Vietnam Museum of Ethnology | Hanoi, Vietnam
Built in 1987, The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology showcases the culture of the 54 ethnic minorities living in Vietnam, plus some inevitable exhibits on Kinh culture of the past. The museum has three main areas. The primary building shows the traditional costumes, instruments, language, crafts, and rituals of the various ethnicities. The secondary building expands beyond Vietnam to show the roots and presence of the various ethnicities elsewhere in Southeast Asia, and the connections between them. The third area, and definitely the most interesting of them, is the outdoor garden, featuring full-scale dwellings built by various tribes as they would have done in their villages.
The 54 ethnic minorities of Vietnam are an intriguing subject. Composing roughly 9% of the population and divided into dozens of subgroups, photographers and anthropologists have spent decades motorcycling the country, finding, meeting, living with and studying them.
Making up 88% of the population, Viet or Kinh people arrived in the red river delta from Southern China between four and five thousand years ago. Some of the ethnic minorities were already present in the area, but many were not. Over around 1000 years, the Kinh conquered or absorbed indigenous groups until they became the overwhelmingly dominant culture, moving ever further south. In Vietnamese creation myth, this history is described thus: The Dragon King of the South married Au Co, a beautiful northern princess, and she gave birth to 100 strong princes. However, missing his lowland home, he decided to return there. He left 50 sons in the highlands, where they fathered the tribes, and took the remaining 50 south, where they became the Kinh people.
Members of the highland tribes are distinguishable by physical features, language, dress, and customs, in that order. As an ignorant outsider, even when visiting them in their homes, some groups are more easily distinguishable than others. For example, the difference between Dao and Hmong was obvious to me, but the difference among subgroups- Red v. Black Dao, Black v. Green Hmong etc., needed to be explained to me. Relatively speaking, Westerners have a lot of cultural and linguistic overlap; if you understand one Romance or Nordic language, with a bit of relatively superficial study you can understand a good part of them all. It was wild to me that people living on either side of a single mountain in Northern Vietnam wouldn't understand each other or intermarry for hundreds or thousands of years. The origins and development of the related groups, their diasporas and distinctions, are a rich field of study for ethnographers.
Based on language, there are 8 original peoples, if you will, who over the centuries have subdivided into the 54+ we know today:
1. Mon – Khmer (Ba Na, Brau, Bru Van Kieu, Cho Ro, Co, Co Ho, Co Tu, Gie Trieng, Hre, Khang, Khmer, Kho Mu, Ma, Mang, M’nong, O Du, Ro Mam, Ta Oi, Xinh Mun, Xo Dang, and Xtieng)
2. Tay – Thai (Bo Y, Giay, Lao, Lu, Nung, San Chay, Tay, and Thai)
3. Tibeto – Burman (Cong, Ha Nhi, La Hu, Lo Lo, Phu La, and Si La)
4. Malayo – Polynesian (Cham, Chu Ru, E De, Gia Rai, and Ra Glai)
5. Viet – Muong (Chut, Kinh, Muong, and Tho)
6. Kadai (Co, Lao, La Chi, La Ha, and Pu Peo)
7. Mong – Dao (Dao, H’Mong, and Pa Then)
8. Han (Hoa, Ngai, and San Diu)
At the museum, they are grouped as:
1. Muong, Tho, Chut
2. Tay-Thai Group
3. Kadai Group
4. Hmong-Yao Group
5. Sino-Tibetan Group
6. Northern Mon-Khmer
7. Truong Son Range - Central Highlands Mon-Khmer
8. Austronesian
9. Cham, Hoa, Khmer
According to the museum, what the ethnic minorities have in common is their traditional way of life: most of the groups rely on wet rice agriculture, combined with raising poultry, hunting, and fishing. They also typically practice handicrafts including weaving, forging, pottery, and carpentry for personal consumption and local barter, and only participate in commerce on a limited basis. Most ethnic groups consider the village as the most important social unit; however, village organization, house styles, family, society, and religious traditions are diverse. Spiritual beliefs remain genuine, and rites shape calendars.
