Carrying zeng to the world

Oath to Zèng

Participating in the program Hue Crafts Matchmaking with Ao Dai at the end of June in Hue City, the Ao Dai made of Zeng material (traditional brocade of the Ta Oi people) made many tourists excited. More uniquely, the national intangible cultural heritage - Zeng weaving with the participation of veteran artisan Mai Thi Hop made the program even more attractive. With her nimble hands and confident demeanor, Ms. Hop showed that she is very "professional" in interacting with the audience. "At first, sitting weaving Zeng in front of a large audience, I was very shy. But after traveling here and there a lot, now I do it like acting, acting like doing it...", she smiled gently.

Ms. Hop (2nd from right) demonstrates the craft of weaving zeng in Hue City at the end of June 2024.

Choosing artisan Mai Thi Hop to represent many zèng weavers in HA Luoi to perform at major events at home and abroad is also understandable. Because, in addition to her top-notch skills in the Truong Son range, she also has a deep understanding of the cultural values ​​contained in each zèng. She understands the labor of women who work day and night at the loom, understands the market, and customer tastes... Born in the "cradle" of zèng (Lam Dot commune), she has been exposed to cotton thread and looms since childhood... Thanks to her skillful hands, at the age of 15 she mastered the most difficult technique in zèng weaving: threading beads to create patterns.

"When I got married, I brought the loom to my husband's house, along with my dowry, the zèng my mother woven. One day, a district official borrowed the zèng to go to an exhibition, and because the price was high, he... sold it. So, that night, I had a dream that I had to keep the zèng, otherwise I would have to pay the price. Later, for some reason, the buyer also returned the zèng...", Mrs. Hop said, adding that this was the reason why, from a very young age, she was determined to dedicate her life to the craft of weaving zèng. Decades ago, to have a zèng, one had to go through many stages. From planting cotton, spinning, dyeing the thread from forest roots (black from dragon's ta tubers, red from a chat tubers) to framing, threading beads, weaving... it took 4-6 months to complete one piece.

"It's hard work, not difficult. The difficulty is that although zèng is closely associated with the lives and culture of ethnic minorities, it is too expensive, and few people can afford to buy it," said Ms. Hop, adding: "Solving the problem of how to make the price cheaper and increase the weavers' working days is the only way to preserve and promote the value of zèng." Thinking and doing, in 2004, Ms. Hop established a weaving group in A Dot commune (old). She became a weaving teacher for the women and a trader to buy the products.

Igniting Creativity

Having succeeded in lowering the price, artisan Mai Thi Hop received orders from the first customers who were ethnic minority communities in the district, such as Pa Koh, Co Tu, Van Kieu... Gradually, her name became known to many people in the mountainous areas of Quang Nam, Quang Tri... provinces, she began to research the aesthetic tastes of each ethnic group. "I know clearly the preferences for using zèng of the three large, populous ethnic groups in the Truong Son mountain range. The Pa Koh people like red and simple patterns. The Co Tu people prefer small patterns and dark colors. Meanwhile, the Ta Oi people like more sophistication and cheerful colors," Ms. Hop concluded.

Ms. Hop said that from the three colors of black, red, and white yarn, the traditional images commonly seen on each zèng panel include fish bones, palm trees, ferns, stars, etc. She realized that it was necessary to preserve the traditional values ​​on each zèng panel and firmly teach them to young craftsmen, but the tastes of users also changed with modern life, requiring new designs and materials... After many sleepless nights sitting in front of the loom to experiment, Ms. Hop finally created many new patterns and cotton threads with bright colors, such as yellow, dark blue, green, etc.

In 2015, Ms. Mai Thi Hop upgraded her weaving group to the Aza Koonh Green Brocade Cooperative, gathering 120 women working in the craft. Also in 2015, at the Hue Traditional Craft Festival, Ms. Hop carried zèng and looms down the street to both display and perform. For the first time, under the bright lights, the models wore costumes designed from zèng. In the same year, artisan Mai Thi Hop carried zèng on a plane to Japan to demonstrate her craft right at the Fukuoka International Convention Center. Since then, in less than 10 years, zèng has had a miraculous journey to the world.

Ms. Hop gradually got used to going abroad to "show off" zèng in foreign countries such as Thailand, France, Japan... She also made her sisters happy when receiving "huge" orders to European and American markets... In 2016, when the zèng weaving profession was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national intangible cultural heritage, people again remembered the contributions of artisan Mai Thi Hop. "I try my best to do anything for the profession and for the livelihood of the Ta Oi people. What makes me happiest is that in 2021, I retired so that my daughter Blup Thi Ha could become the director of the cooperative, which is also the time when my daughter is proficient in the profession and has many innovations to make zèng more youthful and vibrant," Ms. Hop confided.

As a young person, Blup Thi Ha has devoted much effort to researching new products inspired by zèng. While in the past the cooperative only sold zèng as a common fabric, now the cooperative has designed shirts for men and women, skirts, belts... that can be easily combined with modern clothes. The cooperative has also created about 30 products for souvenirs such as clogs, earrings, clips, brooches, handbags, masks, scarves... (to be continued)

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nhat-nghe-tinh-gui-zeng-ra-the-gioi-185241224235056974.htm