Built in 2005, a Catholic church in Pleiku resembles an ethnic minority communal house on stilts.
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The Pleichuet Church located on Truong Dinh Street in the center of Pleiku Town, Gia Lai Province, is built like a communal house on stilts by the ethnic minorities who live in the Central Highlands.
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The church is also known as the Pleichuet Mission Center under the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.
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The church architecture and designs are copied from the communal house style of the Jrai people.
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A typical feature of a Jrai house are long bamboo poles or neu placed in front of the courtyard. Neu is traditionally placed in front of the house to ward off evil spirits.
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The church, though, is 5 times bigger than an ordinary communal house.
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Its floor, nearly 2 meters above the ground, is supported with large wooden pillars.
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The church co-opts the cultural markers of the ethnic minority communities who live in the Tay Nguyen, or Central Highlands region.
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The main hall of the church, a large room with wooden floors, does not have seats or benches. It h
as a statue of the Christ on across in the center.
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Smaller versions of the long bamboo pole with its decoration are placed inside the church near the main idol.
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A solid stone fence surrounds the church.
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Located next to the church is the building that lodges the clergy.
