Distinguishing the branches of the Nung ethnic group through women's costumes

In Cao Bang, the Nung people include the following branches: Nung Inh, Nung An, Nung Giang, Nung Sluong, Nung Khen Lai, Nung Ven... The Nung people are distributed in almost all districts in the province, the population is second only to the Tay people. The Tay and Nung people live in harmony, unite to help each other build a civilized life, and develop the economy .

Because of the intermingling of residences, the customs between the two ethnic groups do not differ much. The easiest way to distinguish between the Tay and Nung people is in women's clothing. The Tay women's dress has a flap that goes past the knee, while the Nung women's dress has a flap that only goes past the waist.

The Nung ethnic group consists of many branches, each branch has a different traditional dress style. In the article, the author mentions the women's dress of some branches of the Nung An, Nung Inh, Nung Loi, Nung Giang, Nung Sluong, and Nung Khen Lai.

The Nung An people mainly live in Quang Hoa district, a few live scattered in Ha Quang district. The Nung An women's shirt is made of indigo fabric, the sleeves stand out because of the blue fabric. The shirt has 4 panels, 4 buttons, a round neck with white fabric trim, 2 sides of the shirt with white fabric trim with black stripes and a piece of indigo fabric trim. In addition, there are scarves, aprons, belts and shoulder pads. The scarves include 2 pieces, which are the headscarf and the hair scarf. The belt is a piece of indigo fabric longer than 1 meter, embroidered with colored thread at both ends. The apron is a large rectangular piece of indigo fabric, with a tie at both ends, when used to tie and press on the belt to protect the clothes during labor. When carrying heavy loads, women have additional shoulder pads.

The Nung Loi and Nung Inh people mainly live in the eastern districts such as Quang Hoa, Trung Khanh, and Ha Lang. The Nung Loi and Nung Inh women's shirts are cut and sewn from indigo fabric, with buttons on the side, the flaps are longer than the waist, with a loose belt tied to the hem of the shirt at the back, the apron is tied in front of the belly, for convenience of movement the apron is folded up and tied to the belt to create a mobile bag.

The Nung Sluong people live in Bao Lac district, a few live scattered in Ha Lang district, Trung Khanh... The women's shirt is indigo black, almost knee-length, the hems of both sleeves are covered with blue fabric. The chest of the shirt is covered with a piece of fabric of the same color as the hems of the sleeves and extends from the right chest to the armpit, fixed by two rows of fabric buttons.

Nung Khen Lai women's costume (Ha Lang).

The Nung Khen Lai people are mainly distributed in Ha Lang district, in which Thi Hoa commune has 100% of the Nung Khen Lai people living. In the past, Nung Khen Lai women with families wore indigo shirts, the body of the shirt was wide, short, the hem just reaching the waist, the buttons were fastened horizontally next to the low neck, the sleeves were moderate, near the wrists were covered with a different colored cloth with floral patterns.

Nowadays, the technique of printing patterns on fabric of Nung Khen Lai women has almost disappeared. Currently, women wear loose indigo shirts, no belt, with flaps at the hips, and the sleeves have colorful floral borders. Nung Khen Lai women wear their hair in a tight bun at the nape of the neck, a headscarf made of a piece of cloth tied diagonally under the bun, the two ends of the scarf hanging down behind the nape of the neck, and when carrying a load, they wear a piece of cloth to cover their shoulders. The apron is worn on the side for convenience when moving around.

The Nung Giang people are mainly distributed in the communes of Van An, Cai Vien, Thuong Thon, Ha Thon, Ma Ba, Tong Cot (Ha Quang), a few reside in Trung Khanh district. The Nung Giang people's clothing is made from indigo fabric, the women's shirts are short, with horizontal buttons, fastened tightly around the neck, the sleeves and chest are not too wide or too tight, the body of the shirt is split, the hem is large, about 10 cm high, the shirt is longer than the waistband, at first glance you will see that the Nung Giang women's shirts are short.

Nowadays, only older women wear indigo shirts, while middle-aged women and young men wear blue or plaid shirts made in the traditional style, with a short body that only reaches the waist, with a different colored fabric sewn along the bra band. The Nung Giang people like to cover their teeth with gold (the tooth near the front tooth) to beautify themselves and show off the wealth of themselves and their families.

Although women's costumes among the Nung branches are different, there is always a common point in customs: the altar is not placed in the middle of the house but on the right or left side of the middle room; the Nung do not have the custom of commemorating the death anniversary of the deceased, but have the custom of celebrating parents' birthdays when they are 49 years old or older...

Over time, the cultural heritage of the Nung people, including traditional costumes for women, has always existed with the ethnic group, along with customs and practices, the cultural heritage of the Nung people has created a unique identity, contributing to enriching the culture of ethnic minorities in the locality in particular and the whole country in general.

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