Unique costumes of the Dao Thanh Y people

The traditional costume of the Dao Thanh Y people in Quang Ninh province can be compared to a brilliant work of art, carefully crafted by the artisans, pouring their heart and soul into every stitch.

Dao Thanh Y women in Bang Ca commune, Ha Long city embroider traditional costumes.

The Dao ethnic group in Quang Ninh has three branches: Dao Thanh Y, Dao Thanh Phan and Dao Lo Gang, with diverse and unique cultural features. The Dao Thanh Y in the Eastern and Western regions of the province also have distinct cultural features, reflected in their costumes.

Quang Duc Commune (Hai Ha District) has more than 90% of the population being Dao Thanh Y people. The traditional costume of Dao Thanh Y men is somewhat similar to Dao Thanh Phan, both are relatively simple, the fabric is dyed with indigo leaves. The shirt includes two main types: short shirt and long shirt. The short shirt is worn in daily life, while the long shirt is worn on important holidays and festivals. The short shirt of Dao Thanh Y men is sewn in the Chinese style, with a high collar, large chest band, many buttons woven from fabric or copper buttons, usually split in front of the chest, with an additional neck band sewn down to the hem of the shirt on the left side. The men's pants are sewn in the style of a leaf-shaped waistband. In ancient times, they often used silver or copper jewelry to wear on their wrists and necks, but this has now been lost...

The costumes of the Dao Thanh Y people in the East have many differences compared to the West of the province.

The difference that creates identity is shown in women's clothing. Dao Thanh Y women's clothing is a combination of many colors, such as blue, red, yellow, black, white... The most prominent are the floral, leaf, bird, star motifs... embroidered with multi-colored woolen thread on the flaps, shoulders, belts, headdresses, brassieres... Long dress, wide sleeves, low collar with swastika embroidered in Chinese.

Dao Thanh Y women in the eastern region of the province wear short pants, only reaching the thigh, slightly narrow, no embroidery at the bottom, wrapped in a black cloth around the calf and tied with red threads. Meanwhile, Dao Thanh Y women in Ha Long City and Uong Bi City wear long pants. The patterns on women's clothing are also embroidered colorfully with many rich motifs such as grass, flowers or any objects that people here feel close to in their daily activities. The main colors are black and red, making the clothes stand out and brilliant.

In particular, the costumes of the Dao Thanh Y women in the Western region have less decorative tassels than those in the Eastern region of the province. Therefore, the costumes of the Dao Thanh Y in the Eastern region are more colorful and varied, especially the bride's costumes.

Dao Thanh Y people attend the festival in Bang Ca village, Ha Long city. — Dao Thanh Y women attend the festival in Bang Ca village (Ha Long city).

Regarding head scarves, the Thanh Y Dao women have long hair parted, wrapped at the nape of the neck and around the head, and slicked back into a bun. The buns are tied tightly together with hemp rope. Every day, they wear a hat made of loofah, wrapped in black thread, with stars and rows of silver buttons, and a headscarf covered with red and black thread embroidered motifs.

In general, the traditional costumes of the Dao people have many unique features, bearing the imprint of craftsmanship and closely associated with the lives of people in each region. To preserve the sustainable national cultural identity, the Dao Thanh Y people pay great attention to teaching the profession to the younger generation. Every Dao Thanh Y girl knows how to sew and embroider from a young age, so each person has at least one traditional costume to wear on holidays and New Year according to the customs of her ethnic group.

Huynh Dang

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