Nét đẹp trang phục của người Dao

Among the 54 ethnic groups of Vietnam, the Dao people have many long-standing customs and traditions rich in identity, with traditional clothing being a cultural highlight that vividly reflects the cultural life of the Dao people. According to the 2019 census and housing data, the Dao ethnic group has a population of 891,151 people, residing mainly in the midland and mountainous provinces of Northern Vietnam. From a cultural perspective, in addition to common elements of the Dao ethnic group such as origin, history, and language, each subgroup possesses its own unique and diverse characteristics. These subgroups have different names, often derived from the features of their traditional clothing, such as: Red Dao, Tight-Pants Dao, Lo Gang Dao, Coin Dao, White-Pants Dao, Thanh Y Dao, Lan Ten Dao, etc. Some ethnic groups lack many elements and components to create a complete traditional costume. However, the Dao people have a complete women's costume, encompassing all the necessary elements of both clothing and jewelry: headscarves, hats, blouses, skirts, aprons, trousers, belts, leggings, earrings, necklaces, and rings. Not only is the costume complete, but it is also very diverse and rich: there must be at least three types of scarves (square, rectangular, and long), and hats worn for weddings, funerals, or coming-of-age ceremonies, as well as everyday wear. In addition, there are two to three types of clothing, aprons, belts, and leggings. The jewelry is also diverse in type and differs from that of some other local groups. Compared to other ethnic groups, the Dao people have preserved many of their unique characteristics, using cotton fabrics dyed with indigo, in colors such as blue, red, black, dark purple, or white. For Dao women, clothing is highly valued; their attire reflects their aesthetic sense, creativity, and meticulous attention to detail in every stitch. From a young age, Dao girls are taught by their mothers and grandmothers how to spin yarn, weave fabric, and sew and embroider. In the past, Dao men typically wore their hair long, tied in a bun at the nape of their neck, with a headscarf or a topknot, but nowadays, most have short hair. Besides the traditional shirt style, Dao men also wear shirts similar to Vietnamese farmers, and in the past, they also used some jewelry like women, such as rings, bracelets, and necklaces. While men's clothing is simple—short shirts with a V-neck, usually buttoned at the front with five buttons—and wide-legged trousers that allow for movement in any position, often in indigo-colored, short or long clothing, women's attire is more diverse and retains many traditional decorative patterns. While the Dao people's fine arts are not well-developed, their decorative arts on clothing are noteworthy. They are not only rich in color but also abundant in motifs. Their embroidery is unique; the design is embroidered on the reverse side of the fabric, with the pattern appearing on the right side. Instead of drawing patterns on the fabric, the "artist" creates designs entirely from memory on shirts, vests, leggings, and gold and silver jewelry, as well as headscarves. Both men, women, and children among the Dao enjoy wearing jewelry such as necklaces, anklets, and bracelets. Besides beautifying themselves, these pieces also hold humanistic and religious value. According to legend, wearing silver jewelry wards off evil spirits, protects against drafts, and even brings divine blessings. The Red Dao people wear red headscarves and red flowers on their chests. Their hats are made of small wooden frames with two pointed corners protruding from the front, supported by bamboo strips covered with red cloth and many embroidered scarves. This type of hat is often used in ceremonies, weddings, and funerals. Red Dao women wear their hair long, wrapped around their heads, and wear headscarves made of red cloth or felt. Their clothes are all indigo, but embroidered with many patterns using colored threads, primarily red. The Quan Chet Dao women, on the other hand, cut their hair short, comb it with beeswax, wear indigo headscarves, and wear narrow, tight-fitting trousers that are only slightly below the knee. Their hats are similar to those of the Red Dao. The Lo Gang Dao women dress similarly to the Quan Chet Dao group, differing only in their headscarves. Several square scarves (20x20cm) are layered on top of each other and held securely in place on the head with strings of colorful glass beads. Dao Tien women cut their hair short and also use beeswax like the Dao Quan Chet people, wear long indigo headscarves or square white scarves, and long indigo dresses with many embroidery on both front panels. The Red Dao women's hats are made from tangled hair coated with beeswax, covered with embroidered cloth for ceremonial occasions such as weddings or funerals. Coins are attached to the back of the neck and at the slits of the skirt. Dao Tien women wear indigo-dyed skirts, with patterns printed on the hem using beeswax. This is a distinctive feature of the Dao Tien women's attire. For Dao Quan Trang women, the headscarf and bodice are prominent. The square scarf is heavily embroidered, and the bodice is very large and long, covering both the chest and abdomen, with embroidered patterns woven with multicolored threads. Although called Dao Quan Trang, they usually wear indigo-colored trousers; only on their wedding day do brides wear white trousers to their husband's home. Dao Thanh Y women wear their long hair wrapped around the crown of their heads and wear a hat resembling a bowl. A silver star is attached to the crown, and many round, fish-scale-shaped silver pieces are attached around the edges. Dao Ao Dai women's attire is similar to Dao Thanh Y, but their hats are flatter like a disc. In the context of integration and development, the Dao ethnic group has also adapted to modern life, but they still preserve their traditional cultural features. In particular, the traditional clothing of the Dao people has contributed to enriching and creating diversity in Vietnamese culture.

Heritage Magazine