Preserving traditional patterns of the Red Dao people in Ban Cuon

Members of the Cooperative Group for Developing Agricultural and Forestry Products in Ban Cuon, Cho Don Commune, instruct embroidery techniques for young people.

Born and raised in Dao village, since she was a child, Trieu Thi Sinh (a Red Dao in Cuon village, Cho Don commune) was taught embroidery by her mother.

Thanks to that, the details, meanings, motifs of each pattern, symbol, and each stage have become familiar and associated with her childhood. Back then, the old clothes of her grandmother and mother were all hand-embroidered with patterns, so Ms. Sinh felt the traditional beauty of her people.

Ms. Trieu Thi Sinh said: In the past, the Dao ethnic people in Ban Cuon were very poor, with more than 60 households in difficult circumstances. After hours of farming, women in the village took advantage of their time to embroider and mend. From a young age, Dao girls were taught embroidery. Thanks to that, we Dao women were taught the technique of embroidering patterns from the previous generation. Needles, threads and cloth have become indispensable companions of every Dao woman in Ban Cuon. We always consider embroidery as the "soul" that contributes to creating the unique identity of our people.

Ms. Trieu Thi Thanh in Ban Cuon (Cho Don commune) learns to embroider patterns on costumes.

Over time, the traditional cultural embroidery of the Red Dao people in Ban Cuon has gradually faded away. In fact, the number of people who know how to embroider traditional costumes can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

To pass on the profession to the younger generation, in 2020, Ms. Trieu Thi Sinh and some elderly people in the village established the Ban Cuon Agricultural and Forestry Products Development Cooperative.

Accordingly, Ms. Sinh also mobilized and gathered Dao ethnic women to maintain and develop the traditional brocade embroidery craft. The products of the Cooperative are mainly wallets, bags, scarves, hats, shirts, indigo pillowcases embroidered with patterns... The Cooperative, which started with 7 members, now has 19 members.

Embroidery is a time-consuming process that requires skill, meticulousness and careful calculation, so the older women of the Cooperative wholeheartedly guide the young people in each embroidery pattern on traditional costumes. Especially the patterns for everyday clothes and the patterns for the costumes of priests, or brides, patterns on bags, wallets...

The art of decorative patterns on Red Dao costumes was recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2019. Promoting the cultural traditions of the ethnic group, the Dao people in Ban Cuon have built a roadmap to improve product quality and diversify traditional hand embroidery products. Thereby arousing national pride and awareness of preserving traditional cultural values for the younger generation.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/van-hoa/202508/giu-gin-hoa-van-truyen-thong-nguoi-dao-do-o-ban-cuon-ec90c4a/