Bearing Witness to the Inhuman at Mỹ Lai: Museum, Ritual, Pilgrimage

Abstract

This article explores how the Sơn Mỹ Memorial and Museum and its associated community activities and programs commemorate and memorialize the 1968 Mỹ Lai Massacre and its aftermath. The museum provides space for reflection and bearing witness to the profound suffering in the Massacre. Bearing witness means reliving or remembering and coming to know an experience, especially a traumatic one like Mỹ Lai. Witness bearers are both those reporting first-hand experiences and memories, and those listening to and learning about the experiences. When locals and visitors alike participate in the activities and rituals at Sơn Mỹ, in pilgrimages to Mỹ Lai, or in touring the memorial and museum, an opportunity is available to recognize the “existential legitimacy” of the events, experiences, and memories. Bearing witness can open pathways to individual and societal healing as well as identity redefinition.