E De bridegroom welcoming ritual turned into cultural tourism experience in Dak Lak

The highlight of the program was the reenactment of the bridegroom welcoming ritual in the traditional wedding of the E De people.

Artisans from Tong Ju village, Ea Kao ward fully recreated the bridegroom welcoming ritual (Iêô wĭt sang mniê) within the green space under the ancient trees of the museum grounds.

According to custom, after the wedding, the wife resides at her husband's house for one to three years. The bridegroom welcoming ceremony is performed when the agreements between the two families are completed, and the husband officially moves to the wife's house.

On the procession route, the groom must overcome ritualistic challenges. He presents copper rings and offerings to relatives and friends of both sides before being welcomed into the wife's house for the ceremony.

 To the E De, the copper ring is a symbol of fidelity, while the challenges on the route convey the wish that the couple will jointly overcome difficulties to build a happy life.

Artisan Y Djing Adrong from Tong Ju village stated that this is a long-standing custom under the E De matriarchal system that is still preserved today. Introducing the ritual to serve tourists contributes to preserving identity while opening up livelihoods from community tourism.

Y Djing Adrong shared that he felt honored to participate in the reenactment to look back at the traditions and cultural beauty of the E De.

Tong Ju village currently does community tourism, which is a good direction that creates jobs for locals while maintaining ethnic identity such as brocade weaving, gong playing, or recreating rituals. He hopes the cultural values of the E De will spread so more people in the world know them and preserve them forever.

The audience enjoyed performances of gongs, bamboo chimes, stone lithophones, songs imbued with Central Highlands melodies, and experienced the jar wine (ruou can) culture with the artisans following the ritual reenactment.

Dam Duc Chinh from Pong Drang municipality, Dak Lak province, who followed the program from start to finish, felt the program was very interesting, creating a space for tourists to get closer to the cultural life of the E De rather than just observing through displays or images.

He expressed his joy in attending the wedding ritual, noting that he witnessed the entire journey from the bride's family welcoming the groom's family at the gate, to the proposal, the wedding demands, the ring exchange, and the intimate meal with both families. He felt that this ritual needs to be promoted and preserved more so future generations can see and learn from it.

The program also left an impression on international tourists. Steve, from Scotland, stated this was the first time he witnessed a traditional ritual of the E De.

The sounds of the gongs and the way the local community preserves their culture made him particularly interested. He found the program very interesting, especially liked the music of the E De, and noted that such cultural values need to be introduced more in the media so many people know them, adding that he will definitely return.

The Gong Culture performance will continue to be held periodically at the museum according to the plan. Each month will introduce a traditional ritual of the ethnic groups in the area, contributing to heritage preservation and building cultural tourism products to serve visitors.

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