Life is long journeys…
SKYFALL TOURISM
THE MUSEUM OF THE CULTURES OF VIETNAM’S ETHINIC GROUPS
INTRODUCTION
The museum of cultures of Vietnam's ethnic groups is located in the Centre of Thai Nguyen city ,about 80km north of Hanoi on national way 3. The museum was built
in 1960 . Its first name was Viet Bac museum . In 1990, it was renamed the museum of the cultures of Vietnam's ethnic groups and become one of the seven national museums of Vietnam. The museum is a big cultural center with more than 10000documents and artifacts belong to
the cultural heritage of54 ethnic groups of Vietnam. The museum also presents an extensive collection of agricultural, handicraft and hunting tools. There are five indoor showrooms which are exhibited the cultures of different ethnic language groups consisting of
Viet-
Muong, Tay-Thai, Hmong-Dao, Mon-Khmer and Malayo– Polynesian language groups and an outdoor exhibition system . It’s also a place for people to learn about the origin and traditional cultural identities of every ethnic
groups in Viet Nam.
CONTENT
1
Hall A
Showroom No.1: Cultures of ethnic groups of Viet-Muong language group
2
Showroom No2: Cultures of ethnic groups of Tay-Thai language group
5
9
11
13
15
Showroom No3:Cultures of ethnic groups of Hâ€&#x;mong-Dao, Kadai and Tibeto-Burman language group
Showroom No4: Cultures of ethnic groups of Mon-Khmer language group
Showroom No5: Cultures of ethnic groups of Chinese and MalayoPolylesian language group
The outdoor exhibition system
HALL HALLA A The statue of President Ho Chi Minh In the hall A, the general features of cultures of Vietnamese ethnic groups are introduced. At
the big vestibule, we can admire the statue of President Ho Chíi Minh, the Vietnamese people‟s beloved leader. He embraces three children representing three areas North-Central-South. It shows his immense affection to children of three
areas as well as
the
policy
of unification,
diversification and great unity of the Vietnamese
Wooden relief Behind the statue is a big wooden relief describing typical and traditional festivals of ethnic groups from North to South: Khèen dancing in
mountainous
periodic market, Lion dancing in
spring festival in the valley, Ka Te festival of the
Chăam people, Buffalo stabbing
festival of the
people in the Central Highlands, boat race festival of the Khmer and elephant racing of the M'„nong. The elephant race is the biggest festival in the Central Highlands. Coming here, you will not only
feel the martial spirit of the M'nong ethnic people, who are very famous for their bravery and skill in
hunting wild elephants, but also the magnificent landscape of the Central Highlands which further stresses the grandiose characters of this traditional festival.
1
Altar of ancestral worshipping Altar of ancestral worshi pping of the Kinh is the most solemn space in the Kinh‟‟ 's house. Since long
time ago, the Kinh have had the custom of worshi pping their ancestors because they believe
in the immortal after death. Every year, they burn incense
in
death
anniversaries, the
first
and
fifteenth of lunar months not only to show their filial respect and reminiscence of deceased but also to pray the ancestors for blessing them with
health, safety, and prosperity. In middle and wealthy families, they arrange
following red lacquered and gold-trimmed altar. The altars are various worshi pping objects such
as: a tube containing the family annals, lamps, candle stands… Above
the
altar, there
are
a
horizontal
lacquered board and two parallel scrolls to
show the feelings of descendants towards their ancestors as well as the family‟s conditions. On
the horizontal lacquered board, the inscri ption “Phuc lyý duy chi” means: “Good luck forever” and the two parallel scrolls: "Thi thu tao thuc huong nhien dđ uc,“Nhat nguyet đ dong aâ n phuc maãn
đd uong"”mean:
"Early
studying
the
Confucian books would disseminate the family‟ 's fame of virtue" and “"The family would be
always full of the sun and moon light, and good luck for future generations". These two parallel scrolls show that the family has had a literature career. It also expresses praising the ancestors‟ benevolences, virtues
and
encouraging
the
descendants to follow this career.
2
Village gate Village gate is a familiar image of the Kinh people. The Kinh live together in villages.
There used to be a bamboo hedge surrounding residential area in every village. The village
gate is not the only symbol of a village but it often exits with the images of banyan tree, well, and communal house. A traditional village gate used to be watch tower to fight again the enemy. To the XX century, it was not a watch
tower anymore. Apart from its function as a “door”, the village gate also demonstrates local
character.
