Newsletter

As part of Vietnam Museum Day, the Chăm Sculpture Museum in Đà Nẵng is organising a seminar on the role of the EFEO in the establishment of this museum. Speaking on behalf of the EFEO will be:

• Philippe Le Failler: “Heritage in all its forms: an overview of the EFEO’s heritage mission in the early 20th century (museums, library, archaeological excavations, classification and restoration of monuments)”,
• Bertrand Porte: “Conservation and restoration of Cham sculpture (2001–2010) – Musée de sculpture cham de Da Nang / Musée d’Histoire d’Ho Chi Minh-Ville / EFEO / Musée national des arts asiatiques – Guimet / Musée National du Cambodge”,
• Isabelle Poujol: “From the Garden of Tourane to the Parmentier Museum: the genesis of a museum”.

The 4th international conference “Yoga Darśana Yoga Sādhana” is being held at the Conference Centre on the Condorcet Campus in Aubervilliers. The conference brings together over 120 international researchers in the humanities and social sciences working on topics related to yoga, from antiquity to the present day. The event is open to academic researchers who wish to attend upon registration (free of charge).

For those unable to attend, two plenary lectures and a book launch will be streamed live with the support of SOAS.

On Wednesday 27th from 10am, a dedicated area within the conference centre will host several publishing houses (EFEO, Equinox Publishers, Journal of Yoga Studies, SAMAJ, Purushartha).

The Franco-Thai Conference on Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation will take place in Bangkok on 14 and 15 May; Conceived as a dialogue between scientific and academic policy-makers from both countries, this conference will also provide an opportunity to hold the Franco-Thai Joint Committee meeting provided for in the declaration of intent signed by Sylvie Retailleau, then Minister for Higher Education and Research, during her visit to Thailand in October 2023. Gregory Kourilsky will represent the EFEO at this event.

From 18 May until the end of June, the EFEO Centre in Bangkok is hosting Fionnuala Hughes, a Master’s student in Asian Studies at EHESS, whose research focuses on Vietnamese immigration networks in Bangkok since the 18th century.

On 31 May, the EFEO Centre in Chiang Mai will host the polling station for the elections of the Council of French Nationals Abroad (CFE), organised by Christophe Gestin, who recently took up his post as Honorary Consul of France in Chiang Mai, succeeding Thomas Baude.

As part of the series of lectures and discussions organised at the EFEO Centre in Ho Chi Minh City, Huynh Van Khang will speak on Monday 18 May on the topic: “Settlement Morphology and Housing Typologies of Cham Muslim Communities in the Mekong Delta”.

The centre is hosting:

• From 3 to 10 May, Marieke Bloembergen, a researcher at KITLV and lecturer at Leiden University, who is in Jakarta as part of her assignment at the National Archives.
• On 20 May, Gabriel Facal, a researcher at IRASEC, for a meeting with Arlo Griffiths.

The EFEO Centre in Pondicherry is closed for its annual holidays during the month of May.

S.L.P. Anjaneya Sarma is delivering a paper on Sanskrit grammar entitled “karmaNi dvitīyā iti sūtravicāraḥ” at the Chatussastrasabha organised by the Sankarajayanti-utsava-sabha, which is being held in Chennai from 4 to 9 May. He is also delivering a paper entitled “sādhakatamam karaNam (Panini 1.4.42) iti sūtravicāraḥ” at the Chatussastrasabha organised by the Kanchikamakotipeetham, which is being held in Kanchipuram from 29 to 31 May.

From 18 to 22 May, Suzanne Peyrard, a geographer and Korea specialist and research engineer (Paris-Cité University), will be staying at the Seoul Centre to continue updating the data in the Heurist database of the Kaesong Archaeological Mission, alongside Oriane Durand-Poussin, a PhD student.

On 15 May at 3 pm, the Fudan-EFEO Research Centre for Humanities will welcome historian Xie Zeying, a specialist in the history of Sinology, for a new instalment of the series “Rethinking Sinology, Broadening the Humanities: Area Studies in the Face of Paradigm Shifts”, organised in a hybrid format in collaboration with INALCO. A PhD graduate of ENS Lyon and currently a research assistant at the Institute of Historical Theory of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), she will speak on the topic “The Chinese Experience and the Production of Sinological Knowledge: The Case of Henri Maspero”. The lecture will be delivered in Chinese in Room 2001, Guanghua West Building.