The role of the ethnic minorities in recent history, and their degree of assimilation to Viet, American, French, and Chinese culture, politics and religion is left untouched. I was shocked to learn that many Hmong are some degree of Catholic, for example, and had to visit them to learn it; it's not in this museum. Also, the Montagnards rather famously allied with the French during the Indochina wars, in exchange for the promise of an autonomous homeland, but their role in this recent history and in modern Vietnamese politics, where they are well represented in the party congress, is not explored.
As for the museum itself, I think it's a good jumping-off point but rather too superficial. If you're coming in with a total ignorance of the topic, I'd recommend you visit the bookstore first, read up, then hit the museum to match the objects of material culture with the info and photos you've absorbed. In terms of costume, jewelry, shamanistic and cultural objects, you can see much of the same at the history museum and the women's museum. However, the ethnology museum really sets itself apart in the garden.
If you are not going to make it to every mountain village during your trip to Vietnam, you can rest assured that the houses here are full-sized, rather luxurious dwellings built by the ethnic minorities themselves, who were paid dearly to come to Hanoi and do the job. The houses and the objects in them are the real thing, and immense fun, especially for kids.
The bookstore is also excellent, and the gift shop, while expensive, is a Craft Link shop, with excellent quality souvenirs made by the ethnic minorities themselves, and other underprivileged populations, ensuring your money flows back to them, at least in part. The restaurant employs students at a vocational school for underprivileged youth, training them for hospitality jobs, so it's certainly worth patronizing. Lastly, there's an excellent daily water puppet performance. I've been to the famous water puppet theater in Hanoi as well, and this performance is equally wonderful, if not better, because it provides a booklet explaining each of the stories, which are hundreds of years old and well known by all, rather like Punch and Judy shows in the UK.
If you have kids, this museum is a must-see in Hanoi. If you don't, it's not an absolute must, the information can be gleaned elsewhere, but I did truly enjoy it.
Vietnamese Women's Museum, Hanoi | Vietnam
Of the 20+ museums in Hanoi, this is my favorite! It’s very much a living museum, constantly showcasing community issues and outreach, and honoring living women of impact in a deserving manner.
The museum’s permanent collection is divided into three permanent exhibits: Women in the Family, Women in History, and Women in Fashion.
Women in the Family covers the traditional roles of women in different segments of Vietnamese society, with a particular focus on the ethnic minority tribes and rural life; patriarchal and matriarchal marriage and social hierarchies are explained, as are birthing rituals, and women’s economic contributions as farmers, craftspeople and educators.
Women in History focuses heavily on heroines of the colonial resistance, liberation, and communist movements and heroic mothers of the nation.
Women in Fashion displays ethnic dress and jewelry from many of Vietnam’s ethnic minority groups, often personally given by the original owner along with its story. Traditional costume for big events like weddings is explained, as is the evolution of the ao dai; examples of pre-colonial fashion are preserved, including oversized old-style bamboo hats and teeth lacquering accoutrements.
There’s also a robust rotation of temporary exhibits, typically a photo essay with a few accompanying artifacts or artworks. So far there have been 11 temporary exhibits: Memories from Female Civilian Supporters of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, the Founding of the Vietnamese Women’s Liberation Movement and its role in society according to Ho Chi Minh, Stories from the Peaceful Shelter home for women trafficked abroad, Single Mother’s Voices, the Difficulties Faced by Female Economic Migrants to Vietnam’s urban centers, Personal Accounts of Domestic Violence, the Daily Life of Green Living Teams in Hanoi and Hoi An, Traditional Worship of the Mother Goddess, the Vietnamese Women’s Union 13th National Congress exhibit, and the UN 75 Photo Exhibition winners.
This museum is one of the few worth a repeat visit. They also have an excellent gift shop and decent restaurant on the premises.
St. Joseph's Cathedral, Hanoi | Vietnam
Built in 1886 and consecrated on Christmas Eve of that year, the Neo-Gothic St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Hanoi was one of the first places I visited on moving to Asia, and it immediately hit me that I wasn’t in Kansas (or, I suppose, Paris) anymore. Outside, it is incredibly dirty due to unabated, unfiltered traffic mere feet away, and likely years of neglect. Inside, it is simple, with no decor beyond its original stained glass windows imported from France, and the lightly maintained gold lacquer on the woodwork. There is a single local touch; the virgin Mary is sculpted enclosed in a palanquin and reclining sideways on a pillow, a bit more in the manner of a reclining Buddha than how we typically see her.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about the church is that it was closed for 35 years; after the French withdrawal from Hanoi in 1954, Catholicism was persecuted until 1990, when the cathedral was permitted to reopen. Perhaps it’s worth popping in if you’re in the neighborhood anyway, and it’s nice to see in the background when you eat on a balcony of one of the restaurants on the square, but it’s not worth a dedicated visit.
