JACQUES DOURNES
Missionary-ethnologist
in Vietnam’s Central Highlands
1922-1993
Father Jacques Dournes readily describes himself as an “evangelical ethnologist”: as a missionary, he sought to touch people’s souls by speaking to them in languages they understood; this is how he became an ethnologist, out of respect for the peoples who had welcomed him and through a labor of love, the fruits of which are displayed here.
This presentation is biographical in that it shows how a young priest with no scientific training became a researcher recognized by the greatest theologians and anthropologists of his time.
Above all, it is thematic, as through the eyes and mind of Dournes, it penetrates the world of the Sré and Jörai, two proto-Indochinese ethnic groups: first in the village, a space for women, agriculture, and crafts; then in the forest, following the trails traveled by hunters and warriors, towards the world of the dead; finally, into the intimate life of a people, as revealed by their rites, myths, dreams, and music.
I followed in the footsteps of the men, adapting my life to their way of life, translating my thoughts according to the flow of their speech, conforming my gestures to the rhythm of theirs.
Knowing the “ways” then, I was able to venture out on the trails, in search of new villages and friendships to be made.
The further I ventured into the interior of the country, the more I penetrated the intimacy of the mountain people: I followed them to the heart of their being, I followed their thoughts, I followed their wanderings, their history and legends, their hopes and misfortunes.*
*Unless otherwise stated, quotations (in italics) are taken from Jacques Dournes’ published or unpublished writings.
** The content of this site is taken from the exhibition “As close as possible to the furthest. Jacques Dournes, missionary-ethnologist on the High Plateaus of Vietnam”, presented at the Missions étrangères de Paris from September 19 to November 15, 2025. Scientific curator: Marie-Alpais Dumoulin. Production: Dianne Engel, Azénor Chalmel, Léa Fréoua, Nayna Xaysourinh and the teams from the IRFA and MEP Animation services.
***All documents reproduced on this site belong to the MEP, whether they were bequeathed directly by Jacques Dournes or donated after his death by the collaborators to whom they had been given. The original documents can be consulted at the IRFA.