25 years of preserving the cultural heritage of the Central Highlands

Over the past 25 years, antique collector Nguyen Quoc Dung has collected more than 30,000 artifacts, including many rare artifacts of historical and cultural value from the Central Highlands. He has donated more than 500 artifacts to 5 museums, exhibition houses, and traditional cultural villages.

Collector Nguyen Quoc Dung (second from left) donated antiques to Lam Dong Museum.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Dung (48 years old, Da Lat) does not remember when he became passionate about memorabilia and antiques, he only remembers that since he was a child he loved and cherished old things. In 2001, he started collecting, at first mainly metal items with the nature of "I love science " such as: clocks, cassettes, cameras... gradually he focused on collecting memorabilia and antiques with cultural and historical values, and diverse materials.

For the past 25 years, Mr. Dung has traveled to all the villages in the Central Highlands. He has searched for unique, strange, and beautiful items wherever he heard of them. The more he travels, the more he is fascinated. He has to go back and forth many times to find many items. His love and passion for tangible cultural heritage urges him to search and constantly think, "I was born with a destiny and a mission to preserve and preserve artifacts that are gradually disappearing." He uses the money he earns from his coffee garden to collect. He has become a young collector actively involved in the UNESCO Lam Dong Club.

Looking at his “fortune” of more than 30 thousand antiques and memorabilia, all materials, types, periods, and the past of the Central Highlands seem to be present. Hundreds of collections from gongs, buffalo skin drums, musical instruments, to production tools, hunting and gathering, and daily necessities of the K'Ho, Churu, Cham, Ede, Bana, Gia Rai ethnic groups... are diverse in design, type, and rich in materials: ceramic, porcelain, bronze, iron, wood, bamboo... Witnessing his massive “warehouse” of antiques, everyone cannot help but be amazed by the jars, pots, cups, plates made of ceramic, gongs, horns, buffalo skin drums; and also the souvenirs and household items of bygone times: bamboo baskets, baskets, crossbows, mortars, pestles, rafts... as if you could see each fingerprint that made the objects shiny and the drops of sweat in the struggle to make a living and conquer nature of generations of ancestors.

Along with collecting and exchanging to satisfy his passion, Mr. Dung has coordinated with tourist areas and spots in the province to bring cultural artifacts to the public for visitors to admire. He brought his antiques to many places, displayed at many cultural events, at the Kate Festival of the Cham people in Ninh Thuan , the Gong Culture Festival of the Central Highlands. Most recently, at the Art Street on Ly Tu Trong Street - Da Lat with hundreds of large and small baskets, buffalo skin drums and jewelry that created a strong attraction. Wherever he brought the artifacts to display, on his days off, he often went there to be a "tour guide" to introduce each of his antiques so that the public could better understand each antique associated with each period, each historical stage. Just like that, quietly working, quietly collecting, quietly dedicating all that he could do.

I met Mr. Dung more than 15 years ago at the 4th Da Lat Flower Festival - 2009, impressed by thousands of indigenous cultural artifacts in the nostalgic exhibition space at Da Lat Railway Station National Monument. Then his jar exhibition in the tourist space of Mong Mo Hill, Cu Lan Village and in the Memory Land cafe... Feeling the passionate, loyal love of a young person for the national cultural heritage, from a young age until now, his hair has begun to have silver strands.

Mr. Dung's idea of ​​donating antiques started 3 years ago, when his warehouse of artifacts was overloaded, while museums were in dire need of artifacts for display to serve visitors, study and research. Then, Cham artifacts were given to the Cham Cultural Center of Ninh Thuan province; souvenirs and antiques of the K'Ho and Churu people were given to Lam Dong Museum, Dung K'no commune, K'Ho ethnic traditional village in Da Chais commune (Lac Duong), Dam Pao village - Da Don commune (Lam Ha); jewelry sets of women of ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands were given to the Southern Women's Museum... Up to now, he has donated 5 museums and traditional cultural exhibition houses in and outside the province; a total of more than 500 artifacts of great historical and cultural value.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Dung confided that if he kept it for himself, no one would know about it. He wanted many people to admire the artifacts so that together they could preserve the national cultural heritage. By donating artifacts to worthy organizations, and placing trust in the right people, in the right place, and in the right place, his artifacts would increasingly develop in value and become known to many people. He felt that his efforts in searching and collecting were not in vain. In the future, he will continue to donate suitable antiques to museums.

Mr. Hoang Ngoc Huy - Director of Lam Dong Museum highly appreciated the contributions of collector Nguyen Quoc Dung in preserving, conserving and promoting the national cultural heritage. From ancient artifacts dating back to the souvenirs donated by Mr. Dung, they have vividly demonstrated the material and spiritual life during the process of labor, production, conquering nature, and hunting and gathering of the ethnic minorities in Lam Dong. The donation of artifacts by Mr. Dung has contributed to enriching the artifacts of Lam Dong Museum, attracting tourists, thereby multiplying the love for the national cultural heritage.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/202502/25-nam-luu-giu-di-san-van-hoa-tay-nguyen-a2a530e/