Origin of identity
For the highlanders, precious brocades are usually kept in the house. Only when there is an important festival do they take them out to “show off”. They cherish their identity by appreciating each piece of brocade loincloth and skirt.
After each festival, brocade is washed, dried, and neatly arranged in jars, wooden cabinets, and stored in the compartments of a five-year-old basket...
The Co Tu people are very good at preserving their brocade. After many years, many xa long, loincloths, scarves... still retain the characteristic fragrance of each thread and wool.
Once, by chance, we heard Mr. Alang Phu (in Bhlo Ben village, Song Kon commune, Dong Giang) talk about an ancient loincloth that his relatives had kept for hundreds of years.
This is a "unique" ancient loincloth in the region, almost "unique" of the remaining Co Tu people, completely hand-woven from beads of a type of forest tree.
Mr. Alang Phu said that this type of brocade is very rare because it is very valuable, and few people can weave it. In the ancient Co Tu people's clothing culture, the loincloth (the type reserved for men) has a very important meaning.
From loincloths made of tree bark, through the development process, the Co Tu people have learned the hand-weaving formula, creating brocade products as they are today.
The loincloth, passed down with instructions from many previous generations, has been in Mr. Phu's hands for five generations. Mr. Phu said that the string of forest beads used to weave the loincloth he is keeping is rarely seen anymore.
Whether that tree is “extinct” or not, no one is sure, but the loincloth has become unique, like a precious inheritance of his family. It is the pride of the Co Tu man, of his family towards the villagers, when he himself owns an “antique” heirloom.
“In the past, only the wealthy could afford to buy or order artisans to weave these unique brocades, which became very valuable wedding gifts...
Although the pattern is not very colorful and the years have faded the loincloth, it has been passed down through many generations, becoming a priceless keepsake of my family," Mr. Phu shared.
The day before, we joined the new gươl celebration of the Co Tu people in Aro village (Lang commune, Tay Giang). The festival began. The large gươl yard was covered with splendid traditional costumes.
After a period of preparation, the festival attracted a large number of people from Aro village, from old to young. They came to the festival with all their faith in the community. Village elder Hoih Dzuc said that brocade is like a “famous thing” of the Co Tu community.
Therefore, only on important events do people bring out precious, long-lived brocades. In the past, each piece of brocade was worth as much as a dozen buffaloes, so only when their daughters got married did the Co Tu people use it as a dowry.
“Brocade becomes a treasure of the community. Any village with a lot of beautiful brocade is also a way to show the wealth and hard work of the villagers,” said old man Hoi Dzuc.
Fragrance of brocade
The colors of brocade fill the Aró village festival. Brocade is displayed on the dresses of girls, mothers and grandmothers. Young men wear brocade loincloths, showing off their sunburned bare backs. Children are also given the most beautiful brocade by their parents. When entering the mirror, large brocade tuts (shawls) are stretched out.
We saw the joy on people’s faces. They danced. They sang. The bare feet of young girls beat to the sound of gongs and drums. The richness of the mountains could be felt by seeing, hearing, and touching the carefully-cared brocades. And by smelling them.
The smell of smoke in the kitchen, the smell of jars, the smell of fermented rice wine. Sweet and captivating things wrapped in a small space where the village mirror was newly built, fragrant with each wind. The smell of brocade...
Fifteen years ago, passing by a new sword ceremony of the Co Tu people in A Ting commune (Dong Giang), we also stopped by the festival.
The villagers stood in a large circle, preparing to stab the buffalo, behind them was a new gable roof. The “frame” was too beautiful for a traditional cultural activity, but there was a regrettable gap: only a few old ladies in traditional costumes. Jeans and “boxy shirts” filled the gable yard...
Thus, the Aró village festival is an indication that conservation efforts have, to some extent, impacted the most important and most needed audiences: young people.
Young Co Tu people are no longer shy when wearing traditional clothes, but instead feel proud. Photos shared on social networks by Co Tu girls and boys during the festival are like a signal sent from their love for their ethnic culture.
A few weeks ago, the Co Tu community in Dong Giang, Tay Giang, and Nam Giang shared a photo of Huynh Thi Thanh Thuy (who was just crowned Miss International 2024), wearing a Co Tu brocade dress standing in front of the traditional moong house of Bho Hoong village. It is also a very optimistic signal. It can be seen that young people of the mountainous ethnic groups have begun to find their identity and roots through brocade...
Mr. Ho Xuan Tinh - former Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, who has many years of research and study on the culture of ethnic minorities in the mountainous areas of Quang Nam, shared that the appearance of brocade costumes at festivals, including in stage performances, is not just for performance.
It shows that the community has paid attention to and accepted traditional cultural values. From within the performing subject, there is also a need to promote and introduce the beauty of their national culture.
When awareness of preserving traditional culture is raised, the participation of young people will increase, traditional costumes will have more opportunities to reach the majority. Pride in identity will persistently bring the invaluable capital of the people in the Truong Son mountain range through generations and lives.
“Brocade and jewelry of ethnic minorities not only play an important role in conservation and museum work, but also help the younger generation of ethnic groups know how their ancestors used those costumes and jewelry in the past.
Currently, young people have returned to using traditional costumes more, with innovations to enhance the beauty of brocade. I met many young people from the mountains wearing vests, skirts, and ao dai made from brocade, beautiful and modern, but still looking at them, they still have the unique beauty of their ethnic group. The important thing is to preserve from the root, to preserve the pride in cultural identity and ethnic traditions in the young generation" - Mr. Ho Xuan Tinh said.
Looking forward to many festivals where the highlanders can live in joy, in the games of their own villages, where the wind still carries the fragrance of brocade...
Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/gio-thom-mien-tho-cam-3145072.html
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