Hanoi Craft Villages | Vietnam
According to Voice of Vietnam, within a two hours’ drive of Hanoi are 1350 craft villages, where families have passed down local artisanal skills for hundreds of years.
The most famous among them are:
Bát Tràng Pottery
Vạn Phúc Silk
Đông Hồ Woodcut Painting
Làng Vân Rice Wine
Non Nước Stone Carving
Ngũ Xã Bronze Casting
Phú Vinh Rattan and Bamboo Weaving
Đào Xá Traditional Musical Instruments
Quất Động Embroidery
Định Công Jewelry
Chuông Conical Hat
Chàng Sơn Carpentry & Fan
As a lover of material culture, I very much wanted to visit at least a few. Based on my current shopping interests, I ended up choosing Đồng Kỵ wood carving, Hạ Thái lacquer, Chuyên Mỹ mother of pearl inlay, Quất Động embroidery, and Bát Tràng pottery.
I paid a local tour guide $100 to drive me around to all five villages in one day. I do think it’s possible to do it on your own and have the same experience if you are comfortable on a motorbike; my tour guide had clearly not prepared anything special and we were more or less successfully walking in on craftspeople at work during the week. That said, if you plan on Grab taxi-ing it (like I would have otherwise done), even a sort of incompetent tour guide is more efficient, less stressful, costs the same, and you have someone to translate if you want to buy something.
Speaking of shopping, I didn’t do any. I was fully prepared to spend hundreds on something special, but didn’t see anything. The villagers were mostly working to fill large, expensive, local, custom orders; what they had on offer at retail didn’t appeal. I’ve always noticed that Hanoi souvenir shops and galleries have heaps of the few same uninspiring wares. There seems to be no effort whatsoever to understand what tourists would buy. I wondered if the craft villages were really where these unremarkable things are made, and that seems to be the case.
Once upon a time I owned a designer vintage shop, and recently I’ve been bitten by the retail bug again. The world has changed so much since I was in the game 15 years ago! Now, businesses can survive solely on social media. I’ve been toying with the idea of selling triple bottom line products I source as I travel.
I believe there is potential in these villages to transform heritage savoir faire into modern luxury product, if I could find a local partner to handle communication and logistics. However, it would have to be built from absolute scratch; there is currently zero supply chain infrastructure in place. I also have zero capital, so it would be a slow and painful bootstrapping venture. Le sigh! I’ll get there eventually.
Temple of Literature, Hanoi | Vietnam
The Temple of Literature (Vietnamese: Văn Miếu) is my favorite respite in Hanoi proper. Strolling through helps me forget the overwhelming noise, pollution and business outside, and I can easily spend a couple hours here relaxing.
Founded as a Confucian temple in 1072, by 1076 Quốc Tử Giám University was built over an area just south of the temple, now taken up by 12 city blocks. The school/worship center was where civil servants were trained to serve the Lý dynasty.
The Confucian education system was inherited from the previous thousand years of Chinese occupation (111 BC to 980 AD) and therefore initially derived most of its content and structure from the Chinese system of educating mandarins.
Students generally studied for 3-7 years, learning classical Chinese, Chinese philosophy, Chinese history, and poetry composition. Among others, students read The Four Books (Tứ thư, 四書): "The Great Study" (Đại Học, 大學), "The Golden Means" (Trung Dung, 中庸), "The Analects" (Luận Ngữ, 論語) and "Mencius" (Mạnh Tử, 孟子); Five Pre-Confucian Classics (Ngũ Kinh, 五經): "Book of Odes (Kinh Thi, 詩經), "Book of Annals" (Kinh Thư, 書經), "Book of Rites" (Kinh Lễ, 禮記), "Book of Change" (Kinh Dịch, 易經) and "Book of Spring and Autumn" (Kinh Xuân Thu, 春秋).
