Rồng Di Sản, Dragon Legacy - 2015

Fourth and last part of an ethnological photo project across Vietnam. This project is a sample of wealthiness of vietnamese cultural heritage in a very changeable country. It shows people living in South Vietnam, between Saigon and Kun Tum.

M'Nong lady in Dak Lak Province

Rồng Di Sản - Dragon Legacy
Part 04 - 2015
Ethnological Portraits Project

Here finally comes the last part of the project. Possibly the last trip across the countryside of Vietnam I spent roaming around to meet the beautiful Vietnamese minorities. The list of the official 54 minorities is not complete though. Luck and chance are always messing around for who's traveling. I ain't no exception. The complicated situation of minorities in Vietnam made some photoshoot simply impossible. That time, I had an wonderful man of experience by my side. Mr Vinh, who was my guide during that last journey. His Bah Nar origins helped a lot when people got suspicious regarding the reasons I wanted to portray them. Thanks to him, I could explain how important I thought it was to keep track of their habits and culture. I could share about the disappearance of ethnological markers within people of Europe and Vietnam traditions which are following the same path. We must be aware and preserve all those living culture to be sent from real life straight to a museum. This project might not have ended exactly where I initially expected but it also made me step back and change the vision I had of my own cultural heritage.