Xuan Hinh builds a thousand square meter Mother Goddess museum

Hanoi Artist Xuan Hinh spent 5 years collecting millions of ancient bricks and tiles to build the 5,000 square meter Mother Goddess Museum in Soc Son.

The artist said that since the Lunar New Year, many visitors have contacted him, expressing their desire to visit the project. However, some items are still unfinished and the reception has not been completed, so Xuan Hinh has not opened its doors to the public, only welcoming a few relatives.

Xuan Hinh's thousands of square meter Mother Goddess Museum — Xuan Hinh leads an acquaintance to visit part of the Mother Goddess Museum. Video: *Provided by the character*

The project is located in the middle of a 50-year-old orchard. During construction, the architect and workers did not cut down any trees but built walls and fences based on the location of each tree. Surrounding the wall is a wall of 20-year-old acacia trees.

To build the museum, Xuan Hinh spent a lot of effort collecting five million ancient tiles and more than one million lost tiles from 500 households across the country. As a child, the artist used to work as a tile maker. Later, when he saw many ancient houses built with bricks and tiles being destroyed during the urbanization process, he came up with the idea of collecting them to rebuild them.

Xuan Hinh in a corner of the museum. Photo: Character provided — Xuan Hinh in a corner of the museum. Photo: *Character provided*

According to Xuan Hinh, Mother Goddess religion is the indigenous belief of the Vietnamese people. For many years, he has been invited to perform mediumship, sing folk songs, and participate in festivals, "receiving the Mother Goddess's blessings, so he wanted to repay her by building a museum". The main areas include the worship room of the Three Holy Mothers, the worship room of the ancestors, the shrine of "Drinking water, remembering its source", and the exhibition room for artifacts.

The gallery has many paintings related to the Mother Goddess religion, parallel sentences, ancient scarves and mats. "Over the years of performing, I have collected each souvenir that carries the Vietnamese soul, hoping that when the young generation sees it, they will love the national culture more," the artist said.

Xuan Hinh built a library, preserving books on hat van, hau dong, quan ho, many ancient paintings, related to folk art forms. He said that if he were still healthy, he would invite experienced artisans to teach the profession to talented but disadvantaged children, both learning the profession and preserving the culture.

In addition to the areas dedicated to the Holy Mother, the mother in his mind, Xuan Hinh has a room honoring modern Vietnamese mothers. He displays statues and objects associated with Vietnamese women's agriculture and cooking, such as mills, pots, pans, and sieves.

In a corner of the museum, the artist placed a rickshaw - his prop in the play Man-Horse, Horse-Man. Xuan Hinh is grateful to the audience who have loved the play for decades, helping him earn more income to build the museum. In the yard, the actors dug a pond and placed many ancient jars. In addition, the artist also built a living area and kitchen to serve the family's private needs.

In 2023, the Mother Goddess Museum was ranked among the top 14 best projects of the year by Domus , a prestigious Italian design and architecture magazine. Nguyen Ha, the project's designer, also received the Moira Gemmill Award, awarded to a promising architect under 45 years old worldwide.

The museum is built in the middle of a natural garden. Photo: Provided by the character — The museum has towers, built among natural gardens. Photo: *Character provided*

The Mother Goddess worship includes rituals, spirit possession, singing and festivals, typically the Phu Day festival in Nam Dinh province, which takes place on the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month (the death anniversary of the Holy Mother Lieu Hanh). The practices express traditional cultural elements such as costumes, music, dance, and folk performances that are imbued with Vietnamese cultural identity, created, developed, and passed down through generations for hundreds of years. In 2016, the practice of the Mother Goddess worship of the Vietnamese people was recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage.

Xuan Hinh, 64 years old, is called "King of Northern Comedy" by the audience but often calls himself "The Folk Comedy Maker". His name is associated with many ancient Cheo melodies, Quan Ho folk songs, Xam songs, and Chau Van. The artist is best remembered for his works Thi Mau Len Chua , Thay Boi Di Cho, Nguoi Ngua, Nguoi Nguoi . He was awarded the title of Meritorious Artist in 1997.

Ha Thu

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