From 7 to 17 May, the Centre is hosting Sister Chamreunsithy to work with Éric Bourdonneau on the continuation of her thesis, “The epigraphic practice of dignitaries in the Angkor region: an examination of Old Khmer inscriptions from the 9th to the 14th century” (Inalco, supervised by Michel Antelme and Éric Bourdonneau).

Until 20 May (since 10 April), Youk Sopheak is also being hosted by the Centre to continue and complete his fieldwork in the Siem Reap region, as part of his thesis “From rice-growing rituals to claims of identity: Practice and value of the Khmer rice field” (Inalco, supervised by Michel Antelme and André Iteanu).

From 25 to 31 May, in cooperation with the French Cultural Institute and as part of the “Villa Marguerite Duras” artist residencies, the Centre is hosting the writer Dominique Sigaud.

On 28 and 29 May, Michela Bussotti will take part in the conference Línguas e mundo: Empresas de tradução de saberes e políticas imperiais no século XVI / Langues et monde : Entreprises de traduction des savoirs et politiques impériales au 16e siècle, in Lisbon at the National Library of Portugal, as session chair. The conference is organised by the National Library of Portugal and the MONDO 500 project, with the support of other institutions including the EFEO.

On 12 and 13 May, Hugo David will take part in the international conference in honour of Pierre-Sylvain Filliozat, organised by the EFEO, the Société Asiatique and the French Association for Indian Studies. He will present a paper entitled “Creative power or condition of experience? New reflections on time in Bhartṛhari”.

As part of the “China in Diversity” series organised by Loyola Paris Faculties, Guillaume Dutournier is giving a lecture on the topic “Where does French Sinology come from?”. In it, he presents some of the work carried out within several research groups (notably at the Beijing Centre since 2019 and, in partnership with INALCO, at the Shanghai Centre since 2025).

Valérie Gillet is taking part in the CNRS thematic school entitled “Itinerancies: the circulation of material traces of the past from antiquity to the present day”. She will chair a one-day panel on the theme of “Reuse and desacralisation”, and will give a lecture entitled: “From rough stone to the art gallery: the journeys of Indian deities”. This thematic school will take place in Athens, at the École française d’Athènes, from 11 to 15 May. This event marks the conclusion of the first phase of the interEFE project “Destins d’objets”, in which Valérie Gillet is involved.

Frédéric Girard will present “Observations on Diet in Japan and the Rules of the Buddhist Community” at the symposium on diet in Asia organised by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, the Société Asiatique and the Collège de France in Paris, on 21 May, at the Collège de France, Marcelin Berthelot site.

Dominic Goodall is taking part in a one-day seminar on epigraphy organised by Diwakar Acharya in Oxford on 8 May, presenting a paper entitled “What can the recently discovered poetic inscription K. 1417 from the reign of Jayavarman I bis add to our understanding of the Khmer-speaking world in the 8th century?”.

On 12 May, during the symposium in memory of Pierre-Sylvain Filliozat organised by Sylvain Brocquet, Silvia D’Intino and Charlotte Schmid, Dominic Goodall will give a talk entitled “A Look Back at K. 532, a Lost 10th-Century Inscription from Bantey Kdei (Cambodia)” at the Collège de France, in the Françoise Héritier Lecture Theatre.

On 27 May, Dominic Goodall will deliver the opening address at the Yoga Sādhana, Yoga Darśana Conference in Paris. His talk is entitled: “How is kuṇḍalinī conceived when she first appears in 7th-century Śaivasiddhānta scriptures?”.

From 25 May, Arlo Griffiths will be away; he is travelling to Italy in early June to take part in the closing conference of the DHARMA project in Naples.

On 28 and 29 May, François Lachaud will take part in the conference Línguas e mundo: Empresas de tradução de saberes e políticas imperiais no século XVI / Langues et monde : Entreprises de traduction des savoirs et politiques impériales au 16e siècle, organised at the National Library of Portugal. On 29 May, he will present a paper entitled: “A Japanese epic for missionaries: the Feiqe monogatari (1592–1593)”.

