There are now over 100,000 K’Ho living scattered Lam Dong province. The K’Ho traditionally speak a Mon-Khmer-based language, but nowadays most kids also learn Vietnamese at school. Despite this assimilation with the ethnic majority all K’Ho still speak their native dialect amongst themselves.

The K’Ho live off hunting and cultivating rice or maize. As hunters and farmers, they believe that the world is controlled by supernatural forces. Genies and ghosts are everywhere in the K’Ho spiritual world. Genies support people, but ghosts bring sorrow and misfortune.

The K’Ho also believe the universe includes three layers, one for the sky, one for the living and one for the dead. The genies live in the sky and answer to Yang N’Du, the supreme power. Yang N’Du is served by many other genies who control the spiritual life of the K’Ho, such as the Rice, the Earth, the Sun, the Water, the Mountain, the Fire and the Gongs.

“We believe that genies always like drinking alcohol and eating meat,” say K’Brem, a 63 year-old resident from Di Ling district in Lam Dong province. “So we often offer them buffaloes, pigs, goats and chicken and alcohol for major sacrifices during festivals or rituals.”

K’Brem says the Fire Genie and Gong Genie are often highlighted during local ceremonies, which are held when crops are harvested, or when the village has something to celebrate.

Fire Genie

“Fire is quite sacred to K’Ho people because it has helped us fight our fear of night and cook our food when we are hungry,” say K’Bres, a 72 year-old man.

Ritual preparations to welcome for the Fire Genie are carefully made by all villagers. Taking place at night at the most solemn place in the village, the participants light a big bonfire and join hands.

In the silence of the forests and mountains, a buffalo horn sounds to announce the beginning of the ceremony. The village patriarch lights the bonfire and prays on behalf of the community. After that he sacrifices chickens, pigs and goats with a sharp, newly made sword. The blood of the sacrificed animals is applied to thousands of torches which have been soaked in oil. The torches are then held aloft by villagers after being lit in the bonfire. Now, the genie has arrived and witnesses how he has been worshipped and so blesses villagers and allows the ceremony to go on.

Lords of the Gongs

Sitting under a big tree with his eyes gazing up at the high mountains before him K’Breoh, a 65-year-old local resident, says that his family owns 30 gongs, which have been handed down from generation to generation. Throughout the highlands, gongs are an important part of the cultural heritage and a spiritual symbol for numerous hill tribes.

“I don’t know how old some of them are. My grandfather said that the gongs were already hanging in the walls of our home before he was born,” says K’Breoh.

Puffing deeply on his water pipe, 72-year-old K’Nhan, who has 22 gongs and is K’Breoh’s neigbour, says with a smile “I think that my gongs are as old as that tree.”

“K’Ho people have played gongs for as long as we have lived in the highlands. We all know how to play the gong. It’s in our nature. Gongs are sacred to us. We believe they have their own souls. The bigger the sound they make the more powerful the gong’s genie becomes,” he added.

“The Gong Genie can protect us but he also punishes those who have offended his honour. You must hold the gong above your knees and should never put it on the ground. If you do, that means you are irritating our genies.”

For locals, the instrument’s sound is the bridge between their life and the supernatural world. Gongs are used in all events of the village and are played in accordance with the content of the event. A set of gongs consists of two to twenty units. A gong’s sound can symbolise the sound of stream, the wind or the hearts of people. It expresses their wishes and their dreams.

In a ceremony, such as the ritual for welcoming the Fire Genie, the village patriarch also offers prayers towards the Gong Genie. He calls out the names of assorted gongs and respectfully invites them to join the ceremony. He also invites them to enjoy alcohol and meat, and prays for the gongs to sound louder and louder.

After finishing the prayers, he smears some of the blood of the sacrificed animals onto the side of the gongs. After that the gongs are lowered and they are played and the people start to sing and dance.

“The Gong Genie and Fire Genie are never separated in any festival or ceremony of the K’Ho, because they have shared our happiness and sorrow for thousands of generations,” says K’Bres.