Wet rice cultivation and food processing The Kinh have a very early tradition of rice
growing. Through many generations, our ancestors summed up experience as in the proverb: “Firstly
water, secondly fertilizer, thirdly diligence, and fourthly the
seeds”.
When
coming
here, we
will
be
experienced ancestors‟ traditions through tools such as plough, harrow, hoe, bucket for water irrigation are exhibited at the Museum to display manual works in
a farmer‟s family: “Husband plough, wife transplanting, and the buffalo harrowing”.
The processing of rice goes along with rice cultivation. In the
70s
of the
XX century, the
processing was simple, using manual pounding and rice huller . Every
early morning or late in the
evening, the rural women bustled about pounding and
husking rice, and cooking meal for their who le families.
3
The Muong’s stilted house Stilted house is a traditional house of the Muong ethnic group. It is made of wood, bamboos, thatch or palm leaves. The staircase
is usually an odd number because they concept
that
odd
numbers
are
lucky.
Therefore, it often has seven or nine steps. In this sacred room, there is a window called “voong window”. In normal days, no any things or people are allowed to go through it and it is only used for bringing the casket out
in funeral.
Cultures of the Tho and Chut Cultures of the Tho and Chut are quite similar. They cultivate milpas associated with wet rice
fields. They also
have experience
in fishing,
hunting and weaving flax hammock for daily use.
However, they do not weave fabric, therefore they mostly buy them or exchange with neighbour ethnic groups. The Tho live in the West of Nghe An province. Majorly, they live in mountainous villages along
rivers and large streams. In the past, they lived in stilted houses, but now mostly live in ground
houses. The Chut also live in the Northern parts of Central Vietnam. However, they mainly live in Minh Hoa and Tuyen Hoa districts, Quang Binh province at present. They live a settled life in villages on
mountain slopes. Formerly, they practiced shifting cultivation, living in caves, rudimentary huts roofed
with forest tree leaves.
4
House of Thai peopleIn its exhibition, the Museum has a model of a
People of Tay- Thai always live in the valleys,
corner of the Thai‟s house Thuan Chau District, Son
and in which has
La province. House of them has a the unique
conditions of fertile rice fields. To be favorable
culture.
Firstly, their house have a unique features
for farming, they have created and built many
which are easy to distinguish with from house‟s
waterworks suitable for the terrain. They also
ethnic people because it is shaped like a tortoise
have a lot of experiences in building the
shell. Scales on the shell tiles of the roof, four legs
embankments of a rice field, digging canal,
are four main columns to support the house. The
especially they knew use to water wheel to
height of house is about 2 meters, materials to do it
bring water to rice field. Water wheel not only
is available in the naturals such as: wood, bamboo,
is the powerful farm equi pment in agricultural
cogon…Secondly, their house always have 2 stairs. In
production, but also it has become the familiar
front is the one reserved for male and guests, the
image of people Tay- Thai language. Water
back stairs are reserved for women. The next is
wheel is made from bamboo and wood, taking
kitchen. In the traditional stilted house of them
advantage of water energy, blocking the water
there are always 2 kitchens, one at the outside room
current, creating pressure to turn the wheel.
for heating, boiling water, and another one at the
When the wheel turns, the bamboo tubes around
inside room for cooking. Cooking fire is very
the wheel brim will take water from stream and
important for them. One more things, the windows
pour into canal to irrigate the rice field. To sum
are decorated with the shape of a crescent moon.
up, with lifestyle close the nature, to turn natural
And there are also decoration type of symmetrical
materials into a tool serving the manufacturing,
mother and child- father and child, expressing a
labor and conquer, natural improvement shows
wish of having a happy family. The bars in the
the wonderful creation of human highlands.
shape of the teeth of a harrow are the signs of the wealthy and happiness.
5
Water wheel- a natural beauty enjoy
favorable
natural
OF TAY-THAI LANGUAGE GROUP
.
Long Tong festival
„‟Long tong‟‟ festival is a festival of going to the rice field, organized in early spring at about 3 Lunar January.
