Vietnam, Nationalism and Community

Vietnam, nationalism and community

Whirlwind tour of Hanoi is now complete – my mind is filled with so many thoughts and images that it will take a while to sift through them. What struck me most was that as an Australian/Westerner I can never ever understand Vietnam as a Vietnamese person does. This makes it very hard to comment on the museums we have visited this week. We can put our slant on them, we can critique methods and exhibitions but we will never fully understand where they are coming from. Politics and history feature here, in everyday life, in a way that is quite unfathomable to us. We have a certain understanding, but I feel that we do not come even close.

Be that as it may, one thing was abundantly clear to me. All who spoke about their museum, be they from the National Museum of History or the Museum of Fine Arts right through to the Vietnamese Women’s Museum, were conspicuously proud of their museums and its achievements. National pride shone through at every turn and was contagious in its enthusiasm. It was palpable. I certainly felt like cheering when we watched the red lights finally take over the green lights and the little flag popped up at the end of the battle of Dien Bien Phu at the Vietnam Military History Museum.

I began to understand the driving force behind the first museums we visited. There has been a need for a nationalistic slant particularly since the end of the American war. Invasions have been such a long part of Vietnamese history that affirmation of their nation’s resistance and resilience have taken priority. 

Modern museology seems to be filtering in at a rate that has to sit comfortably with the Vietnamese people. The more modern museums such as the Museum of Ethnology and the Vietnamese Women’s Museum are fine examples of modern museology in practice. Our focus on community engagement and involvement in this field school is very much in evidence in these two museums. Indeed where would the vibrancy and energy of the Museum of Ethnology be but for the direct physical involvement of the many ethnic communities. This includes events such as festivals, water puppet shows, craft displays, dancing , right down to groups of workers coming to the museum to repair their particular community’s  house in their local methods. This is inspirational stuff.

The Vietnamese Women’s Museum is in a class of its own with its emphasis on social justice and of highlighting women’s issues. Their desire to connect to contemporary society was successfully demonstrated with their impressive list of temporary exhibitions. I particularly liked the description of the “Street Vendors” exhibition which not only gave the public an understanding of a particular marginalized women’s group but also gave these women a voice and established the museum as a trusted place for them - so much so that when the police were harassing them they used it as a sanctuary. Now there’s community involvement!

I think it will take time for some of the national museums in Hanoi to change and grow, especially with regard to community development, but I do believe that it will happen sooner rather than later. The museum staff I have been involved with this week are truly inspirational and seem eager to embrace change. There will come a time when multiple narratives are accepted, where people who have never had a voice will be heard and where national pride will sit comfortably with new ideas.

Bring on Week Two…