On May 7, Christophe Marquet will sit as an examiner on the panel for Myriam Akian’s doctoral thesis entitled Les mouvements citoyens dans la construction du patrimoine et de l’archéologie au Japon (fin XIXe-début XXIe siècle), prepared at Doctoral School 131 “History, Language, Literature and Images: Civilisations and Humanities and Social Sciences” at Paris Cité University, supervised by Annick Horiuchi (UPC) and Laurent Nespoulous (Inalco).

On May 20 and 21, Martin Nogueira Ramos is on a mission to Belgium. On the 20, he will consult family documents at a private residence in the province of Hainaut relating to a Catholic missionary who was active on the island of Kyushu during the Meiji and Taishō eras. On 21 May, he will visit the State Archives in Namur to consult the Monin Vermeulen collection, a family whose donations supported the Japanese Catholic Church during the same period.

On 12 and 13 May, Christophe Pottier and Rampa Salikarin will take part in the first Franco-Thai Heritage Forum in Bangkok and Ayutthaya. On 12 May, Christophe Pottier, together with his colleagues from the Fine Arts Department, Melada Maneechote and Sorathach Rotchanarat, gave a presentation entitled “Developments in archaeometry in South-East Asia: Recent Lidar-driven discoveries in Sukhothai, Si Satchanalai and Kamphaeng Phet”.

On 2 May, Catherine Scheer will discuss Rithy Panh’s documentary film “We Are the Fruits of the Forest” (2025) as part of the Margaret Mead Film Festival at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

On 8 May, Saarthak Singh will take part in an epigraphy workshop organised by Diwakar Acharya at the University of Oxford.

From 20 to 22 May, Saarthak Singh will take part in the conference “Visual Mantras: Inscription, Iconography and the Visualisation of Sacred Sound”, organised as part of the MANTRAMS project (ERC Synergy No. 101118934) at the University of Vienna, with a presentation entitled “A circle of goddesses from the fortress of Mandu”.

LiDAR surveys in the field are continuing, mainly in and around the Vat Phou “World Heritage” site.

From 4 to 15 May, a LiDAR survey is being carried out at Nong Hua Thong and in the Savannakhet region by Bounsakhong Sithavong and Somxay Keovisay (members of the Savannakhet DCT), supervised alternately by Vilasak Phongsawath and Sybounheuang Phimmasenh.

The LiDAR team will provide Dominique Soutif with data from the topographical surveys carried out at the archaeological excavations at the Houay Tomo site, where he led an excavation campaign in April.

Work on the development of the Houay Sa Houa 2 archaeological site is continuing, with earthworks and the recovery of artefacts left buried during previous archaeological excavations, which will be displayed on site. Vissa Chanthaphasouk is overseeing the implementation of the recommendations made by the EFEO.

Vissa Chanthaphasouk, with the assistance of the LiDAR team, is continuing with the cleaning and photogrammetric surveys of the north terrace, the area to the west of the north quadrangle, and the western enclosure of the main sanctuary.

As part of the NATURAL_FORESTORE project, the LiDAR team is continuing to support the research team at the National Biobank of Thailand (NBT), the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) and the Institut de recherche et développement (IRD), who are continuing to carry out detailed surveys of fifteen areas of approximately one hectare each until June 2026, in the forests of the districts of Champassak and Phontong.

Vincent Paillusson (CNRS, HTL) and Chen Fengyi (EFEO, ChEDiL) will be presenting in the “poster” session organised by DISTAM+ at Humanistica, EPITA (14–16 Rue Voltaire, 94270 Le Kremlin-Bicêtre), on 18 May, from 9am to 12pm. Their poster is entitled “Feedback on ATR for multilingual documents”.

Devahar Vijayan (DiPiKA project) is presenting a paper entitled “Understanding the Instrument Kōl in Vāstuvidyā” at the workshop “Measures and Measuring Instruments”, held at the Institut Français in Pondicherry from 4 to 6 May.

Ushus K. Unnikrishnan (DiPiKA project) presents a paper entitled “Thrissur Manuscript Culture and the Jaiminīya Sāmaveda: Preservation, Digitisation and Research” at an international conference organised in honour of Swami Chinmayananda at Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth in Onakkoor (Kerala) from 8 to 10 May.