Festival
was
held
to
express
their
gratitude towards the genies‟ blessing for a bumper
crop and lucky life. The festival has two main parts. There are rite and festival part. In rite part,
this
is the
first ritual, the most sacred and
important part. Everybody prepares a stray of offerings with chicken, roasted pork, wine, steamed glutinous
rice
and crispiest
to express
their
gratitude towards the agricultural genie and pray
for a bumper crop at the rice field or before the temple. In the festival, this is the main of „‟L ong
tong‟‟ festival. Come here, visitor can take part in traditional folk games such as: unicorn dancing, tug of war, throwing "còn” …
One more especially in here, throwing con is an indispensable activity.. This is the folk game imbued with the spirit of fecundity worshi pping. The game is hold on a level field,
they have planted a tall bamboo tree in the middle, the height of it is 15-20 centimeters,
above is the top and make into a ring 50-60 centimeter. It is representing the sky and call „‟ "phỏng còn"‟‟. The square "còn"” ball express the earth. In this festival, they must throw the ball through the ring. If who throw the ball,
they will win and receive a gift. Furthermore, many couples find their lover and come to
marriage through festival
6
The mountainous fair culture Fair is the traditional market of the H‟mong- Dao,
Kadai and Tibeto- Burman ethnic groups which is usually held once a week or every two weeks. On
the market days, many people in different ethnic groups from different places go to the market to buy or sell goods. Thus, a fair is not only a trading post
but also an occasion for cultural exchange. The Bac Ha fair is the biggest market in the mountainous areas
of northern Viet Nam. Living far away from the economic centers, the ethnic people usually walk to
the market and carry
their goods by
a horse.
Furthermore, they will wear their best clothes on that day. In their custom, a fair is also a place of entertainment and communication with the friends. Besides, it is the time to acquaint with new friends
and find a spouse by taking part
in the traditional
game or singing and dancing together.
“ Thang Co” “Thang Co”is a very famous food in Bac Ha fair. It is prepared by simmering for hours a hotchpotch of meat, bone and intestine of various cattle. After exchanging goods, the men invite each other to eat Thang Co”and drink corn liquor in order to forget their hard-working days before coming home. Especially, the H‟mong wifes never prevent her husband from drinking or feel angry when their husbands are drunk. They are even happy and proud of this because in their concept, a drunken husband is a good husband, a good man and a good man will have many friends to drink with him. So they will be patiently to wait for their husband .
9
“ Cap Sac” ceremony “Cap Sac” is a very important ceremony of the Dao because in their concept, a mature man is still considered as a child if he does not experience the “ Cap Sac” ceremony and vice
versa. Although a man can take this ceremony form twelfth years old, there were Dao men who
couldn‟ t become an adult even when he died because it demands a lot of things to hold a “ Cap Sac” ceremony worshi pping
such as: rice, meat, liquor,
pictures,
traditional
musical
instruments…and the preparing time is not the
same in each family. The “Cap Sac” ceremony of the Tight-trousers Dao group is carried out in
places it on his right shoulder and the third one
front of the ancestral altar. The matured man sits
places it on his left shoulder. He has to sit for hours
on a small chair. Three sorcerers offer three
to withstand the heat of those lamps while a sorcerer
lamps at the altar then they put them around the
reads two papers about his personalities. After that,
man: the first sorcerer places the lamps on his
one paper is burned to send to the ancestor, the other
head, the second one
is kept as a passport for the matured man to meet
his ancestor when he died.
Weaving fabric and embroidery All of the H‟mong, Dao, Pa Then, La Chi, La
Ha,
Phu La ethnic groups still maintain weaving Fabric to meet their wearing demands. The image of loom can be seen in almost their families. Embroidery and creating fabric are unique cultural identities of the
H‟mong Dao women. They are guided to embroider and sew from very young. Although all the patterns
on their clothes are created by themselves without any painted model, they are very exquisite and sophisticated.
In
their
belief, without
ability
of
embroidering, a good – looking woman is still an unattractive one and an obedient woman is still a
spoiled one. Consequently, woman‟s cloth is also a selection criterion for wife of the ethnic man.
10
.
Khmer pagoda
Hunting and taming elephants
Khmer pagoda built in the center of the village is
Welcome
a
the
elephants in every family, they considered that the
communal house of the Kinh people or “Rong�
elephant is like you, a member of his family because
house of the ethnic people in Tay Nguyen area,
elephants
pagoda is a center of communal cultural activities
Therefore, the
people
organize
of the Khmer. In their concept, the world is only
elephants
Lunar
March
the temporary dwelling, life after death is nirvana
demonstrates the sporting spirit and forces of the
and the
between them.
village and drives away the wild elephants from the
Therefore, the pagoda is the most sacred space of
production area so that they would not destroy the
the Khmer. it observes the maturity of Khmer
crops.
people: when they are young, they go to the
After the whale hunting, they start taming them to
pagoda to learn; when they get marriage, the
become
wedding ceremony is held in the pagoda to pray
elephants that with the experience and creativity, so
for happiness; and when they died, their bones is
it docile, obedient people and gives them traction,
also put in the pagoda to be blessed by Buddha.
transport. Besides, in the Central Highlands people
Besides, the pagoda is a place to carry out
organize a ritual to pray for elephants' health as
festivals of the Khmer such as: the traditional Tet
solemnly like the one for human being. Today, while
(Chonchnam-Thmay festival) in mid Lunar April, the
tourism is developing, elephants are used to transport
Ooc Oom Bok festival- a festival to thank the
visitors
Moon for a good harvest in Lunar October...
festivals are organized in national scale.
