Tượng gỗ nhà mồ làng Mơ H'ra

Wooden statue of the tomb house of Mo H'ra village

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Wooden statue of the tomb of Mo H'ra village

16/05/2023
tuanlong

The Bahnar Kon Kêdeh in Mo H'ra still have a tradition of placing handmade statues at the graveyard during the burial ceremony. After the burial ceremony, relatives will no longer visit but leave the statue as a companion and serve the dead in the afterlife. In recent decades, when many tombs were built with bricks, the demand for tomb statues also gradually disappeared over time. One of the reasons for the loss of tombstones in Gia Lai and the Central Highlands in general for a long time is the theft of wooden tombstones to resell to private antique collectors in big cities or abroad. outside. For a long time, Mo H'ra village has not had a new statue. In the village, brothers and uncles have cherished to make new wooden statues, not to send to the deceased, but to keep for their children and grandchildren and introduce people in other places to a part of spiritual life. at the village.

Dinh Alec shared:

“This statue is not for graves or graveyards, but for descendants and outsiders to see the traditions of the Bahnar people. Such is the story.”

When given the opportunity to sculpt new statues, the team at Mo H'ra started with their memories of the ancient tombs. The first time is always difficult and worrisome, when finding the trees drunk was cut down long ago in the village, everyone has to make offerings Yang (God) to promise the tree that this wood will be turned into a village statue, pray that the process of making the statue will not have an accident. Wood drunk Hard enough for the statue to be durable, the wood grain is also soft enough to carve. Sketches are drawn straight onto the wood, large strokes are separated with a large ax, then details are made with various chisels from large to small. The speed is from fast to slow, small details need attention and care to keep the original image. After the statue is considered complete, a worshiping ceremony is also performed, blessing the statue with chicken blood so that the statue can be soaked in the sun and rain without being damaged or cracked. Even to change the position of the statue, the village elder had to ask Yang's permission to put the statue in the communal house yard, instead of in the tomb area as before.

Dinh Mung recounted the process of making the statue:

“When I made a statue for the first time, I was afraid it wouldn't look good, I was very happy when I finished it, I thought I couldn't do it, but I finally did. As I do, I visualize, my hands do, my head thinks. When I finished, I felt very happy, I wonder why I didn't do it now." Statues in the shape of drum dancing, pounding rice, dancing Sinus, carrying children, are all scenes dear to the eyes of the villagers. They remember images of old men and women (parents) as inspiration for wooden statues. They remember the stories they heard and were told to refer to the process of making statues. They keep that vision of the past, to make statues for the future. In the past, only the houses in the village could afford to order wooden statues for the deceased. Now, when coming out of the tomb space, the meaning of these statues is formed by the people who made them. These six wooden statues at Mo H'ra do not need to be companions of the deceased as in the past, but are now used to guard the house space. dragon tradition in the middle of the village, existing in parallel with the life going on around.

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IMAGE

Sinus dance statue

Sinus dance is a traditional dance that takes place during festivals of the Bahnar people. Usually, the women in the village do Xoan dancing and the men beat the gongs. The statue is approximately 40 x 40 x 120 cm high, made from drunken wood that has been cut for many years in the village. The group that made the statue of Mo H'ra village included Mr. Dinh Minh, Mr. Dinh Bon, Mr. Dinh Alec, Mr. Dinh Mong, and Mr. Dinh Phot.

Rice pounding statue 1

Dinh Minh recounted: “In the past, every morning when I opened my eyes, I saw my mother pounding rice, every day was the same. So when I made this statue, I immediately thought of my mother, taking that picture to make this statue." The statue is approximately 40 x 40 x 120 cm high, made from drunken wood that has been cut for many years in the village. The group that made the statue of Mo H'ra village included Mr. Dinh Minh, Mr. Dinh Bon, Mr. Dinh Alec, Mr. Dinh Mong, and Mr. Dinh Phot.

Rice pounding statue 2

Not only rice, the main food of Bahnar people is mostly processed by pounding or grinding. In each daily tray of Bahnar people, there are dishes prepared by pounding or mashing. Forest leaves are also processed in this way to create a specific flavor for the dish. Most of this work will be done by adults in the house. Every Bahnar family must have a mortar and pestle in the kitchen. For them, a true family must have its own set of mortars and pestles. The statue is approximately 40 x 40 x 120 cm high, made from drunken wood that has been cut for many years in the village. The group that made the statue of Mo H'ra village included Mr. Dinh Minh, Mr. Dinh Bon, Mr. Dinh Alec, Mr. Dinh Mong, and Mr. Dinh Phot.

Drum statue

The sound of a drum opens a series of gong music for a Bahnar festival. After the ceremony and everyone ate and drank, the drummer led the gong and Xoan dancing procession around the communal house yard, creating a rhythm for the whole village to follow. The statue is approximately 40 x 40 x 120 cm high, made from drunken wood that has been cut for many years in the village. The group that made the statue of Mo H'ra village included Mr. Dinh Minh, Mr. Dinh Bon, Mr. Dinh Alec, Mr. Dinh Mong, and Mr. Dinh Phot.

Baby carrier statue

The children in Mo H'ra lie on their mother's back and go to the fields until they can walk. The statue of a mother carrying a child is also an image that is often reproduced on traditional wooden statues placed in the graveyard. The statue is approximately 40 x 40 x 120 cm high, made from drunken wood that has been cut for many years in the village. The group that made the statue of Mo H'ra village included Mr. Dinh Minh, Mr. Dinh Bon, Mr. Dinh Alec, Mr. Dinh Mong, and Mr. Dinh Phot.

Statue of a sad person

The statue of a sad person sitting and holding his ear is a familiar shape that often appears in the graveyard. Village elder Dinh H'mnh explained, the person holding the ear means that there are many sad thoughts in the heart, showing compassion for the deceased. The statue is approximately 40 x 40 x 120 cm high, made from drunken wood that has been cut for many years in the village. The group that made the statue of Mo H'ra village included Mr. Dinh Minh, Mr. Dinh Bon, Mr. Dinh Alec, Mr. Dinh Mong, and Mr. Dinh Phot.