Natural waterfall Pon Gour, located in Tan Hoi commune, Duc Trong district, Lam Dong province, is viewed as the most beautiful in the Central Highlands. On every lunar January 15, the locals open the waterfall festival.

From legends…

With the name Pon Gour, the first supposition is that Pon Gour was translated from Pon-gou of the Co Ho language by the French, meaning “master of the white clay region”. According to the geological document, there was much kaolin in the region.

The second supposition is that the name originated from the Co Ho language with the meaning “the current water from a high position pours down and whirls up.”

In the third supposition, Mr K’Brit in K’Chai village told a legend about “four hippo horns” (in Co Ho language: pon means four and gou means horn.”

To “the best well-known waterfall”

Streams of people flocked to the festival. In the blazing sunlight in the Central Highlands, the space was at a prenium. However, visitors were eager to make their way to the waterfall with a view to attending the biggest traditional festival in Lam Dong.

The Pon Gour festival last year drew more than 15,000 visitors and so did this year’s.

Village chief R’Chai said, once upon a time, when there was bright moon, people of the Co Ho, Chau Ma and Chu Ru tribes gathered around the waterfall. They drank ruou can (wine drunk out of a jar through pipes), danced and prayed for prosperity and peace for their village. Everyone also re-tells the legend of the waterfall and remember a female head of a tribe named Ka Nai who they honour. It has gradually become a custom.

In the 1960s, Duc Trong region became a residential area of people from many localities across the country. The Pon Gour waterfall festival became a festive day of not only the ethnic locals but also the Kinh (Viet), Chinese, Tay, Thai and Nung people…

The waterfall festival becomes more exciting and busier every year. Visitors to the festival use the opportunity to exchange and learn about one another.

Source: Nhandan