Making Heads & Tales of North & South Vietnam

Trophy hunting is strange. Full disclosure: I was born and raised to a family of hunters, though I haven't tracked down and killed anything (other than that deadly cobra in Thailand) in a couple of decades. But even with that blemish on my record, I still think trophy hunting is strange.

I understand the mounting of heads thing. Macabre, for sure. But I understand it. 

Mounting of tails along with those heads... I'm at a loss. Is this bookending? Some sort of odd bracketing to commemorate the consumption of all the parts in the middle? I don't know.

Like I said. Trophy hunting is strange.

The picture was taken inside the Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City. There isn't anything describing this particular display, but I get the feeling it's left as an example of what not to do. A reminder of the stark differences between the wealthy ruling class in the south and, well... everyone else in Vietnam at the time. I'm not historian, so I'm not going to get into it. I will say that if you're in Ho Chi Minh City, visit the palace and take a moment to reflect. 

Oh, and trophy hunting is strange, regardless where you live. Archeologist are going to have a field day with us 4,000 years from now.