The museum is one of the must-visit sites in Hanoi to any traveler. Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi offers an in-depth overview of 54 ethnic minorities that are living in the country, their houses, their clothes, their ways of life and so much more.

There are 3 areas included Trong Dong building (for permanent exhibition), outside exhibiting area, and Southeast Asia building. The 2-storey Trong Dong building is the place contains content, artifacts, photographs, videos of 54 ethnic minorities living in different parts in Vietnam. There is also one segment set up with a different theme every week. The outside exhibiting area covers a large garden with ten architectural works including the houses of ethnic people living across Vietnam. Each house is either original house bought from the inhabited region of the minority or built by the minorities themselves. The newest building Southeast Asia brings an extended vision to the cultures of all over Southeast Asia and even other continents on earth.

Address: Nguyen Van Huyen Street, Nghia Do, Cau Giay, Hanoi

Entrance Fee: 40,000 VND, camera – 50,000 VND

Opening Hours: 8.30 – 17.30 pm

Bronze drum gallery

Bronze drum gallery was designed with an area of 2,500 m2, including 2 floors. The building follows the model of Dong Son bronze drum – a famous kind of Vietnamese drum in the previous time. All items of this area depict the lively daily life of 54 Vietnamese ethnic minorities composing their customs, practices, traditional work, and commodity economy. Along with the reflection of traditional culture, it also shows changes of Vietnamese ethnic people on the path of global integration in recent time.

 

Southeast Asia gallery 

It is a kite-shaped building with an area of about 7,000 m2. Visiting this place, visitors can learn about the unique features of Southeast Asia countries’ cultures, which offer brand-new experiences for our soul. There are five groups of themes that we can enjoy: fabric items, daily life, social life, the art of performance, and belief-religion.

 

Outdoor exhibition

Perhaps the outdoor exhibition is one of the most outstanding spaces in Vietnam Ethnology Museum. In this site, there are many traditional houses of Vietnamese ethnic minorities, which are erected by Vietnamese architects and local people of each ethnic group. Each house reflects the typical features of daily life, conceptions about people and society, and their unique architecture.

Traditional House of Kinh People

Kinh people account for the majority of the Vietnamese population. The house was designed with seven different compartments including bedroom, worship room, studying room, horizontal house, kitchen, well for daily life, and a rainwater tank.

House of Ede People

The house is measure with more than 42m in length. In the traditional society of Êđê people, there are many generations, which live in a house together, It is said that the longest house in Edecommunity reached 200 m in the past time. 

Funeral house of Giarai People

The main material of the house is wood with sophisticated decorations and statues. The house is for death in the community. Insides, they put daily objects including bowls, cups, farming tools, and other items of the death. It expresses the wish of everyone about a sufficient life for death.

Rong house of Bana people

The house reflects a high level of community power in an ethnic community. It is said that Rong house is the most beautiful in a village. The house plays particularly important parts in communal activities such as implementing religious customs and practices, common meetings of villagers, welcoming guests, and solving lawsuits.

Besides, there is also many other ethnic people’s house that you can discover below: 

 

 

You've just had a quick tour with us around Vietnam ethnology museum. This must be a great experience if you want to learn more about Vietnamese culture, history, and people.