Y Thu Knul

From the list of elephant persons Family: Knul

☨ Y Thu Knul

Portrait of elephant king Y Thu Knul donated by the French colonialists.
Profession	village mahout
Personal details
Ethnic group	Mnong
Born	1828

Dead	1938

Residence
Country	Vietnam

Locations
Title	elephant owner -1938
Location	at Buon Don village in Vietnam

Biography details

Y Thu Knul , Mnong village mahout in Vietnam

Knul was born * 1828 dead 1938 .

Y Thu Knul captured and tamed 400-500 elephants, why he is called The elephant king in Vietnam. He gave a white elephant to the king of Siam and was given the title Khun Ju Nop (Khunjunob), meaning "elephant Hunting king". He also founded the village Buon Don in Daklak, Vietnam.

According to Ma Phuong, the elephant king Y Thu Knul was born in 1828, his mother was an Ede, his father was a M'Nong, when Y Thu Knul was still in his mother's womb, his biological father became seriously ill and died. Then his mother married a Lao man. Because of this, posterity often mistakenly thinks that Y Thu Knul is of Laotian blood, even some people call him king of Laos, gru (chief) of Laos...

Y Thu Knul with wife.

When the elephant king Y Thu Knul died, it was the French and King Bao Dai who built him a grave to pay their respects. His grave is next to the grave of his wife and children in Yok Don forest. become a place to visit for tourists from all over the world when traveling to Buon Don, it is also a cultural symbol of the Central Highlands people.
Ma Phuong (Y Nhi Ria) Ma Phuong is the fifth grandson of the elephant king Y Thu Knul.

The grave of Y Thu Knul in the middle. A year after his death, in 1939, his nephew R'Leo Knul held the ceremony of 'grave abandoning and had a tomb built for him in the M'Nong-Laos architectural style. The tomb of R'Leo Knul himself lies next to his uncle's tomb. Photo: © Dan Koehl, 2012.

Family

Total: 2 children

H'No Knul. Born: ?. Dead: † 1941
H'Hot Knul. Born: 1925?.

Y Thu Knul is mentioned on 2 other person pagesR’Leo Knul, Y Eban,

Y Thu Knul is mentioned on 1 location pagesBuon Don village,

Reference list

References

Koehl, Dan, (2025). mahout Y Thu Knul in Vietnam. Elephant Encyclopedia, available online retrieved 28 April 2025 at https://www.elephant.se/person.php?id=576. (archived at the Wayback machine)

Sources used for this article is among others:

http://www.amazingvietnam.vn/2014/06/bi-mat-ve-huyen-thoai-san-voi-y-thu-knul.html

Selected publications

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