Two clever daughters-in-law
"When we first moved to Vang Mon, almost no one wore their traditional costumes anymore. We were very sorry and started looking for ways to restore our costumes," said Mr. Lo Van Cuong, a prestigious person in Vang Mon village.
Ms. Vi Thi Dung next to the loom used to restore the costumes of the O Du people.
According to the marriage rules of the O Du people, most O Du women marry Thai or Kho Mu men and move to live with their husbands in other villages. Women who marry O Du people are mainly Thai and Kho Mu (very few O Du people marry each other), so restoring the traditional costumes of the O Du people is not easy. This task falls on the shoulders of Thai and Kho Mu brides. Fortunately, Thai women are famous for their brocade weaving, so this task is also easy. The two people who have done this task very well are Ms. Vi Thi Dung (74 years old) and Ms. Lo Thi Nga (52 years old).
In front of the house facing the stream in Vang Mon is the weaving frame of Mrs. Vi Thi Dung. This weaving frame has become her close friend for many years in the journey to restore traditional costumes for the villagers. Mrs. Dung is originally from Canh Pai village, Kim Da commune (Tuong Duong district, Nghe An). At the age of 10, she learned weaving and sewing. In 1966, she married Mr. Lo Hong Phong, an O Du person from the same village. In 2007, her family moved to Vang Mon village to give up land to build Ban Ve hydropower plant.
Traditional costume of O Du men
"In the past, the O Du people were called Tay Hat (Thai for hungry and ragged), their life was hard and miserable. When they returned to Vang Mon, the O Du people gathered together in one village. Other communities all had traditional costumes, but the O Du people no longer had them, I also felt sad. I have been a daughter-in-law of the O Du people for more than 50 years, my husband is an O Du person, my children are also O Du people, so I feel I also have a responsibility to restore the costumes for my children and grandchildren", said Ms. Dung. She told this story to the village chief, village elders, and some elders and expressed her wish to restore the traditional costumes. Everyone was very happy to hear this idea.
When the restoration of the costumes was not known where to start, a woman in the village brought Mrs. Dung a traditional dress and shirt of the O Du women left by her husband's grandmother, which had been kept for many years. From this costume, Mrs. Dung began to explore the patterns, embroidery and weaving details and with the active support of Mrs. Lo Thi Nga, the two women began the work of restoring the traditional dress and shirt. After several failures, they finally completed a satisfactory costume.
Ms. Dung began to gather some skillful and textile-loving women in the village to teach them weaving and embroidery techniques, sewing, and creating traditional costumes including shirts, skirts, and scarves of the O Du people. The Ethnic Minorities Committee of Nghe An province then supported the people with 20 weaving looms. Many O Du women who were taught to weave shirts and skirts were very interested in this work. "The women were very happy, some of them finished weaving and embroidering and brought them to me for help cutting and sewing to make them more secure. Now almost every family has traditional costumes to wear," Ms. Dung happily said.
The old shirt left over
Ms. Lo Thi Nga is also Thai, married to O Du for more than 30 years. As a child, Ms. Nga was taught by her mother how to weave and sew clothes, so she is very interested in this job. After successfully restoring traditional clothes for women with Ms. Dung, Ms. Nga had the idea of restoring traditional costumes for men.
Traditional costumes of O Du women
Luckily for Mrs. Dung, there was a set of clothes of the O Du men in her father-in-law's old clothes. She took this outfit out to study the stitches and seams. Compared to women's clothes, the traditional clothes of the O Du men are simpler, but require dyed fabric and sturdy seams. After many days of research and consulting with the elders in the village, Mrs. Nga also found this secret and started sewing the shirt. The shirt she made was exactly like her father-in-law's old shirt, making everyone admire. The shirt had a round neck, buttons, and a serious and elegant style. From the style of this shirt, Mrs. Nga successfully recreated the traditional pants of men.
After successfully restoring the traditional men's costume, Ms. Nga taught the craft to many women in the village and many of them were able to sew it themselves. Up to now, this traditional costume has become popular with the O Du people in Vang Mon. The image of women gathering to embroider and chat, which had disappeared in the past, has now reappeared in the O Du village. Currently, O Du families all have traditional costumes to wear on holidays, New Year's, weddings... Children also have a set to wear on flag-raising ceremonies or major events. "A set of women's clothes can take a whole week to complete, men's clothes are faster. Not only are they made for the villagers to wear, many people from far away when coming here to play or visit also buy them as souvenirs, so whatever they weave is sold out," said Ms. Vi Thi Dung. (to be continued)
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thang-tram-o-du-giu-hon-dan-toc-185241123221000099.htm
Comment (0)