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Story: Buon K’rong Tuyet Nhung
Photos: Ninh Ton
On the winding path of National Highway 27, about 60 km south of Buon Ma Thuot city, travelers will encounter Lak Lake, a natural freshwater lake that never dries up. This lake, the second-largest in Vietnam after Ba Be Lake, is steeped in the legend of a talented young man named Y Lak, from whom it derives its name, “the water of Y Lak” in the M’Nong language.
Lak Lake spans over 500 hectares, nestled amidst the majestic Chu Yang Sin mountain range and the rice fields of M’Nong villages in Lak district, Dak Lak province. From the peak of Chu Yang Sin, 2,442 meters above sea level, visitors are treated to a breathtaking panorama. The green diversity of the surrounding plant ecosystem, the golden glow of ripe rice fields, and the unique architecture of E De and M’Nong longhouses create a mesmerizing scene. Adding to the enchantment, dugout canoes, or “plung,” glide like graceful cranes across the tranquil surface of the lake.
The plung is a masterpiece of craftsmanship, meticulously carved from centuries-old hardwood. A tree selected for a canoe must have a straight trunk with a circumference exceeding the embrace of two young men, ensuring durability and width. Before felling the tree, village elders perform a ritual to seek permission from the forest deity. From this solid hardwood, artisans create a canoe about five to seven meters long, approximately 50 cm wide, with sides and bottom three to five cm thick. This process, excluding the time spent searching for the tree, takes not mere weeks but often one or two lunar months, or sometimes even longer.
A typical plung can carry three people and undergoes a family recognition ceremony and launching ritual before it is paddled by young men and women or used to carry passengers on the turbulent Father Krong Kno River and the gentle Mother Krong Ana River. During the initiation ceremony, the M’Nong people prepare many dishes and open jars of rice wine to announce the event to the spirits and invite their ancestors to bless the craft and pray for safety when putting the boat in the water.
M’Nong families place great value upon their plung, which becomes an indispensable companion for water transportation and fishing. These canoes are like close friends to Lak Lake residents when they cast their fishing nets on the lake each morning. Moreover, plungs have the honor of carrying village elders to welcome sets of gongs, precious large gongs, ancient jars of wine, and sacred bronze pots back to the families during the festival seasons.
The plung reveals unique traditional boat carving skills and is also a family asset representing power and wealth. For the community, it is a unique artistic masterpiece in the tangible and intangible cultural heritage system of the M’Nong people in the Serepok River Basin.
Visit Lak Lake to hear legendary stories about deities and the sacred mother and father elephant rocks. Visitors who explore Lak Lake will never forget paddling a plung, gracefully navigating over this poetic lake, amidst clouds, sky, and majestic mountains.
