Southeast Asia in historical photographs: Vietnam

The National Overseas Archives in Aix-en-Provence (ANOM) have opened up to the public an ever growing online database called Base Ulysse, thereby making a variety of digitised materials from the Archives and their library available for research. Begun in 2002, this database currently makes available well over 45,000 individual photographs, albums, postcards, posters, drawings and maps.

These materials document on one side the history of the French colonial empire in general, but on the other side they are a rich source for the study of the cultures, traditions and everyday life in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in historical perspective. The materials mainly originate from public records (state secretariats and departments that managed French colonial territories from the seventeenth century until the mid-twentieth century, general government offices, etc.) and private archives, but also from donations, purchases, and bequests.

The digital collection contains over 3000 photographs from Vietnam which include 1935 images related to Tonkin, 886 images related to Cochin-China, 615 images related to Annam, and 463 images categorized under Vietnam. Most of these images are photographs from the first half of the twentieth century, but the oldest images date back to the 1880s. Interestingly, they do not only document the French colonial influence in Vietnam, but also Vietnamese traditions, ceremonies and everyday life. In addition, the cultures of ethnic minorities and religious communities in Vietnam are depicted in these photographs. The Cao Dai religion, Buddhism and Islam and their rituals are well presented in this collection, as well as the cultural traditions of the Thai ethnic groups in north Vietnam, the Cham in south Vietnam and the Chinese in Saigon, Hanoi and other large cities. Some of the images document how these photographs were taken by French colonial officers and photographers.

Some examples that illustrate the wide range of topics covered by the collection of photographs from Vietnam are presented below. All images were sourced from the Base Ulysse.

Street view in Hanoi, Tonkin, c.1897-8

Studio photograph of a Vietnamese woman in traditional costume, Tonkin, c.1884-5

A group of Vietnamese dancers, Tonkin, c.1892-96

Traditional Vietnamese orchestra, Tonkin, c.1884-5

Buddhist nun and novice, Tonkin, c.1919-26

Land surveyors with traditional measuring instruments, Tonkin, c.1884-5

Studio photograph of two young Chinese men, Hanoi, Tonkin, 1884-5

Members of the Thai ethnic group, Tonkin, c.1895-9

Ceremony at the royal palace, Hue, Annam, c.1919-26

Studio photograph of a Mandarin, Annam, c.1884-5

Colonial photographer taking pictures of ethnic minority men at work, Annam, c.1919-26

Maritime fishery near Cau Gio, Cochin-China, c.1921-35

Cham fishermen in the Mekong Delta, Cochin-China, c.1921-35

Traditional art school at Lai Thieu, Cochin-China, c.1919-26

Theatre stage at the pagoda in Hoc Mon, Saigon, Cochin-China, c.1921-35

Khmer Buddhist temple Soctrang at Beng Angsa, Cochin-China, c.1930-54

Buddhist monks and novices on alms round, Cochin-China, c.1921-35

Mosque at Threa with teachers and students, Cochin-China, c.1930-54

 

 

Buddhist Archive of Photography, Luang Prabang, Laos

The Buddhist Archive of Photography, Luang Prabang, Laos, is most certainly the largest online photobase documenting the recent history of Buddhism in Laos.

The digitisation of the original photographs found in Luang Prabang was supported by the British Library’s Endangered Archives Programme. Coming from more than 20 distinct monastery collections, this unique view from inside documents 120 years of monastic life and ritual, pilgrimage, monks’ portraits, history and social life. Important historic and political events of an agitated century in Laos at the same time appear as in a mirror: French colonialism, the Royal court, civil war, the Indochina and Vietnam wars, revolution and socialist rule. Quantity and quality of the material are as surprising as is the fact that it was produced in a city as isolated as Luang Prabang. It seems that there has been a particular inclination towards photography, which had been introduced very early by the French, was practised by the Royal court where young princes would learn about it, and take it with them when they were ordained as monks and became abbots of the various monasteries (there are 64 in town).

Work started in 2007 with Pilot Project EAP086, followed by Major Research Project EAP177 – since then 33,933 photographs have been discovered in 21 monasteries of Luang Prabang and have been digitised, identified and safely stored. Most of the original photographs (prints and negatives) are now stored in specially designed wooden archive cabinets at the Sala Thammiviharn, Vat Khili, Luang Prabang – an historic monastic building in one of the monasteries, now entirely used by the Archive. Some minor collections have been restituted to their respective owners.

Together with the 15,000 photographs treated in Major Research Project EAP177, the additional 18,933 photographs of this second project constitute the largest collection of historic photographs in Laos, and certainly the one that has been most thoroughly researched.

Digital copies of the material have been deposited at The National Library of Laos, Preservation of Lao Manuscripts Project, Vientiane Capital, Lao P.D.R. and the British Library, London, United Kingdom.

Read more about the Buddhist Archive of Photography…

Watch a short film on the Buddhist Archive of Photography made by French film maker Herve LeGoff, who specialises in short films about the atmosphere of spaces dedicated to photography.

View on the former Royal Palace, Luang Prabang