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T
he artifacts contained in the
Vietnam Museum of Ethnology
include not only priceless an-
tiquities, but also many everday
objects, such as knives, baskets, cloth-
ing garments, flutes, pipes and mats.
These objects reflect the cultural herit-
age of communities, providing insights
into their people’s day-to-day activities
and creative endeavors.
Jean Perrot, a French economist
visiting Vietnam spent half a day ex-
ploring the collections. He was most
taken with the diversity on show: “I
have visited Quai Branly Museum in
France which displays collections of
objects from many regions of Africa,
Asia and the Americas. However, here
in the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology,
it is more amazing because you can
find such diversity within the borders of
one small country. It is also interesting
to note the commonalities which exist
between some of the groups which at
first seem utterly alien to one another.”
The museum has gained a reputa-
tion for its clear and incisive labels for
every exhibit – something that Jean
says makes or breaks a museum visit.
Yan Nicolas, a 36 year old teacher,
visited the museum as part of a one
month trip. One of the stand out exhibits
for him was the short documentary film
about a Muong funeral: “It was particular-
ly enlightening because the funeral has
many religious rituals which one could
not fully understand simply by viewing
the effigies or reading about the process.”
Behind the building, the outdoor
exhibition space often proves the high-
light of a visit. The area contains dwell-
ings from the villages of various ethnic
groups set among trees between which
serene paths meander.
Each house was dismantled, trans-
ported to Hanoi, and faithfully recon-
structed. Visitors can see an Ede long
house, Tay stilt house, a Yao house and
a Hmong house with a pomu wood roof
among many others.
The Tay stilt house is a favourite
with many, but while it is easy enough
to climb up the steep ladder-cum-stair
way to reach it, getting back down can
prove rather more challenging, as two
young girls from Hong Kong found out:
“It was great fun and something I’ll al-
ways remember,” one said.
Helen, an18 year old American gap
year traveller, says the museum even
impacted her travel plans: “I did not
Log on to
Tripadvisor
and you will find the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology
ranked as the top attraction in Hanoi and sixth on the list of all Asian musems.
Hong Nhung
paid a visit to find out what has made it such a success.
UNDER ONE ROOF
ethnicities
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DESTINATION