The essence needs to be preserved

Although it has been recognized as a traditional craft village, in recent years, embroidery and weaving activities in Phuc Loi have not been maintained regularly. Many households are no longer attached to the craft, and the number of people keeping the craft is decreasing. People, especially the elderly in Phuc Loi, all want to restore, preserve and promote the value of brocade making to preserve the Dao cultural identity and open up a direction for sustainable economic development for the community.

Ms. Trieu Thi Nhay in village 2 Tuc, Phuc Loi commune is a folk artist in two fields: Dao culture and brocade weaving. In 2018, she was awarded the title of Meritorious Artist in the field of culture.

At the age of 73, Mrs. Nhay has been involved in the ethnic brocade embroidery craft for more than 60 years. Mrs. Nhay said: I learned to embroider when I was 10 or 11 years old. At that time, Dao ethnic girls grew up without being able to learn to read and write. My mother taught me little by little. Learning to embroider was like learning to read and write, at first I was clumsy, but then I got used to it. I had to practice embroidering for about 4 or 5 years to become proficient.

In the past, most Dao women knew how to embroider and were always busy with needles and threads, like a trait that a girl should have.

Mrs. Nhay saw that Dao women were very skillful at embroidering and sewing, but as the generations went on, the number of people who knew how to embroider gradually decreased, so she cherished the desire to organize activities to preserve the traditional craft, and further develop it into commercial products, increasing income for women.

In particular, when she was appointed as the Chairwoman of the Commune Women's Union, Ms. Trieu Thi Nhay focused on preserving culture and traditional patterns, and reviving the embroidery craft. She collected her mother's embroidery pieces, assembled them into bags, and always brought brocade bags with her to meetings, and saw that people liked this product.

In 1995, the association and local authorities coordinated with other units to officially open a vocational training class for women. The class had 45 students, studying for 1 month. After that, the women were instructed to embroider at home, the products were collected, made into bags, scarves and many other items. At the peak, there were 72 women in the commune participating, including both Red Dao and White Dao.

In 2018, Tuc 2 village was officially recognized as a craft village. However, embroidery is mainly done by women in their spare time, so the job is only for maintenance purposes, and it is difficult to become a main source of income. Up to now, there are still people in the commune who know how to embroider, but most of them only use it for family use, the number of products sold on the market is not much, and the selling price is not commensurate with the effort put in.

Ms. Nhay added: Currently, the younger generation is less interested in learning brocade embroidery. My biggest wish is that the traditional embroidery craft of the Dao people be preserved and developed, and at the same time have the conditions to promote the products further.

Besides middle-aged and elderly women who still embroider and sew by hand, Phuc Loi commune has some women who open sewing shops, buy hand-embroidered products from people, and sew finished products to sell.

A typical example is Mrs. Ly Thi Lai in village 3 Tuc, who has been involved in embroidery since childhood, but it is only in the last ten years that she has been sewing and assembling clothes. Initially, Mrs. Lai learned to sew in a class run by the commune, and she invented and created the embroidery patterns herself.

Currently, her customers are mainly families ordering traditional clothes, especially crowded at the end of the year and wedding season. Ms. Lai said: In the past, Dao women had to spend half a year to embroider and sew a set of clothes, but today, thanks to the support of sewing machines, it only takes 4 to 5 days. The price of a complete shirt is about 2.7 - 2.8 million VND.

“In Phuc Loi, there are only a few Red Dao households sewing traditional costumes, which cannot meet all customer demand. During wedding season or at the end of the year, I have to stay up all night to sew clothes, even hire someone to embroider pieces of fabric at home and then put them together. However, few young people want to learn the trade. Many young people go to school or work far away, and are no longer attached to traditional embroidery and sewing,” said Ms. Lai.

In order for the embroidery profession in Phuc Loi to be preserved and developed, people hope to receive more attention from the government, relevant agencies and social organizations. Specifically, continuing to open vocational training classes for teenagers or including embroidery in the extracurricular program of schools to arouse national cultural pride from an early age.

In addition, support people to access e-commerce, connect with community tours to expand the market for brocade products. Phuc Loi people expect brocade making to not only be preserved as a precious heritage, but also become a sustainable source of income, contributing to improving life and spreading Dao cultural identity.

Amidst the changing pace of modern life, the brocade making craft of the Dao people in Phuc Loi still quietly exists. Despite many difficulties, with the dedication of artisans like Mrs. Nhay, Mrs. Lai and the community, it is hoped that this traditional craft will not be forgotten. Cultural identity will be preserved and also open up opportunities for tourism development, creating sustainable livelihoods for the people here.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/tinh-hoa-can-duoc-giu-gin-post883870.html