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> Museum Of
Ethnology Hanoi Vietnam
Vietnam Museum of Ethnology is both a research
centre and a public museum exhibiting the ethnic
groups of Vietnam. The mission of the Museum is
scientific research, collection, documentation,
conservation, exhibition and preserving the
cultural and historic patrimony of the nation’s
different ethnic groups. The museum also serves to
guide research, conservation, and technology that
are specific to the work of an ethnographic
museum.
In its planning for the future, the Museum intends
to present the cultures and civilisations of other
countries of South-East Asia as well as in the
region.
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Establishment
Vietnam is a multi-ethnic country, which is
composed of 54 ethnic groups. Perceiving the
importance of having an ethnographic museum to
preserve and present the cultural heritages of
ethnic groups, the Government decided to establish
a museum of ethnology in Hanoi. The Proposal for
the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology was officially
approved on December 14, 1987. Land was allocated
for construction: in 1987, 2,500m2 and in 1988,
9,500m2. Then, in 1990, the Prime Minister decided
to allocate the entire 3,27 acres of land to the
Museum.
During construction (1987 to 1995), the Project
Managing Board and the Museum Department were a
part of the Institute of Ethnology. On October 24,
1995, the Prime Minister made the decision on
establishment of the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology,
under National Centre for Social Sciences and
Humanities. On November 12, 1997, the Vietnam
Museum of Ethnology inaugurated its permanent
exhibition and officially opened to the public.
The
Museum is located in a large open area on Nguyen
Van Huyen Street, Cau Giay District, about 8 km
from the city centre. This area used to be paddy
field of the local people. During the construction
of the Museum, all of the infrastructure was
built, including the 700m road from Hoang Quoc
Viet Street to the entrance of the Museum. (In the
near future, this road will reach the Daewoo
Hotel, which is situated between Cau Giay and Lieu
Giai Streets)
The Vietnamese Government first invested in the
Museum in 1986 and construction of the foundation
began in late 1989. According to the proposal, the
total budget for construction was 27 billion of
Vietnamese dong (US$ 1.9 million), not including 4
billion dong (US$ 285,000) for collecting and
exhibiting the artefacts.
The exhibition building of the Museum was designed
by the architect Ha Duc Linh, a Tay minority, who
works for the Living Houses and Public Works
Building Company, Ministry of Construction. The
interior architecture was done by Mrs. Veronique
Dollfus, a French architect.
The Museum is divided into two parts: an indoor
and an outdoor exhibition. The indoor part is
composed of the exhibition building, office,
research centre, library, storage, technical lab
and auditorium. These offices cover 2,480m2,
including 750 m2 for storage of artefacts. The
outdoor exhibition, which will be accomplished in
the first years of the 21st century, is to
highlight different types of houses in all parts
of Vietnam. Pathways link the indoor and outdoor
exhibitions with each other.
Since its inauguration on the occasion of the 7th
Summit of Francophony in Hanoi, give date the
Museum receives about 60,000 visitors annually.
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What is new at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology?
The
Vietnam Museum of Ethnology is a valuable centre
for the exhibition and the preservation of
cultural heritages of the 54 ethnic groups in
Vietnam. To date, the Museum has collected 15,000
artefacts, 2,190 slides, 42,000 photographs, 237
audiotapes, 373 videotapes and 25 CD-ROMs. It is
also a centre for ethnographic research employing
many experts on the different ethnic groups.
People come to the Museum just not to visit or
entertain, but also to learn about these ethnic
groups, their cultural diversity and the
uniqueness of each group and region, as well as
traditional values throughout the Vietnamese
country. For this reason, national and
international visitors, children and students,
professionals and non-professionals are attracted
to the Museum.