The Trần dynasty (1225 - 1400) opened up civil service to commoners, and during this time the famously difficult and competitive exam system developed into its 3 stage form. At specific fortuitous intervals on the Lunar calendar (around 2-3 years apart), exams were administered at provincial, national, and finally royal levels, with the national level schooling and exams taking place at the Temple of Literature. The royal exam was administered by the emperor personally and took place at court.
Four ranks were awarded to successful applicants:
Trạng nguyên (狀元) – first place, reserved for the best scholars
Bảng nhãn (榜眼) – second place
Thám hoa (探花) – third place
Tiến sĩ (進士) – all the other successful applicants
First place was reserved for exceptional genius, not simply scoring the highest in any given exam year. In roughly 800 years of educating scholar/servants, the trạng nguyên rank was only awarded to 55 men.
Though the Vietnamese adapted Chinese script to create their own language (Chữ-Nôm) in the 10th century, it was only in the 12th and 13th centuries that Chữ-Nôm was systematized as the official language of government (and recognized as part of meaningful literature), with appropriate bilingual study materials issued. The classical Chinese characters visible throughout the temple today are Chữ-Nôm, and therefore unintelligible to Chinese readers.
During the Lê dynasty, successful examinees were honored by having their names inscribed on the stone steles still displayed today. The stones tell us that between 1443 and 1778 over a hundred exams were held, with about 20 successful candidates emerging from each exam.
The school limped past the 1770 fall of the Lê dynasty, but eventually closed in 1779 during the Tây Sơn era of decentralized dynasties and peasant revolts. Coming to power in 1802, the Nguyễn dynasty moved their capital from Hà Nội to Huế, opening the new imperial academy there. The former Quốc Tử Giám was reopened as a Hoài Đức district school.
By the time Hanoï was made the capital of French Indochina in 1902, the school had emptied of students and fallen into sufficient disrepair for the French to nickname it “the pagoda of crows,” both a metaphor for its death as a cultural center, and a literal description of the multiple crows nests in old mango trees throughout.
Despite registering the temple as a historic monument in 1906, the French first phased out imperial exams from 1913-1916, and then destroyed large sections of the site during the First Indochina War (1945 - 1954). What stands today is the restored temple complex, but not the outlying school and dormitory buildings.
The layout of the temple was modeled on that of the temple at Qufu, Shandong (Confucius’ birthplace). In Confucianism, morality means respecting the 5 essential social relationships:
Ruler and Subject
Father and Son
Elder Brother and Younger Brother
Husband and Wife
Friend and Friend
Furthermore, there are five essential elements that form the world: metal, wood, fire, water and earth.
Therefore, there are five consecutive walled courtyards connected by gateways, though in terms of exploration there are really seven main sections:
the entry with 4 pillars and Văn Miếu gate
the first courtyard and Đại Trung gate
the second courtyard with the Khuê Văn Các (Pleiades pavilion)
the third courtyard with the Thiên Quang Tinh (heavenly light well), stele pavilions, and Đại Thành (gate of great success)
the fourth courtyard with East and West shrines for Confucian disciples and the Ceremony House
the fifth courtyard with a shrine to the god of the place and East and West guard houses
and finally the Đền Khải Thánh sanctuary and academy building
The four pillars that form the street entrance famously warn riders to dismount. Entry tickets and audio guides are sold just next to the flag lined area. The bronze bell in the front Văn Miếu gate dates from the Trần dynasty, is inscribed with a phoenix and dragon symbolizing the emperor and empress, can only be touched by monks, and was only rung to announce the entry of very prestigious visitors. Walking under the bell to hand your ticket to the security guard, you are on the central path, once reserved solely for royalty (all others had to enter through either of the side gates and walk down those paths).
At graduation and back-to-school seasons, you can find busloads of Vietnamese students of all ages racing through the first courtyard to pose at the various gates. The first gate, connecting the first and second courtyards, is the Đại Trung Môn, translated as “great middle gate”. It is so called because it combines the names of two important works of Confucianism: Đại Học (Great Learning) and Trung Dung (The Doctrine of the Mean). T
The carp symbol at the top references a Chinese proverb explaining that while many carp swim against the stream, the few that manage to jump over the waterfall become dragons. The left side gate is the gate of Accomplished Virtue (Thành Đức), and the right side gate is the gate of Attained Talent (Đạt Tài). In Chinese tradition, the left side is more important than the right, so these gates serve to remind students that talent will only get you so far, hard work has to take you the rest of the way.
