Nearly 90 photos on gong music in the Central Highlands of Vietnam taken by French people have been on display for the first time since November 6 at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology.

Photos on display are chosen from the archives of of the École française d’Extrême-Orient, Missions Étrangères de Paris and Quai Branly Museum. They were taken by French colonial officials, military officers, missionaries and scholars from 1930s to 1960s at Bana, Jarai, Mnong Gar villages... Many of the photos were also taken by French scholars who lived for many years in the communities which they studied. Georges Condominas has lived with the Mnong Gar ethnic people, Jacques Dournes with the Jarai and Jean Boulbet with the Ma ethnic group. The exhibition also introduces post cards of gongs which have appeared since 1908s.

The exhibition features ‘gong orchestras’ with bossed gongs, flat gongs, drum and cymbals; ‘gong players’; ‘gong music in ceremonies and rituals’.

The exhibition is organised on the occasion of the first International Festival of Gong Music to be held in Gia Lai province late this month. In 2005, UNESCO recognised the gong music of the Central Highlands as a masterpiece of humanity’s intangible cultural heritage.

The exhibition will last for 3 months, until the February 7, 2010.

Source: Nhan Dan Online