Communal house rises from the ashes

Rong house, the old communal center of Kon Klor Village in Kon Tum Province which was burnt down last year has been resurrected by a community that has fought hard to preserve its tradition.
May 9, 2010 is an unforgettable day to every Ba Na resident of Kon Klor Village.
The Kon Klor Rong community hall, the heart of life of every Ba Na village and the biggest of its kind in the Central Highlands was burnt to ashes. It was where Ba Na people gathered every year to pray for peace and prosperity.
A group of young villagers challenged each other to burn it, the village chief A Phor recalled, and a fierce fire later engulfed the pride of the village.
Adults wept and children’s eyes were filled with tears as they all stood gazing at the fifty-year-old house being swallowed in flame.
“Burning a Rong community hall is like burning the spirit and the heart of all villagers,” chief A Phor pointed at his left chest when recalling the incidence one year ago.
But Kon Klor Village was able to stand up on its feet and started from scratch.
The heart of Kon Klor is now beating again. Construction of the house has been completed.
All were overwhelmed with joy and locals danced, sang and played the gongs, their traditional musical instrument, to celebrate the comeback of their community’s symbol.
“The old one was the biggest in all Central Highlands but this one is even bigger,” chief A Phor said. “It is made of large tree trunks that are very hard to find.”
The Central Highlands’ pride
The new communal house, again the biggest traditional communal center in the Central Highlands, has more to it than just impressive measurements.
With 22 m in height, 17.2 m in length and an area of 260 sq.m, the house wasn’t just built by Kon Klor villagers.
A typical Rong house would require blady grass for its roof and large tree trunks for its structure.
As there are not many large trees with trunks big enough to make pillars and rafters left in the region because of deforestation, the villagers had to travel as far as the mountainous areas of Gia Lai, a neighboring province to search for big trunks.
Fortunately, a generous business heard the story and agreed to sell 12 huge tree trunks from Laos to the villagers.
“It would have been hard if the villagers had been on their own,” said Pham Thanh Ha, a senior local official. “But many companies in our area have supported us eagerly by giving us wood and money.”