On the morning of November 1, relatives of Mr. Dang Nang Long brought his body to Lien Son town, Lak district (Dak Lak province) to say goodbye to the people. This is the land where Mr. Long was attached to the work of taming, caring for and raising elephants.
According to records, from early morning, people and many elephant riders were present at Mr. Long's private home to pay their respects.
Here, the elephant trainer controls 7 domestic elephants and parades starting from Mr. Long's private house, moving around locations in the area.
This action is to commemorate Mr. Long's profound imprints on this land. In front of Mr. Dang Nang Long's body, the herd of elephants knelt down to pay their final farewell to the man known as the Elephant King of the Central Highlands.
According to the family's announcement, after the cremation, the family will bring Mr. Long's body back to his home in Lak district to hold a funeral. During the funeral, the family will not accept condolences or wreaths.
Mr. Long's family will distribute charity gifts to support some disadvantaged families in the area according to the deceased's wishes.
Elephant trainer Y Vinh E Ung (38 years old, in Lak district) emotionally said: "When he was alive, Mr. Long was a person who was attached to, supported, and helped elephant owners participate in tourism, creating a livelihood for people to escape poverty. He loved elephants very much and was always thinking about and finding many ways to develop his herd of domestic elephants."
"Many elephant riders from nearly 20km away still tried to travel with the elephants from early morning to attend the funeral ceremony of Mr. Dang Nang Long. This shows the affection of the elephant riders for the Elephant King Dang Nang Long" - Mr. Y Vinh added.
Mr. Dang Nang Long was a M'nong ethnic, born and raised in Le village, Lien Son town (Lak district). He suddenly passed away on the afternoon of October 27, at the age of 63.
Mr. Long is the owner of the largest herd of domestic elephants in the Central Highlands today. Therefore, many people near and far often call Mr. Dang Nang Long "King of Elephants". At one point, he owned a herd of up to 7 elephants.
