Travel hotspots

Elephant competitions in Dak Lak

25/02/2005

There are heavy sounds of running, dust rising from the belly of the racing elephants that run under the control of the mahouts. On the head of each racing elephant, a mahout stands holding a noose made of buffalo leather, and another mahout shouts Hey, hey and strikes a hammer on the hip of the elephant to urge it to run quickly. That is an elephant-chasing performance to open the elephant racing festival held recently at the stadium in Krong Ana Commune, Buon Don District in Dak Lak Province.

The participating
elephants ready to the race.

Parade of the 30
participating elephants.

So skiltful in playing soccer.

Pulling heavy objects is
a part of the competition.

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There are heavy sounds of running, dust rising from the belly of the racing elephants that run under the control of the mahouts. On the head of each racing elephant, a mahout stands holding a noose made of buffalo leather, and another mahout shouts "Hey, hey" and strikes a hammer on the hip of the elephant to urge it to run quickly. That is an elephant-chasing performance to open the elephant racing festival held recently at the stadium in Krong Ana Commune, Buon Don District in Dak Lak Province.

T he Dak Lak elephant-racing festival has taken place every two years since 1985. In the past it was organised on the occasion of the Lunar March Holiday of the ethnic groups in Tay Nguyen (the Central Highlands). As it was the mating season of the elephants, they were not interested in competing and could not reach high achievements. This year, the festival was held at the beginning of the dry season suitable to the elephant athletes because they had regained their strength after the rainy season and became more active.

ll areas known for elephant-raising in Dak Lak Province, such as Buon Don, Lac, Ea Sup, Krong Pong, Yok Don sent their elephants to join the race. There were 28 athletes, male and female of different ages. They competed in different fields including the 100m-race, swimming across the Serepoc River, pulling heavy objects, throwing the timbers and playing football. In particular, there was participation of elephants Thoong Kham and Thoong Ngan, who were seized from Tanh Linh forests in 2001 and trained at Yok Don National Conservation Park. Also interesting was the fact that little elephant Kham Sin who accompanied its mother to the first race in 1985 has become a robust elephant in the most powerful team. Most attractive to the viewers was 67-year-old elephant Y Trut in Krong Pong team, an elephant veteran who had participated in the transport of food and arms during the Vietnamese people's resistance wars against the French and US aggressors and had achieved many feats of arms. In 2001, Y Trut also participated in a project of hunting down and transporting a herd of wild elephants from Tanh Linh forests in Binh Thuan Province to Yok Don National Conservation Park.

The elephant-racing festival provides an opportunity for the mahouts, descendants of the well-known hunters and tamers in Tay Nguyen hamlets, to manifest their skills. At present, there are only a few herds of Southeast Asian wild elephants scattered on the foot of Chu Yang Sin Mountain, in Cu Jut and Dac R'lap forests and Yok Don National Conservation Park. Due to the laws for the protection of the forests and wild beasts, the villagers no longer can hunt the elephants for taming.

However, their quintessence of elephant-taming has been accumulated to produce generations of domesticated elephants, a household animal that is closely connected with history of Tay Nguyen ethnic groups.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;

Story: Le Cuong

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