For the ethnic groups residing on the Truong Son mountain range, elephant is considered as one of the symbols of wealth and power of families. The elephant has become a cultural symbol of Dak Lak province. Previously, in the Mnong’s traditional economic activities, the elephants were only used for purpose of traveling, trading, exchanging and transporting goods. Today, the elephants also participate in community cultural activities and festivals such as the Elephant Racing Festival in Buon Don or the Coffee Festival in Buon Ma Thuot, etc.

The Mnong’s collection “Tools for hunting and taming wild elephants” includes the following specific artifacts:

Tools for hunting and taming wild elephants include 02 sets: The first set contains 13 artifacts collected in 1990 in Buon Don, Krong Ana, Ea Sup; The second set includes 17 artifacts collected in 1996 in Buon Tri, Krong Na, Buon Don. In addition to artifacts used in the hunting process such as a food basket, a buffalo horn, a speeding hammer, a buffalo skin saddlecloth, a controlling stick and a controlling hammer, lasso to catch elephant’s leg, hook to catch elephant’s leg; The tools used in the process of elephant taming also give interesting stories about the process of taming wild elephants to become domestic elephants of the Mnong in the past.

The set of tools used in the elephant worshiping ceremony includes an offering bowl, a necklace, a copper bowl and an offering cooking-pot collected in 2008, showing people’s attachment and respect for elephants. Depending on family conditions, the Mnong often organize annually a health ceremony for elephants as well as other related rituals.

The artifacts in the collection “Tools for hunting and taming wild elephants” are selected to be displayed and introduced to visitors at the Peoples. These artifacts are associated with meaningful stories. For example, during the anti-America resistance, the howdah of Mr. Y Don Eban in Tri village, Krong Ana commune, Buon Don district was placed on the back of the domestic elephant to carry soldiers, weapons and food across the Serepok River to serve the 1975 Spring Campaign to liberate Buon Ma Thuot town; The roof of the howdah of Mrs. Me Linh (Bua Pau Knul) in Krong Ana commune, Buon Don district is associated with the story about N'Thu Knui (Khun Ju Nop), who was known as the King of Elephant Hunt, in which there is a white elephant offered to the King of Thailand. Khunjunob is the title that the King of Thailand bestowed on him. Through Me Linh's story: this howdah had been existed since the time of the grandfather, Mr. Khun Ju Nop, left for future generations. Or the artifacts, two elephant neck-bells of Mr. Ama Kong (Y Prong Eban), one of the famous elephant hunters in Buon Don, associated with a time when Mr. Ama Kong worked as the gru.

A part of exhibition of “Hunting and taming wild elephants”

Students visiting the exhibition “Hunting and taming wild elephants”

The collection "Tools for hunting and taming wild elephants" initially provides information and documents to recreate an overview of unique economic activities that existed in Buon Don, Dak Lak. The collection helps ethnographers, researchers and visitors get more understanding, and contributes to preserve and promote the value of the artifacts of hunting and taming wild elephants in particular as well as ethnographic artifacts and identity of the Mnong in general.