The
artefacts of the Museum are not only priceless
antiquities, but many are everyday objects, such
as knives, baskets, garments, flutes, pipes and
mats. These objects reflect tangible and
intangible cultural heritages of the communities,
representing lives and creative activities of the
people. Thus, artefacts of the Museum are so
varied that they are organised into different
collections. The Museum has 54 collections of each
individual ethnic group. Functionally classified,
there are collections of clothing, jewellery, of
agricultural tools, fishing instruments, weapons,
household utensils and musical instruments. In
addition, there are collections of artefacts
related to the various religions, beliefs, wedding
ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and other social
and spiritual activities. Based on the specific
collections, the Museum organises exhibitions and
publishes books and catalogues in different
formats in order to meet the needs of various
audiences of different backgrounds.
The two-floor building, which is inspired by the
Vietnamese famous and ancient bronze drum, holds
the permanent collection. A granite bridge leads
from the main gate to the entrance of the
exhibition, creating a feeling of going up to a
house-on-stilts which is very popular in many
areas of Vietnam. On entering the Museum, the
granite floor is decorated with dark tiles
arranged in the shape of an S. This decoration
symbolises the shape of the Vietnamese coastline,
the earth is in dark colour and the ocean is light
grey.
The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology has been designed
to reflect the country's technical and scientific
progress as well as the Museum’s objectives. First
of all, the Museum was created for everybody. This
is reflected in both the architecture and the
display techniques. The Museum has ramps for
physically challenged people and an electric
elevator allowing access to the second floor. All
steps have handrails that are very comfortable for
older people. Learning from the experiences of
many museums in the world, the museum texts are
not in capital letters but small letters so that
it is easy for people of different ages to read
them. Panels are presented at reasonable heights,
for both adults and children. In addition to
objects, there are photographs, texts, videos and
many reference materials, all of which can be
brought into full play to inform visitors with
different levels of education and different needs.
The objects are displayed as centrepieces because
they reflect the everyday lives of the people. The
Museum’s consistent point of view is that the
display should be simple, so that visitors can
admire the beauty and finesse of each ordinary and
simple item. Although there are no illustrative
paintings in the Museum, photographs and videos
are used to illustrate people’s lives.
A restricted number of 700 objects and 280
photographs are displayed in the Museum’s
permanent exhibits, which helps visitors avoid
being distracted by an over-representation of
artefacts.
The different collections are displayed according
to language groups and territories. Most of the
objects presented in the 97 showcases are
original. The showcases have either one-sided
windows or four-sided windows, depending on the
artefacts presented. For example, some cases
present many artefacts; others have only one
significant object. Among the showcases in the
display, 50 cases are accompanied by texts. Each
object has a label denoting its name, the ethnic
group and the place where it was created. There
are also mannequins, maps, graphs, hardcover
books, photographs, videotapes, cassette tapes,
models, and 33 section panels. Though the Museum
is not large, dioramas highlight certain customs
or cultural features of ethnic groups.
Adding to the many layers of information available
to visitors, the museum provides hundreds of
panels composed of explanations, illustrative
photographs and maps. Unfortunately, because of
limited space, the texts are condensed. Not only
do the texts and the object labels serve a
national audience, they are also translated into
English and French in order to facilitate
international visitors. Thus, visitors
experiencing the museum, even without a tour
guide, are able to understand the main messages of
the displays.
New technical solutions have been used throughout
the Museum, such as focused lights. The light
radiates inside and outside the glass windows
focusing on the most significant aspect of each
object in order to set off its beauty and draw
visitors’ attention. In addition, a ventilation
system has been installed within each display area
to protect the objects from mould and decay.
The outdoor exhibition area is only large enough
for the most popular architectural styles to be
represented. Already presented are the Ede long
house, the Tay stilt house, the Yao house half on
stilts, half on earth, the Hmong house whose roof
is made of pomu wood, the Viet house with tile
roof and the Giarai tomb. There are future plans
to present the Bahnar communal house, the Cham
traditional house and the Hanhi house made with
beaten walls. Between the houses, there are trees
indigenous to the area of each house, zigzagging
paths and a meandering stream crossed by small
bridges. The outdoor museum is being realised step
by step.
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