11
cultural
symbol
of
pagoda is a
the
Khmer.
bridge
Like
to
Highlands, you
always
in
travel
domesticated
to
villages
always
with
them the
in
labor.
hunting
of
year.
It
every
elephants.
and many
encounter
They
elephant
showed
racing
Musical instruments
Rong house and new rice festival
Khmer‟ music is an early type of development. It
Rong House in Central Highlands is considered as
reflects all area of cultural activities, emotional
the heart of ethnic minority. Local people consider
expression, thinking of the aesthetic structure‟
Rong House as a solemn and sacred place. It
Khmer South. Labor daily life has partially
seems to be a symbol of power because most local
affected the creativity in inventing instruments.
people gather here for common activities. A Rong
Ethnic groups of Mon-Khmer language group
house has 5 rooms, with the height from 15 to 20
have created diversified musical instruments
meters. Its architecture is like a stilted house with
such as: gongs, drums, buffalo horns, and T'‟r ung.
partitions, high and steep roof and broad inside..
They are not only used in festival but also in
The new rice festival is the biggest traditional
daily life. Particularly, the Central highlands are
festival of Vietnamese upland people which is often
famous
performed in
held in Rong house. The festival usually happens
concerts at community‟s rituals and dancing. On
when the very first rice packages are cut in
November 25th, 2005, Central Highland's‟ Gongs
November or December. It can last two or three
is recognized intangible cultural heritage of
days depending on estimated productive level of
humanity.
are
gathering crops. The worshi pping ceremony is took
various. Typically, the five tones orchestra plays
place to celebrate productive crops and to thank
an important role in the people‟s spiritual. The
gods (Yang) for helping villagers get those. Ritual
set of musical instruments includes five tones:
offerings include: a strong bull, a pig, a chicken, a
bronze, iron, wood, leather, and vapor. It is used
tray of young rice flakes and a wine jar.
for gongs
Khmer
which are
musical
instruments
in folk dancing and singing festival.
12
Ceremony to abandon the tomb Ceremony to abandon the tomb is the biggest
13
After the ceremony, the mourning period is over,
important one in the spiritual life of ethnic groups
people living allows
in Central highlands. The ritual involves many
remarry and have a free and independent life.
forms
The ceremony is often held for 3 to 5 days. The
of
arts
such
as: architecture, carving,
her/his
husband/wife to
painting, music, dancing, and performing,… with the
rituals involves making a funerary house with
aim to see off the deceased to the afterworld.
statues made from rough woof carved in the
According to the customs of ethnic groups in the
shapes of monkeys, peacocks and human beings,…
Central highlands, when deceased relatives they
with the beliefs that the soul of the dead would
are put in a coffin which made from a big
incarnate
perforated stick, the top is sealed by board and
become the slaves of the dead‟s soul in the
plaster by plastic tree. The Central highlands
afterworld. The statues in the shapes of nude
ethnic concept that deceased have been linked
men, women, women pounding
with living. Therefore, during this time, the family
riders,… plainly represent the life on the earth so
has to visit, provide foods and utensils to the
that the dead wouldn‟t be solitary. The ceremony
deceased. Only after the ceremony, the soul of
to abandon the tomb is considered is big ritual
the dead would be released and come to the
of the family and community, an actual happy
ancestors 'world. Ceremony to abandon the tomb
day of both the living and the dead. After
is tear down the temporary grave, razed grave
ceremony nobody would visit the funeral house, it
then build a bigger grave. Therefore , this is the
falls into oblivion with time and the living would
actual grave of the deceased.
totally finish with the dead.
into
the
statues
and they
would
rice, elephant
the
Long house Traditional long house of the Ede is an unique cultural product. It is typical production of social organization of tribes to adapt with the natural, avoid
calamity and protect the life of all members in community. In addition, the long house of the Ede is
also a place where hold cultural activities of the people. The Ede long house is on stilts, made of timber and bamboo and roofed with straw. A house is normally built in a north-south orientation and resembles a boat. The length of a house is measured
by its number of horizontal beams. A house is divided into two main parts: the Gah, which makes
up one third of the total area and the Ok. The Gah is
used
for
receiving
guests, family
gatherings,
worshi pping, displaying valuable items and
as a
sleeping place for single men. The Gah and the Ok
people of several generations gather around a
are separated by carved pillars called Kmeh Kpang.