Alain Arrault & Michela Bussotti
– EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies, Archives et société locale en Chine

On 7 May, Eugenio Menegon (Boston University): “A Global Microhistory of China in the Early Modern / Late Imperial Period”, learn more

Éric Bourdonneau
– Seminar, « Depuis la marge ». Étude des images et écriture de l’histoire du Cambodge ancien, Phnom Penh Faculty of Archaeology

Hugo David
EPHE seminar (« Philosophie et Philologie sanskrite ») in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies,  Autour de l’énonciation : linguistique et métaphysique (introduction à la philosophie linguistique de Bhartrhari 2)

– Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3 Seminar as part of the Bachelor’s Degree in Indian Studies, Lecture de textes philosophiques sanskrits : introduction à la lecture du « Pātañjalayogaśāstra » (« Yogasūtra » de Patañjali et leur [auto-]commentaire)

Véronique Degroot
– EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies, Introduction à l’histoire de l’art et à l’archéologie de l’Indonésie occidentale: protohistoire et période hindo-bouddhique

Luca Gabbiani
– EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies, Histoire sociale, économique et institutionnelle de la Chine moderne (XVe-XXe siècle)

On 21 May, Eugenio Menegon (Boston University): “Invisible City: European Missionaries and Chinese Catholics in Early Qing Beijing, 17th-18th Centuries”, learn more

On 28 May, Tai Li-Chuan (Academia Sinica): “Le musée d’histoire naturelle d’Armand David à Pékin (1867-1887) et ses rapports avec la cour des Qing”, learn more

Valérie Gillet et Saarthak Singh
– EPHE seminar (« Histoire et enjeux de l’Inde pré-coloniale ») in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies, Histoire de l’Inde précoloniale : enjeux et sources. La gestion de l’eau : aménagements hydrauliques, enjeux politiques, programme

Andrew Hardy
– EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies, Histoire de la colonisation du Vietnam : approches micro-biographiques ?

Benoît Jacquet
– Master 2 Seminar, Paysages : architectures, villes et territoires en transition (PFE), École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Paris-La Villette

Fabienne Jagou
– EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies, Le nationalisme tibétain à partir du début du XXe siècle

François Lachaud
– EPHE seminar (« Bouddhisme et civilisation japonaise ») in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies, La Guerre et ses fantômes: les pièces à Asura (shuramono) dans le théâtre nō [Le Heike monogatari et ses héritages 1]

– EPHE seminar (« Bouddhisme et civilisation japonaise ») in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies, Le prélat et les guerriers : lectures du Gukanshō (Mes Vues sur l’Histoire) [Penser la guerre au moyen âge I]

Martin Nogueira Ramos
– EPHE seminar (« Histoire du fait religieux dans le Japon prémoderne et moderne (XVIe-XIXe s. ») in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies, Sources et histoire du catholicisme japonais moderne (XIXe siècle)

Christophe Pottier
– Master’s seminar at Sorbonne University, Actualités et pratiques de l’archéologie en Extrême-Orient

Catherine Scheer
EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies, Faire de la recherche sur le terrain : contraintes, contournements, engagements en Asie du Sud-Est

On 7 May, Sohoan Heng (MCF Psychologie, Institut de Formation des Maîtres à Battambang, Cambodge): “Enquête historico-clinique auprès des enseignants au Cambodge”

On 21 May, Louise Perrodin (Printemps-CNRS&UVSQ): “Faire de la recherche à 45°: positionnalité sur le terrain des migrations climatiques en Malaisie”

– EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies, Anthropologie comparée de l’Asie du Sud-Est. Marges et pouvoirs locaux : ethnographies et histoire régionale

On 7 May, Vanina Bouté (EHESS, CASE): “Sur le devenir d’anciens cultes territoriaux en contexte migratoire (Nord-Laos)”. Workshop, discussion on: Tanabe, Shigeharu, 1988, “Spirit and Ideological Discourse: the Taï Lü guardian cults in Yunnan”, Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, vol. 3 (1), pages 1-25

On 21 May, Floramante Ponce (Laboratoire d’Anthropologie des Mondes Contemporains, ULB) : “Grey Matter: Amulet Devotion and Moral Negotiation of Young Laotian Scammers in Northern Laos”. Workshop, discussion on: Baker, Chris et Pasuk Phonpaichit, 2024, “View of Before Amulets: Concepts and Devices in Old Siam”, Journal of the Siam Society, vol. 112, Part. 2, pages 17-38