The second courtyard is my personal favorite area of the temple, and is where students traditionally spent their time studying and relaxing outdoors. The waterlily ponds and lawns remain incredibly soothing!
The Khuê Văn Các (constellations pavilion) is named to symbolize the Temple of Literature’s role as the brightest star in the Vietnamese educational and cultural firmament. The circle and square ornament enclosing the bell symbolizes sky and earth, yin and yang.
In the third courtyard, the Thiên Quang Tinh (heavenly light well) served both as a literal mirror for scholars to dress themselves appropriately and as a symbol for calm and careful reflection.
There are 82 steles of doctors (9 of the original 91 have been lost to war and natural disasters). The bases of the steles are carved as tortoises who literally stand for longevity and wisdom, ensuring the names of the successful students last forever.
The Đại Thành Môn (gate of great success) connecting the third and fourth courtyards is the architectural distinction between the areas meant for relatively casual student use, and the areas intended for worship.
In the fourth courtyard, the once Eastern and Western shrines for Confucian worshippers are now dedicated to tourist retail and offices. Formerly the Eastern building was devoted to Confucius and the Western building to Chu Văn An (the most famous historic master of the Imperial Academy). Now you can buy a bottle of water or an artistic bit of calligraphy here. Every effort is made to prune the potted plants into animal shapes, with little success.
The Đại Bái Đường (House of Ceremony) is the first really impressive interior, where new doctors kneeled and prayed for both physical longevity (symbolized by the crane) and eternal acclaim (symbolized by the turtle). Just beyond the House of Ceremony is the Đại Thành Sanctuary, where locals still come to worship and bring offerings for Confucius and his four greatest disciples. In the past, emperors and other eminences have worshipped here.
The fifth courtyard is oddly empty and unornamented. There’s a second street exit on the south west end. The buildings on the side are shuttered. I have met one person who visited on a Saturday afternoon/evening and happened upon a classical Vietnamese musical performance of some sort happening here.
At the far end are the former guard houses, which now house little local art exhibits and a stand where you can purchase? or rent? (I don’t know, I’ve thankfully evaded them to date) scarves so as to not offend the religious old ladies squawking in loud disapproval of your shoulders/arms/cleavage/miniskirt.
Beyond the guard houses is the old Imperial Academy administration building. Downstairs there are displays of relics that once belonged to scholars and students, including books, calligraphy brushes, ceremonial robes, scrolls and their lacquered cases, royal decrees etc. There are also a few very very old photos of the buildings and grounds from the turn of the last century. It’s incredible to see how this rather visually empty area has become a very densely populated urban neighborhood.
One current use of the building that connects with its past is its role as the site for judging entries in national contests of various traditional Vietnamese art forms. I have seen elderly, traditionally dressed judges carefully examining the finalist entries for annual ceramics, waterolor, and calligraphy contests here.
Upstairs is dedicated to the worship of the three emperors who contributed the most to the temple and university:
Lý Thánh Tông (1023–1072), who founded the temple in 1070 (middle altar)
Lý Nhân Tông (1066–1127), who founded the Imperial Academy (right altar)
Lê Thánh Tông (1442–1497), who introduced the steles in 1484 (left altar)
There’s a little balcony in front with a great open view of the old sections of the city.
Back outside, there’s a pagoda bell that was cast in 2000, when the fifth courtyard was renovated. I’ve never heard it rung! In Buddhism generally, the belief is that ringing the bell awakens the mind, reminding Buddhists to share love and pray for peace. Supposedly when the bell’s peals reach heaven, the dead rest in peace; when the peals reach hell, sinners are temporarily released from their suffering. In traditional Vietnamese bronze casting, it’s known that mixing in a certain proportion of pure gold helps the sound of the bell carry farther. In Vietnam, donors are proud to donate real gold (at great expense, obviously) for pagoda bells, considering it a family honor.
If you can’t tell, for me this a Hanoi must-do. Tickets are 30,000 VND (less than $2 USD) and audio guides (which are totally worth it!!) are an additional amount.
