Elephant riding in Buon Ma Thuot

Tay Nguyen or Central Highlands, the homeland of Vietnamese ethnic minority groups like the Ba Na, the E De, the M'Nong, the Xe Dang and the Gia Rai, boasts many special and unique indigenous cultures.

Along with such ceremonies like the Ceremony to Abandon Tombs, the Buffalo Sacrifice Ceremony, the Gong Festival and the New Rice Festival, tracking and nurturing elephants is an indispensable feature of Tay Nguyen culture.

Actually, among Tay Nguyen provinces, only Dak Lak and Gia Lai have domesticated elephants. The Tay Nguyen people consider elephants as sacred animals.

In this district, the most famous place is Ban Don (Don Village), about 40km from Buon Ma Thuot City, and nearly 100km from the borders with Laos and Cambodia. Lao people (the most-populous people in the area in the past) call it Ban Don, while E De and M'Nong call it Buon Don.

To talk about Buon Don is to talk about elephants, as this is the homeland of Vietnamese men who seek out and tame wild elephants. They were once famous in the South Asia region. In Viet Nam, only in Buon Don are elephants domesticated animals, and the locals organise their famous annual elephant racing festival to celebrate this tradition.

When in Buon Don, visitors have the pleasure to ride elephants through jungles and across rivers, and to listen to the village elders' stories about capturing and domesticating wild elephants, along with many other interesting tales.

"Villagers think of the elephants as humans, and respect them. Killing elephants for food is strictly prohibited," says local elephant keeper Y Be Nie K'Dem, a M'Nong man.

Traditionally, people organised elephant hunts in November, when their crop harvests were complete. Elephant hunting season will last until next April.

"We aim to catch baby elephants, as they are easy to domesticate. A hunted elephant will be left hungry for several days, and kept by a matured, domesticated elephant.

"When the new elephant knows how to obey the men's orders, village elders will name it. We will organise a ceremony for the animal to join the village community, and afterwards, the elephant will become a member of our village," he says.

Buon Don District has about 300 domesticated elephants, of which the Don Village has 45 of the animals to serve tourists.

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