Viet Nam's Cultural Diversity: Approaches to Preservation

"Rich in description, and beautifully illustrated with numerous photographs and a detailed linguistic map, this book brings together a wealth of information about the intangible culture of the ethnic minorities of Viet Nam. In the introduction, Georges Condominas summarises the prehistory and linguistic landscape of the region, setting the scene for the chapters that follow. He then goes on to make some extremely pertinent points about the position of ethnic minorities in the context of nation states in general, and in particular within the state of Viet Nam. (...)
Many of the contributions to this volume document in great detail the languages, visual arts, epics and music of ethnic minorities in Viet Nam. Others present an analysis of the changing political, social, economic and environmental context in which particular minority groups go on living and practicing their culture, albeit in ways that have changed over the years. A number of authors make the point that culture is not static-not the mere preservation of intangible (and tangible) artefacts. There are chapters giving examples from other countries, and there are many prescriptions from those working in Viet Nam about how best to ensure the preservation and revitalisation of Viet Nam's cultural diversity. (...)"

Jocelyn Grace, Intersections - Murdoch University's School of Asian Studies, Australia

http://wwwsshe.murdoch.edu.au/intersections/issue9/grace_review.html