Charlotte Schmid & Saarthak Singh
EPHE seminar (« Épigraphie et iconographie du monde indien ») in the framework of the Master’s degree in Asian Studies, Écrire, inscrire et mettre en scène : la culture matérielle des textes dans le monde indien

Articles :

• Anne-Colombe Launois & Sylvain Roy, Dialogue musical et iconographique autour d’un luth rubāb. Expérience d’archéolutherie pour la reconstruction d’un instrument disparu
• Selvam Thorez, Dīp Chand : classicisme et innovations d’un peintre moghol au Bengale (1755-1765)
• Cristophe Munier-Gaillard, The Notion of Scene in Early Modern Burmese Buddhist Murals of the Nyaungyan Tradition (c. 1580-1800)
• Mei Mercier, Empreintes de l’histoire : les sceaux impériaux chinois du musée Guimet

The result of four years of ongoing collaboration between Centre No. 4 of the National Archives of Vietnam and the EFEO, this bilingual (Vietnamese-French) volume, edited by Nguyễn Xuân Hùng, Philippe Le Failler and Sunny Le Galloudec, is now available online (and downloadable) on the Vietnam Archives website (as well as on Academia and HAL).

This guide, which is scheduled for print publication in autumn 2026, will help to open up new avenues of research, particularly on the history of Central Vietnam.

All EFEO publications are available on the publications website.

Daniel Perret (trad. & ed.) & Arba’iyah Mohd Noor (ed. trad.), Dari Langkawi ke Sarawak – Lapan Sumber Perancis (1621-1899) / De Langkawi à Sarawak – Huit Regards Français (1621-1899), Kuala Lumpur, Penerbit Universiti Malaya, 2026, 388 pages.

– Pin-Hua Chou is based at the Hanoi centre for a study on “Museums, Anthropology, and the Politics of Knowledge Production in Colonial and Post-Colonial Vietnam, 1940-1954 and Beyond”

– Job De Bolle is based at the Beijing centre for a study on “Temple Reconstruction on Mt. Gezao”

– Muhammad Ni’am is based at the Jakarta centre for a study on “The Politics of Dwelling among the Batak People in an Indonesian Conservation Frontier”

– Jennifer Su is based at the Hanoi centre for a study on “Wasted Rites: Ritual Consumption and Rational Destruction in Hanoi’s Flower Trade”

– Yunheng Xu is based at the Pondicherry centre for a study on “The Ulakaḷanta Perumāḷ Temple through its Inscriptions and its Legends”

– Sopheak Youk is based at the Siem Reap centre for a study on “Des rituels rizicoles à la revendication identitaire : pratique et valeur de la rizière khmère”.

Nicolas Fiévé has been reappointed as Director of the EFEO for a second term, effective from 6 April 2026. This appointment was published in the Official Journal of the French Republic on 7 April.

Hugo David took up his post as Director of Studies on 6 April 2026, for a term of three years. His appointment was unanimously approved by the Academic Board at its meeting on 27 March 2026.

He is a senior lecturer and his research focuses on the history of philosophical texts and ideas in ancient India, as well as their development during the medieval and pre-modern periods (400–1600 CE). His main work focuses on the traditions of linguistic, logical and exegetical analysis developed in India at the beginning of the second millennium, and their evolution within medieval Brahmanical scholasticism (ritual, metaphysics, ontology, theology). In addition, he leads the Digital Preservation of Kerala Archives (DiPiKa) research project in collaboration with the University of Hamburg.

The Paris Library will be closed on Friday 1st, Friday 8th, Tuesday 12th until 1 pm, Thursday 14th, Friday 15th and Monday 25th May.

Consult the catalogues and digital tools :
– Catalogue of books and periodicals
– Catalogue of Archives and Manuscripts
– Digital heritage library

Check the EFEO’s Facebook page and Bluesky account regularly for any updates on the terms and conditions of the public reception service.

To mark Vietnam Museum Day on 18 May, an exhibition of photographs by the EFEO, entitled From the Sculpture Garden of Thoàna to the Cham Art Museum, which highlights the EFEO’s role in the museum’s creation, will be on display at the Cham Sculpture Museum in Đà Nẵng from 18 May to 18 August.

The Cloud, a Thai online magazine focusing on contemporary culture, lifestyles and local initiatives, has published an article on the library at the EFEO Centre in Chiang Mai.