(HBO) - In the 80s of last century, any house in Muong Chieng had 1-2 weaving looms. From brocade piece, Tay ethnic women skillfully sew blankets, pillow cases, etc. Which were so courteous and polite. In addition to the needs of home use, brocade weaving products are also used as a dowry for girls when they marry and go to their husbands’ houses, to exchange, to purchase in the form of things for things.


With their own experience, the artists in Muong Chieng commune (Da Bac) preserve and promote the quintessence of weaving brocade of the Tay ethnic group for their next generations.

 

The patterns on the costumes of the Tay ethnic minority are slightly different from those of the Thai ethnic people. Ms. Ha Thi Huyen, Chieng village, Muong Chieng commune said: "If the brocade patterns that Thai ethnic people use are often the colors like white, red, yellow, green, etc., being highlighted and symmetric with each other to reflect the idea of lunisolar harmony. Meanwhile, the layout of brocade of the Tay ethnic group appears more and more rhombuses with the surrounding borders forming the decorative valance. In the rhombuses, there are patterns of plants, fruits, expressing the love of nature and people in the ancient cultural beliefs of the Tay ethnic people".

Weaving brocade brings pure value, is the cultural crystallization of Tay ethnic people. However, in order to preserve this long – lasting traditional culture, Muong Chieng commune as well as many other localities are always facing difficulties. Sitting next to the loom, Ms. Huyen shared: "At present, in Muong Chieng commune in particular and in Da Bac district in general, traditional handicrafts are no longer maintained. There are a few artists keeping the handicrafts, most of them are at high ages and have difficulties in training the jobs for their offspring. In addition, most of the younger generations and offspring of the Tay ethnic group are not aware of the role and traditional cultural value of traditional handmade weaving. Therefore, they hardly know and take care of the weaving jobs. The number of people learning and practicing is not high; the number of looms is limited.

Despite facing many difficulties and challenges, but with passion, many weavers here are trying hard to preserve and find a place for traditional weaving of their ethnic group. In addition to actively propagating to the younger generations about the consciousness of preserving the national culture, the human values ​​contained in each textile product. Everyday, taking advantage of the free farming time, the women and ladies who have much experience in weaving visit the villages and hamlets to mobilize other women to learn and train the job. Besides, in order to meet the various demands of the users, textile products are becoming much more diverse. Besides traditional products, there are many popular products such as bags, hats, phone bags ... with many colors and patterns. Thus, weavers know the combination of ancient culture and modern values ​​to create many unique products, colors suitable for tastes and aesthetics of users.

Mr. Xa Van Hung, Chairman of Muong Chieng Commune People's Committee said: "The preservation and development of brocade weaving is not only contributing to preserving traditional cultural symbols of the Tay ethnic group, but also has an important meaning in the local tourism development strategy, In order for traditional weaving products to reach out to many domestic and international markets, it is necessary to have investment policies, promote the advertisement and introduce the products so that weaving brocade is becoming more and more popular, contributing to honor the beauty and traditional cultural identity of Tay ethnic people. "

 

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