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Highlanders' "crying jars"
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Vietnam's traditional central highland homes center on "crying jars," an indispensable part of the region's culture, symbolic of prosperity and fertility to northern highland indigenous ethnic minorities.
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The jars contain sacred "can" wine to be drunk through small bamboo
pipes.
The highlanders regard their jars as members of the family, full
entities having their own soul.
According to highland custom, when a young family member passes
away, the family will break off a piece of the jar's mouth to express
mourning for the dead person, hence, "crying jar."
The jars are seen as a status symbol with a family's financial
situation judged by the number of jars they have, and by the jars'
age.
The older the jar, the more highly valued and treasured it is.
Families cherish the older jars, which are inevitably some of the
home's most valuable assets.
Some jars are over 100 year olds, worth the equivalent cost of
around 20-30 buffalos.
When older members of the family with higher status standing die,
broken pieces of the crying jar are buried with them.
There is a famous Vietnamese photograph of a large crying jar surrounded
by smaller ones, nicknamed "the jars of mothers carrying babies
on her arms".
In the photograph, there are four broken pieces on the mouth of
the big jar, suggesting that this jar was at least 100 years-old,
having outlived the possession of four owners.
Tourists visiting Kon Tum province can see crying jars and speak
with indigenous people about the jars at the provincial museum or
the Kon Tum Tourism Center, which can also arrange visits to traditional
homes.
By Nhat Hung - Translated by An Dien
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