Linen: Unique Cultural Product of Mong People in Meo Vac
The Mong people in Meo Vac are known for their very rich, time-honoured traditional ethnic culture. In the spiritual life of the Mong people, in addition to unique cultural identity, linen is perhaps a unique product that contains a special distinctive meaning.
Meo Vac district is home to 16 ethnic groups, with the Mong people accounting for 78 percent of the population. Mong men are expert in distinctive panpipe and Mong women are skilful at weaving linen and brocade and making clothes. Most Mong women can plant flax, weave fabrics and make clothes for themselves. Linen clothing with subtle patterns is not only aesthetic but also typical of ethnical identity of the Mong people. Linen weaving is an inseparable activity of the Mong people. To date, linen weaving is passed from generation to generation and promoted as a testament to aesthetic values of a culturally rich people. Therefore, Mong people spend any time available connecting and spinning threads.
Although their life remains hard, the Mong people still keep their unyielding bravery. They are very deeply aware of protecting and preserving their ethnic identity. For the Mong people in Meo Vac, linen not only represents aesthetic but also contains the concept of individual spirituality because they think that wearing linen clothing connect them with the ancestors."
Flax has an important part in both spiritual and spiritual life of the Mong people because this is the material of their traditional costumes. They know how to take natural materials to beautify their brocades. They use tree saps to dye materials. To have fine linen fabric, they must dye and dry linen again and again for months. Hence, their linen clothes can tell their embroidering skills, weaving skills, talents, beauty and virtues.
Mong women often use their free time to make a linen cloth because this work is very effortful. After flax seeds are planted, they wait until the harvest time. Flaxes are cut and rolled to dry in the sun for one or two weeks. To soften linen threads, they place flaxes in the mist for many days. Then, they strip flax barks into tiny threads which are brayed in mortars to be softened and joined together. The threads are twisted, spun and rolled in looms before being washed. To make white linen, flax fibres are boiled in ash water and then dried in the sun. Mong women use simply made looms to make linen. The beauty of the linen is decided by their skilful hands and legs. They use different patterns and embroideries for men and women. Black linen is used to make skirts.
To promote this unique traditional craft, Meo Vac district often incorporates this craft with local festivals to uphold the distinctive cultural identity.
Kim Tien
Vietnamese
