up the town\u2019s faces as an evening story is told, dominates the middle of the room.\u00a0 The house itself contains no metal.\u00a0 Joins are cut very carefully and the bamboo scaffolding and thatched grass for the roof are tied with strips of rattan.<\/p>\n

\"Inside<\/a>

Inside the community house in Attapeu Province in Laos \u2013 note the fire pit on the bamboo floor!<\/p><\/div>\n

Mr. Vinh points to a painted line that goes down the length of the interior.\u00a0 He waved his hands to the right:\u00a0 \u201cThe unmarried men and boys are on this side,\u201d he announces, and with a wave to the left, \u201cthe unmarried women and girls on this side.\u201d\u00a0 Then he squints his eyes a little and lowers his voice.\u00a0 \u201cSometimes a girl goes over to be with a boy on the boys\u2019 side, but the boys can never go to the girls\u2019 side.\u201d\u00a0 I swear I catch him winking at me.\u00a0 Mr. Vinh suddenly straightens up: \u201cWe have a big Rong<\/i> house, because our village has good land and many people.\u00a0 The taller the Rong house, the more powerful the men of the village, and the easier it is to find the village when hunting or farming away from town, as the tall roof can be seen from some distance.\u00a0 Some villages have small Rong houses. But no matter \u2013 every Rong<\/i> house is the heart of a village – the place where the seasons, and births, and marriages, and even death is celebrated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A Bahnar Rong House in Kon Tum, Vietnam.<\/p><\/div>\n

In our visits to several ethnic groups in the Central Highlands \u2013 Bahnar, Sedang, Jarai and others –\u00a0 we find Rong<\/i> houses of similar design and pride.\u00a0 Some groups build two community houses \u2013 one for the men, another for women.\u00a0 Regardless, the Rong<\/i> house embodies the blood, sweat, tears, pride and past of the village members and their ageless ancestors; it is the physical center for a village\u2019s heritage, power, and future.\u00a0 Tradition holds that a human soul only becomes whole when it joins the village soul, and the Rong<\/i> house is where the members of a village and the spirits of the ancestors and nature come to respect and negotiate a proper balance.<\/p>\n

\"Carvings<\/a>

Carvings in front of a Katu community house.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Visiting the Rong House in Vietnam\u2019s Highlands Our translator, Mr. Vinh, smiles proudly as we arrived at his small village an hour outside the city of Kontum in Vietnam\u2019s Central Highlands.\u00a0 The Bahnar village is nestled in a lush copse … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hilltribeart.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hilltribeart.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hilltribeart.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hilltribeart.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hilltribeart.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=451"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/hilltribeart.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":476,"href":"https:\/\/hilltribeart.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451\/revisions\/476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hilltribeart.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hilltribeart.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hilltribeart.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}