For more than 50 years, Ama H’Loan has quietly preserved the cultural soul of his village, holding together traditions at risk of fading amid modern change.
From his weathered hands and deeply held memories, he continues to recreate an entire universe of E De culture, undeterred by the pressures of modern life and cultural dilution.
Guarding the cultural roots beside the longhouse staircase
Ama H’Loan, whose real name is Y Bong Nie, is now 86 years old and lives in Ako Dhong village, Ea Tam ward, Dak Lak province. For decades, he has devoted his life to this historic village, where traditional rituals - from building longhouses and celebrating new rice harvests to coming-of-age ceremonies, grave-leaving rites, and nights of epic storytelling - have shaped his identity.
Ama H’Loan is the only Distinguished Artisan in Ako Dhong village who knows how to craft and play traditional musical instruments of the E De people.
He began crafting simple bamboo instruments when he was just over ten years old. As he grew up, he joined the revolutionary movement, working as a liaison officer, engaging in grassroots mobilization and later directly participating in combat to defend the resistance base.
In 1969, he traveled to northern Vietnam for training, returning to the Central Highlands in 1972 to continue the struggle. After reunification, he served as Deputy Secretary of the provincial youth union and later worked at the Dak Lak Provincial Party Committee’s propaganda department until his retirement in 2000.
A pioneer in crafting traditional instruments
Ama H’Loan creates instruments from humble materials such as bamboo, wood, dried gourds and buffalo horn, using little more than a sharp knife. He was the first to use woods like xoan, huong and tac to craft the kipa horn, replacing buffalo horn while preserving its original sound quality. This innovation opened a new path for preserving traditional instruments.
He also possesses a rare skill: tuning gongs - a highly demanding craft that requires an exceptional musical ear.
Regardless of his roles throughout life, he has always maintained the habit of documenting and collecting customs, rituals and cultural practices of the E De people. Within the community, he is among the few with deep knowledge of both the structure and performance of traditional instruments, from bamboo sets to gong ensembles.
Over the years, he has mastered crafting and playing nearly all E De folk instruments, including ding nam, ding tak, ding takta, ding buot, ching kram, t’rung, kipa, and ding klut. Through his hands, melodies once thought lost have come alive again across the village.
He cannot recall how many instruments he has made over more than 40 years, nor how many have found their way into the hands of visitors and art troupes from across the country.
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As a war veteran, Ama H’Loan (center) is regularly visited and encouraged by officers from the Dak Lak Provincial Military Command on important occasions.
Today, Ako Dhong has become Dak Lak’s first community-based tourism village, where traditional instruments remain an integral part of daily life. Inside Ama H’Loan’s longhouse, dozens of instruments he crafted over the decades are carefully preserved like treasured relics.
Listening to him play the ding nam is like hearing a story unfold - sometimes gentle and reflective like a couple heading to the fields, at other times haunting and sorrowful like a message to the departed. Each instrument opens a different emotional landscape, guiding listeners through the many layers of E De life.
His mastery in both crafting and performance means he is often invited by local authorities and residents to retune gong sets, revive forgotten ensembles, or assist the Dak Lak Museum in restoring and showcasing traditional instruments for visitors.
According to H’Zu Nie Nie, Party cell secretary of Ako Dhong village, Ama H’Loan is considered a “great tree” safeguarding the unique cultural values of the E De people. He is especially rare for his gong tuning skills, a craft that demands innate musical sensitivity. In 2019, he was awarded the title of Distinguished Artisan by the President.
Thanks to him, the sounds of E De tradition - carried through instruments he both creates and performs - continue to resonate across the Central Highlands.
Yet his greatest concern remains unresolved: he has not found a true successor. Many have come to learn, but none have fully absorbed the depth of his knowledge. He fears that one day, there may be no one left who can both craft and perform these instruments with equal mastery.
Still, in recent years, renewed efforts by authorities and growing interest among younger generations in traditional culture offer a glimmer of hope. It is a quiet reassurance for the aging artisan as he continues his lifelong journey.
Because for Ama H’Loan, the mission has never been only about preserving instruments - it is about safeguarding a way of life.
And perhaps that is the greater question his story leaves behind: as data, technology and modern systems reshape society, are we ready to protect the intangible heritage that defines who we are?
Vietnamnet.vn
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