Although the traditional cultural identity of many ethnic minorities is at risk of being lost, the Dao community in Tra Chau village, Son Ha commune, Bao Thang district still preserves and conserves the values of traditional weaving.
With the cultural staff of Son Ha commune, we followed the concrete road winding through the vast green cinnamon forests to the center of Tra Chau village.
Weaving in Tra Chau village has been passed down from generation to generation by local women.
To better understand the traditional weaving profession of the Dao people, we visited the family of Mr. Ban Van Quang, a researcher on Dao ethnic culture. Mr. Quang is also a son of the Dao people, born and raised in Tra Chau village. Now 66 years old, a retired cadre, Mr. Quang has held the following positions: Chairman of the People's Committee, Chairman of the People's Council, and Secretary of the Party Committee of Son Ha commune.
When we arrived at his house, Mr. Quang was arranging, drying and copying ancient books. Mr. Quang still kept a few dozen ancient books written in Han script. However, a few were affected by the flood and the ink was smudged, so Mr. Quang had to recopy them. Mr. Quang studied Han script and was exposed to Dao culture since he was a teenager. During his working life, he did not have much time to study and practice calligraphy, so 6 years ago, when he retired, he devoted all his heart to the work of preserving and copying ancient books.
Mr. Ban Van Quang is knowledgeable about the traditional culture of the Dao people, including weaving.
The fabric still hangs white as ivory every day on the loom.
Despite his busy schedule, Mr. Quang still took the time to give us general information about the weaving profession of the Dao people in Bao Thang, especially the people of Tra Chau village. Mr. Quang said that the Dao people, wherever they are, are always conscious of preserving their cultural identity, customs, living habits, traditional costumes and weaving.
Thread problem.
Each thread is a connection between the past and the present, between conservation and development, between stillness and movement.
Mr. Quang added: Bao Thang district has about 34.7% of households being Dao people (equivalent to 39 thousand people), mainly Dao people, residing mainly in Phu Nhuan commune, Son Ha commune, Tang Loong town, Pho Lu town... Among them, Dao people in Tra Chau still preserve the traditional weaving craft the best. The whole village currently has about 50 sets of weaving looms.
Following Mr. Quang’s introduction, we went to the neighbor’s house to meet Mrs. Dang Thi Khoa, 52 years old, one of the skilled weavers in Tra Chau. Mrs. Khoa placed the loom next to the window - the best position to use natural light when weaving. On the loom was a roll of fabric that Mrs. Khoa was weaving. The ivory-white threads hung like thin smoke after each swift swing. The clattering, creaking sounds of wood colliding and rubbing against each other made the rustic house in the middle of the cinnamon grove more bustling.
Weaving is a part of the culture of the Dao people that they have preserved.
Mrs. Khoa’s loom has been used for decades, but it is still far behind the age of the spinning frame. The ebony-colored spinning frame was passed down to Mrs. Khoa for the fourth generation. Mrs. Khoa considers the spinning frame a “treasure” of the family and of generational significance. Mrs. Khoa said that in the past, the Dao people in Tra Chau still grew cotton, spun, and spun yarn, but now the yarn is sold at the district market at a low price, so cotton plants no longer exist in Tra Chau fields.
To get the fabric woven by loom, it must go through many elaborate and meticulous stages such as boiling the yarn, starching the yarn, twisting, pulling, and spinning the yarn. Each stage, associated with diligence and discipline, in the Dao people's concept, has different taboos and prohibitions. For example, washing hands three times before working, not telling sad stories, not scolding or speaking harshly to anyone near you while weaving...
The thread of cloth hangs from the loom by the window.
For Dao women, in addition to their daily clothes, Dao girls of marriageable age must know how to weave, sew, and embroider at least two new sets of clothes to wear on their wedding day. Families with good economic conditions can sew and buy four new traditional costumes for themselves, and when performing the ancestral worship ceremony, they will change into two other sets.
Like other households in the village, Mrs. Khoa’s family’s traditional weaving is partly to serve their own needs, and partly to produce goods for sale to those in need. Nowadays, the people’s concept has also changed. In the past, Dao women had to know how to spin silk, weave, and embroider, but now in some places, women buy ready-made fabric from people like Mrs. Khoa and then dye it indigo, embroider patterns, and cut and sew clothes themselves. These changes are not enough to eliminate the creaking sound coming from the looms in Tra Chau day and night; beside the window, the ivory-white fabric threads still hang like thin curtains.
Tra Trau people grow herbs as raw materials for indigo dyeing on brocade fabrics.
Two years ago, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism issued Decision 783/QD-BVHTTDL recognizing the weaving craft of the Dao ethnic group in Bao Thang district as a national intangible cultural heritage. For 114 Dao households in Tra Chau, this is a source of great pride, because the traditional cultural identity will be preserved, conserved and effectively promoted in daily life, including the weaving craft.
Cao Cuong/Lao Cai Newspaper
Source: https://baophutho.vn/trang-nga-soi-to-tra-chau-220977.htm
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