Hong Thai women preserve traditional crafts

In modern life, the traditional costumes of ethnic minority groups are at risk of fading into obscurity. In some places, local communities can no longer preserve the distinctive cultural identity reflected in their traditional attire. In response, many localities across Tuyen Quang Province have sought to preserve and revive weaving and embroidery, while encouraging people to wear their traditional costumes with pride. In Hong Thai Commune, women continue to preserve traditional crafts, ensuring their cultural roots are not forgotten and allowing visitors to experience the locality's rich cultural heritage.

Beeswax batik, a unique decorative art, is a distinctive cultural tradition that the Dao Tien ethnic group in Khau Trang Hamlet, Hong Thai Commune, is committed to preserving.

Creating patterns on fabric requires numerous intricate and painstaking steps.

The beeswax must be heated to the right consistency. If it is too thin, the patterns will blur when applied to the fabric; if it is too thick, the wax will not penetrate the fabric properly. Once the wax reaches the desired consistency, the women begin drawing the patterns.

The Dao Tien people traditionally use six main types of decorative motifs on their costumes, including coin-shaped patterns, horizontal stripes and patterns featuring overlapping rectangles, among others.

Visitors are fascinated to witness the beeswax batik technique for the first time. Once completed, the fabric decorated with beeswax patterns is used by Dao Tien women to make skirts.

Traditional costume embroidery competitions provide women with opportunities to showcase their talents and passion for their ancestral craft.

With every stitch, the women work quickly and skillfully, creating neat, beautiful patterns on traditionally woven fabric.

Thanks to their nimble hands and skills passed down through generations, the women can embroider a wide variety of patterns and motifs according to their preferences.

The indigo-dyed skirt, adorned with delicate embroidered patterns, highlights the graceful and understated beauty of Dao Tien women.

Tay women in Hong Thai Commune are also highly skilled in every stitch.

Against a black fabric background, they select brightly coloured threads to embroider patterns that make their creations stand out and leave a lasting impression on visitors.

Red Dao women are known for their vibrant traditional costumes. When embroidering, they skillfully combine different colours, with red remaining the dominant shade.

For the Red Dao people, weaving and dyeing cotton fabric are already painstaking processes, while embroidery is an elaborate art in its own right. It can take the wearer one to two years to complete a single traditional outfit and its accompanying accessories.

Minh Hoang