Vietnam’s Illegal Ivory Trade Threatens Africa’s Elephants. (2016)

Art historians are uncertain when the Vietnamese first started to use ivory in any significant manner within the country. Certain tribal ethnic groups had used a small amount of ivory from the elephants living in the forests around them, some of which they captured and domesticated. The Mnong tribe, for example, are well known historically for wearing ivory earplugs, still seen for sale in antique shops in the main cities, but silver jewellery now is the traditional symbol of wealth in many hill tribes in the region, such as silver necklaces and headdress ornaments. The use of ivory is minor, in comparison. Raw tusks have passed through Vietnam to China for hundreds of years. In the early 15th century King Le Loi of Vietnam sent four pieces of tusk to China as part of a peace pact (Nguyen-Long 2013). The tradition in Vietnam is long, dating back over 1,000 years of Vietnamese artisans