Indigo wings fly far

Brilliant colors of brocade in the Neu Tree-raising festival of the Co Tu people. Photo: Poloong Plenh

Traditional indigo and the way of creating products, brocade patterns in each region have their own characteristics. I still remember clearly the indigo colors of all colors and types that the Co Tu people in the mountainous districts of Tay Giang, Dong Giang and Nam Giang diligently weave, display and decorate on the ancestral altars, the solemn place of the village's Guol roof during festivals, or the traditional New Year of the nation.

On the altar in every Co Tu house, there are always brocade offerings and traditional jewelry to decorate with special characteristics from brocade panels, belts, men's loincloths or even jewelry such as colorful beads, agate beads, silver bracelets (panang),... creating a solemn altar space expressing the solemnity, respect and soul of the ethnic group here always looking back to their roots.

Village festivals or Tet holidays are also occasions for family members to gather and reunite under the warm roof of a stilt house with a red stove in the chilly weather of the changing seasons in the mountainous region. I had the opportunity to browse the personal Facebook pages of young people and was surprised to see that many young Co Tu people chose to sew and wear traditional costumes such as shirts, loincloths made from forest bark, brocade woven and sewn by the skillful hands of young Co Tu people, showing the positive effect of spreading love for traditional culture. From cherishing the indigo brocade to many young people learning about their ethnic dances, music, and traditional cuisine during the festival.

I suddenly remembered what A-me (mother) said, beside the loom in the stilt house, A-me was weaving beads, while showing her children and grandchildren how to create patterns, how to weave and the meaning of each pattern on traditional costumes. She said: “Our ethnic costumes are like skin, flesh, liver, intestines... expressing the faithful heart of women through creating brocade products, from planting cotton, weaving threads, creating colors, choosing beads to create shapes with many humanistic meanings such as the shape of land, water, forests, birds, animals, roofs of the Gươl, tan-tung, da-da, weaving, weaving brocade,... the patterns express the love for mountains, forests, rivers, streams, remembering the origin, expressing the solidarity of the community, the brocade also speaks of the authority, the good qualities of people, the hard-working nature, the diligence and meticulousness of the person who created it”.

During the trip back to the border villages, I was fortunate to hear the elite Co Tu artisans talk about the traditional Co Tu costumes. Elite artisan Co Lau Bhlao, Tr'hy commune, Tay Giang district said: "In the past, the people in the mountainous areas had many difficulties, living mainly on Mother Forest, from food, drinking water, medicine, to clothing, all came from Mother Forest, at that time there was no fabric, the highland people mainly used the bark of forest trees to make costumes, later discovered the type of tree with cotton, the tree with solid seeds, knew how to weave fibers, then created natural colors to weave traditional costumes with the strong Co Tu identity as today".

Meritorious artisan Bhơriu Pố, Lang commune, Tay Giang district shared at the Co Tu cultural festival held in the district for international guests: Costumes and jewelry not only reflect the simple beauty of clothing, but more importantly, the soul and beautiful identity are vividly, humanely, and objectively reflected through the sophistication in each brocade line woven by the skillful hands of Co Tu women in particular, and Vietnamese women in general.

When the indigo colors are connected between generations of mountain people, between the old and the young in the blue sky full of fresh colors, sparkling in the gentle village festivals in the dance offering to the sky calling everywhere, it is a happy signal, a living environment for good traditional cultural values ​​to be "continued - passed on" to young people who have the opportunity to learn and cherish their good identity, contributing to spreading the beauty of brocade in particular, and cultural values ​​in general.

Nowadays, the appearance of young artisan weavers in weaving and sewing brocade costumes has created many innovative costumes and jewelry products from traditional brocade panels, from agate beads, beads such as ao dai, vests, men's vests, women's bracelets, etc. Young man Arat Mai (Nam Giang district) proudly wears the traditional indigo brocade of the Co Tu people, saying that patriotism is loving the beautiful traditional cultural values ​​of one's own people from costumes, dances, and sweet, profound folk songs expressing love for nature, country, people, living in solidarity and loving peace, vowing to build a prosperous and sustainable country.

The traditional indigo color shimmers in the village festival, on the Facebook pages of young people as a good signal for cultural values ​​to spread out to the world, contributing to preserving, promoting and developing good traditional cultural values. It is an invisible thread connecting the community, connecting young people from the mountainous areas, especially young people studying, working and living in big cities to appreciate traditional culture more, becoming messengers to bring cultural identity in general, costumes, jewelry, dances increasingly spread their values ​​and fly further.

KA LANG

Source: https://baodanang.vn/channel/5414/202504/chap-canh-sac-cham-bay-xa-4003193/