charcoal fire. Women weave clothes. Men repair
An Ede house has male and female doors. The door
hoes and other farm tools. The elderly recount
for men is in the front, while the one for women is at
epics to their grandchildren. All these activities
the back of the house. The Ede long house reflects
are undertaken in the ample space of a long
the Ede culture of Vietnamâ€&#x;s central highland region,
house.
where
Club-house Gate of the Hoa Club-house
is
a
typical
structure
in
its
architecture and function. Almost of the Hoa
club-house were built in the 17th- early 18th centuries.
This
is
the
place
to
maintain
communal activities and worshi pping of the gods,
preserve the beliefs of the community. The gate of Futian club-house is in Chinese style with big
vault of many stages, it curved roof decorate with figures of unicorns and lions to show the male
power,‌ and its princi pal colour is red, the yang colour
which
brings
about good luck
and
happiness.
14
The outdoor exhibition system of museum of the cultures of Vietnam‟s ethnic group was completed in 2010. The outdoor exhibition includes 6 cultural spaces: Northern mountainous area,
Valley, Plain and middle land of the north, Central-coastal area, Truong son mountain range, Central highland, Plain of the south
The exhibition space of the culture of
Northern mountainous area display the prototype of a traditional house of the White H‟mong district, Ha typical
Giang
feature
to
in Meo Vac province introduce
as
a the
cultural life of the dwellers in this area.
The space of the valley culture is
exhibited
with a traditional stilted
house of the Tay in Bac Son, Lang Son province and a traditional house of the Nung.
The space of the culture of Middle
land and plain in the North includes the Viet‟s traditional house in Tam Da
commune, Yen Phong district, Bac Ninh province.
In this place, there
are areca trees, jackfruits, bamboos,
betel, a village gate and village road paved with slanting bricks.
15
The culture of Central-coastal area is exhibited
on a space consisting of Cham tower, Whale worshi pping temple, pottery workshop of the Cham.
Its
landscape
includes:
cactus,
casuarina, other trees and figures of young Cham girls carrying
water.
In the space exhibiting the culture of Truong Son Mountains-Central highlands,
there are
the Rong house of the Ba Na,
Ba Na grave house, statues of elephants.‌
The space of the culture of the South plain
introduces
landscape
around
the
model
the
sanctum
and
of
Phuong pagoda of the Khmer people in Tra Vinh province in which has tower containing the bones of the Khmer, the gate of Cham Ka pagoda.
16
CONCLUSION The museum of the cultures of Vietnam’s ethnic groups introduces the traditional cultures of the ethnic
groups in Viet Nam including both the inside and outside exhibition systems. It is arranged following the system of language groups and cultural areas with 3000 original documents and item of archiving values. In each showroom, visitors would not only admire the
beautiful cultural features but also study more deeply about the typical culture of the ethnic groups like dwelling area, economic activities, gastronomy, houses, cultural and ritual activities‌
With the functions as an organization of research, collection as well as exhibition the national traditional cultures, the Museum has contributed to preserve, develop Vietnamese culture and impregnate the modern Vietnamese culture with its national identities.
ABOUT US
Our group “ SkyFall” was established on February 17th , 2014 comprising five members : Pham Huy Hoang, Diep Thi Tham, Vu Thi Phuong Thao, Do Thi Thoa and Ly Thi Mai Trinh .
With the aim of introducing The Museum of the Cultures of Vietnam’s Ethnic Groups to everyone, especially the foreigners, we have worked hard to research essential and useful information and synthesize it into this book. We hope that our book will be helpful to you who want to study about the Vietnamese culture ! Wishing you have an interesting journey!
SKYFALL GROUP
Pham Huy Hoang
Main designers : Ly Thi Mai Trinh, Diep Thi Tham, Pham Huy Hoang Supporters : Vu Thi Phuong Thao , Do Thi Thoa
: Pham Huy Hoang : Diep Thi Tham : Vu Thi Phuong Thao : Ly Thi Mai Trinh : Diep Thi Tham, Vu Thi Phuong Thao, Ly Thi Mai Trinh, Do Thi Thoa : Do Thi Thoa : Pham Huy Hoang, Diep Thi Tham, Ly Thi Mai Trinh
To get more detailed information, please contact with us via: Email: Tel : Website:
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