(VOVworld)-Approximately 100 artefacts related to traditional sacred animals are on display at the Vietnam National Museum of History in Hanoi. Those objects date back to the early days of the founding history of the Vietnamese nation and the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), the last royal monarchy in Vietnam’s history.

Traditional sacred animals on display in Hanoi

The exhibits are classified into different categories, including the Dong Son civilization’s totems, dragons, cranes, lions and “nghe” – a fictional creature with a lion-like head, long tail and dog-like body, and the 12 animal signs of the Vietnamese zodiac. Pham Van Doan is Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Museum of History: “Through this exhibition, we want to illustrate Vietnamese history through different periods. We want to show the full range of Vietnam’s sacred animals which are not just lions or the nghe, but also other objects that reflect the Vietnamese people’s spiritual lives”