Silver jewelry in the life of the Dao Tien people

In the material and spiritual life of the Dao Tien people, silver jewelry is not only an indispensable item for women to beautify themselves, but it also represents many unique and special cultural and religious values.

Silver jewelry has a unique beauty, just through the design and decorative patterns, people can recognize the meaning and cultural value of each ethnic group. For the Dao Tien people, silver is the most precious material and silver jewelry is always the most valued. Most of the silver jewelry is hand-crafted by the Dao people using traditional manual methods and has been used for a long time, becoming a highlight on their costumes.

According to Ms. Chu Thi Un, Ban Phuong hamlet, Thanh Cong commune (Nguyen Binh), the Dao Tien people often decorate their costumes with silver coins, this is the reason why our ethnic group is called "Dao Tien". Especially for women, silver jewelry shows the level of wealth and prosperity of themselves and their families. Usually, on holidays, New Year or when the family has a happy event, I will wear a shirt with 10 silver buttons, 7 necklaces, 2 bracelets, earrings and a betel bag with 16 sparkling silver flowers. All the silver jewelry is a dowry when I get married. In the indigo color and meticulous beeswax lines, the white silver color makes the Dao Tien costume more brilliant and unique.

Silver jewelry is not only used for beauty but also represents the close relationship between family members and the community and is always cherished, preserved and passed down through many generations. According to the Dao Tien people's concept, when a girl moves to her husband's house, in addition to homemade clothes for a year, silver jewelry is an indispensable dowry along with other valuable gifts. These jewelry will be kept as family and clan treasures and will be passed down to future generations.

In the indigo color of fabric and meticulous beeswax drawings, silver jewelry further highlights the charm of Dao Tien women.

The silver jewelry set of Dao Tien girls when they get married usually has 5-7 necklaces of increasing size, not closed, at the two ends are nearly ten long silver chains hanging down almost to the chest, 2-3 bracelets, earrings, and a set of necklaces. On the necklaces are carved patterns of diamonds, swords, oars, birds, flowers and leaves...

In particular, the elaborate and sophisticated set of relics includes silver coins, rice-shaped strings, fish, labor tools (knives, shovels, etc.), small bells, lime boxes, betel spoons, etc. In addition, there are ear picks, tweezers and rattles about 6-8 cm long. The set of relics is worn around the waist, one side is fastened to the belt, the other side is hanging down the side. On the indigo and white background, the silver relics further highlight the woman's charm. This is one of the aspects that create national identity.

According to the Dao Tien people, silver is not only used as jewelry to highlight traditional costumes, but also to represent wealth, prosperity, luck, and fortune. The more silver a person has, the more the gods will bless them with good health, good things, and a prosperous and happy family. In addition, the Dao Tien people believe that silver helps ward off evil spirits, wind, colds, and many other diseases.

Nowadays, with the strong cultural exchange, the life of the Dao Tien people has changed, many cultural values are gradually being lost or transformed to adapt to new conditions. However, silver jewelry is still maintained as an important and indispensable part, a traditional cultural symbol of the Dao Tien community here.

Thanh Tu

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