Tuyen Quang: Preserving traditional costumes of the Red Dao people

The Dao ethnic group in Tuyen Quang province currently has about 100,000 people, with 9 Dao branches, each branch has its own cultural identity, especially costumes. With the sophistication in the way of dressing, Red Dao women create their own unique style of clothing decoration, which cannot be confused with any other ethnic group.

Red Dao wedding in Tho Binh commune (Lam Binh).

In Tuyen Quang, the Red Dao people often live in some communes in the districts of Chiem Hoa, Na Hang, Lam Binh, Ham Yen... For Red Dao women, dressing is very important, showing creativity and sophistication in every needle and thread; for the Red Dao people, clothing is one of the first important details to recognize and distinguish between this ethnic group and other ethnic groups. Currently, the Cap sac ceremony, Pao dung singing of the Dao people and the art of decorating traditional costumes of the Red Dao people have been recognized as national intangible cultural heritage.

Ms. Phung Thi Tien, Tan Lap village, Tho Binh commune (Lam Binh) shared that since she was a child, her mother taught her how to sew traditional costumes of her ethnic group. Each costume is meticulously and meticulously hand-embroidered, requiring perseverance and dexterity in every needle and thread, sometimes taking a whole year to complete a costume. Before going to her husband's house, Red Dao girls often stay at home to focus on embroidering, sewing, and completing their own costumes.

Currently, in daily life, some Red Dao people still maintain wearing costumes in production work, especially in Red Dao weddings. Mr. Ly Tai Hieu, a Dao ethnic in Noong Cuong village, Phuc Son commune (Lam Binh) expressed: "Wearing ethnic costumes in weddings has been a tradition of my family for many years. The costumes of our Red Dao people are very unique, showing aesthetics, distinguishing different Dao branches. Proud to be a Red Dao, I also want to contribute to preserving the unique culture of my people".

The Red Dao people in Tuyen Quang are always aware of preserving and teaching the way of making costumes to the younger generation.

Ms. Ban Thi Hien, Ban Luc village, Da Vi commune (Na Hang) shared that in the past, a traditional costume of a Red Dao woman had to go through many stages, from raising silkworms, weaving fabric, dyeing, embroidering patterns, silver-carving patterns on bibs, necklaces... Nowadays, the Red Dao people have omitted stages such as raising silkworms, weaving, dyeing fabric, because everything can be bought. Therefore, the cultural essence of Red Dao costumes now focuses only on embroidered motifs on skirts and shirts. The motifs and patterns embroidered on costumes are from 5 basic colors: Red, blue, white, yellow, black. According to the concept of the Red Dao people, red brings happiness, luck, fullness and all good things to people; The unique feature of the Red Dao costume is that the Red Dao women's dresses are all hand-embroidered, not according to available models but according to each person's imagination from familiar, close images in life such as flowers, leaves, grass, mountains, forests, animals. Therefore, the decorative patterns of each costume have their own unique features, no two costumes are alike.

Mr. Ban Xuan Trieu, Chairman of the Dao Ethnic Culture Preservation Club in Tuyen Quang province, said that since its establishment in 2014, the club has had clear regulations and objectives. These are to research, collect, preserve and promote the good traditional cultural values of the Dao ethnic group, such as: Teaching the language and writing; maintaining and promoting the value of ancestor worship and ordination ceremonies; embroidering decorative patterns on costumes; teaching Pao Dung melodies, dances in religious ceremonies, folk games, etc.

On festival days, the Red Dao people often choose their most beautiful clothes to go to the festival.

Currently, the province has 346 clubs for folk singing and preserving ethnic cultures, including 23 clubs for preserving Dao ethnic culture with hundreds of members. The art of decorating traditional costumes of the Red Dao people has been recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage, a cultural event of great significance in preserving and promoting traditional cultural values, honoring heritage; at the same time contributing to encouraging, propagating and restoring the good cultural values of ethnic minorities in the province. The preservation of ethnic cultural values is always of special concern to local Party committees and authorities. Every year, the province organizes festivals and performances of ethnic minority costumes to restore and preserve the traditional cultural identities of ethnic groups.

Determining tourism development in the direction of exploiting tourist destinations associated with protecting and promoting the characteristics of the local community. Therefore, preserving the traditional costumes of the Red Dao ethnic group is a very meaningful task. Only when each individual and the whole community move from correct awareness to self-awareness in behaving with traditional costumes, the unique cultural values of costumes will be honored and have a worthy position in life, contributing positively to cultivating love for traditional culture, preserving and promoting national identity./.

Editorial Board of Provincial Portal

Source: http://tuyenquang.gov.vn/vi/post/tuyen-quang-giu-gin-trang-phuc-truyen-thong-cua-nguoi-dao-do?type=NEWS&id=115423