Hoi An Museum of Folk Culture, also known as Museum of Folklore in Hoi An is one of the special thematic museums in Hoi An. It was formerly the typical old house in Hoi An Ancient Town with the length of 57m and 9m wide. The museum consists of two floors with the wood flooring, overlooking Nguyen Thai Hoc Street and Bach Dang Street. Thanks to photographs, original artifacts and performing activities, the museum has shown the value of intangible culture and introduced the long-lasting history of culture, the creativity and contributions of the local residents during the construction and development processing of Hoi An. Hoi An Museum of Folk Culture officially opened to welcome tourists in 2005 and gradually became one of the fascinating tourist attractions in Hoi An alluring the great number of tourists.
With an area of 369m2, the museum exhibits 484 artifacts with 4 main themes, namely folk visual art, folk oratorio art, traditional villages and traditional folk activities. Besides, there are also performing activities showcasing and introducing products of the traditional villages in Hoi An as lanterns, silk goods and mats on the 1st floor of the museum. In addition, Hoi An Museum of Folk Culture has preserved more than 346 artifacts in its repository. It is the collection of the costume of the Chinese, the Vietnamese along with the tools and products of the Hoi An traditional villages. These artifacts are diverse in materials and types, which is the base and precious sources to serve the research and exhibition in the museum. Discovering Hoi An Museum of Folk Culture is definitely one of the most unforgettable things to do in Hoi An.
In the system of Hoi An museum, Hoi An Museum of Folk Culture is considered the rare and special cultural institutions in the region. The photographs, artifacts and performing activities in the museum lively reflect the spiritual and cultural life in Hoi An. The folk visual art in Hoi An is expressed through the sculptures and carvings on wood - porcelain reliefs - the bronze worshiping and decorating statues, terracotta - ink-washing paintings, paintings - horizontal lacquered boards, parallel sentences..., which shows off the sophistication and talent of generations of artisans in Hoi An. It is unique features that also have contributed to bring the museum to become one of indispensable tourist Hoi An attractions.
Additionally, the museum also vividly shows folk oratorio art in Hoi An. That are named "Bai Choi", "Thien Cau" dance and "Ba Trao" singing (3 kinds of popular forms of folk oratorio art in Hoi An). They are the forms of folk oratorio playing important roles in community activities and spiritual life of the people in Hoi An in particular and provinces in Central in general. These are usually performed in big festivals to pray for the peace and the luck to the locals. Bai Choi is a lively, fun and popular folk games in Hoi An; meanwhile "Thien Cau" dance is a form of mascot dancing pretty unique, which has been handed down for a long time and gradually become the typical folk dance in Hoi An. These activities attract both the locals and tourists in the journey of discovering Hoi An travel.
Traditional villages in Hoi An has already existed and inextricably linked to the land of Hoi An such as seafood fisheries, farming, traditional medicine, Kim Bong carpentry, Nam Dieu - Thanh Ha pottery and especially traditional sewing retaining longstanding history. Museum of Folklore Hoi An is home to contain and preserve the artistic quintessence. Here, tourists will have the opportunity to ascertain about the process of formation and development of Hoi An traditional villages, witness the unique handicraft products and processes to completely make a product. The journey of discovering Hoi An tour will surely become much more memorable when tourists set foot on the unique folklore museum.
The theme cannot fail to mention in the museum of folk culture is traditional folk activities in Hoi An. Traditional dress in Hoi An along with lifestyle are factors deeply showing cultural traditions of the communities, especially the community converging the large number of different origins in Hoi An. Tourists also have the opportunity to ascertain the custom of marriage in Hoi An bringing both the common cultural characteristics of the nation and characteristics of the region. It is highlights that have contribute to promote the museum to become one of the must-see tourist sites in Hoi An tours... The museum displays its important contribution in promoting Hoi An tourism closer to domestic and international tourists.