The beauty of traditional costumes of Muong ethnic women

Traditional costumes not only carry cultural identity, but also contain historical values of each ethnic group. For the Muong people of Son La province, they have unique features in shape and aesthetic style, giving Muong women a very unique charm when wearing the traditional costumes of their ethnic group.

Accounting for 8.4% of the province's population, the Muong ethnic group mainly resides in the districts of Phu Yen, Bac Yen, Moc Chau, Van Ho... Due to living in different localities, the traditional costumes of Muong women have some differences. In Moc Chau and Van Ho regions, women wear ao pan (a short shirt) reaching to the waist, with a slit at the chest to create an accent. Previously, ao pan only had two colors, brown and white, but now there are all colors. The traditional costumes of Muong women in this region are accented by a bib and a headscarf. The headscarf is a strip of white fabric without borders, about a span wide, longer than the head circumference to be tied behind the neck in a twist, not threaded under the hair, used to keep the hair neat and warm in cold weather in the highlands.

The costumes of Muong women in Phu Yen, Bac Yen, have a strong overlap with the costumes of Thai women. Ms. Hoang Thi Tuyet, Vuong village, Tan Lang commune, Phu Yen district, said: The shirt is usually made of checkered cotton fabric, with a short body, hugging the chest, and long sleeves. The shirt does not have a collar but only a collar around the neck, with a row of buttons made of beads that hug the body tightly, showing off the beauty of the woman's body, creating neatness and charm for them.

The skirts of Muong women in all regions have three main parts in common: the skirt head, the skirt body and the skirt waistband. In particular, the skirt head is an important detail, because this is the highlight representing creativity, often with embroidered patterns of birds and animals. The skirt body uses satin or velvet fabrics, mainly black. The skirt waistband is crossed and sewn inside the skirt body, usually red or black. When worn, the high skirt waistband hugs the body, creating charm for Muong women and showing unique characteristics that other ethnic groups rarely have.

Traditional Muong ethnic costumes are made by women, from growing mulberry, raising silkworms, picking cotton, spinning, weaving and sewing into products. Depending on their age, women will skillfully combine colors together appropriately. If she is a Muong girl of dating age, she will choose brocade in bright colors, embroidered with wavy, fluttering, and poetic patterns. Older women use dark colors as the main color, strong lines and have contemplation about life.

Nowadays, with the development of economy and society, many different types of textiles and fabrics have appeared, so the traditional costumes of Muong women have also been innovated, made lighter and easier to wear, but still retain the traditional identity and structure. Preserving the cultural features of their people, nowadays, middle-aged Muong women still often wear traditional costumes every day, and most of them wear traditional costumes on holidays, New Year, and cultural festivals.

Currently, localities in the province are encouraging the restoration of brocade weaving; collecting traditional costumes, including Muong ethnic costumes, to serve the management, preservation and conservation work. Organizing many promotional activities, promoting tourism , aiming to turn ethnic costumes into tourism products, associated with preserving cultural beauty, as well as developing the economy and society. In addition, agencies, units, and schools encourage civil servants, public employees, workers, and students to regularly wear traditional costumes, preserving ethnic cultural values. From there, there are practical contributions to preserving, conserving and promoting the value of traditional costumes of their ethnic groups.

Article and photos: Lo Thai

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