Ethnic villagers preserve­ weaving ways

A handy craft: A Co Tu woman spins cotton. The elaborate work of carding cotton, spinning fibres, dyeing and weaving is allotted to the women, while men are responsible for crafting the looms and finding trees and minerals to use as colouring. — VNS Photos Huynh Van My

There is a village on the Viet Nam-Laos border where cloth is woven on handmade looms with pure cotton threads and natural dyes distilled from the trees in the surrounding forest. It is Cong Don, a village of the Co Tu ethnic group in the central province of Quang Nam.

Cloth of the ancestors

In Nam Giang District's Zuoih Commune, the government-sponsored wooden houses with metal roofing have gradually replaced stilt houses in the village. But the old textile industry has been kept alive in the new dwellings.

Aviet Crai, 40, said: "People who do not weave cloth are not considered residents in the village. At the age of 9-10, girls learn how to weave while boys go with their fathers to plant cotton and bring home leaves for dyeing." He added that they often weave cloth at night, except for harvest time.

Cong Don inhabitants are not only continuing their ancestral tradition, but they are also preserving technical knowledge about the weaving process. Bling Hanh, 61, can make clothing from tree bark and is an expert in brocade weaving. He said that cotton plants he grows are indigenous to the region, having originated in Laos.

Throughout the history of the village, residents have been determined to keep the traditional methods in practice. "We planted new cotton for fabrics even during war times. We are now harvesting cotton from the seeds our ancestors left us," Hanh said.

Villages use leaves of wild trees in the nearby forest to lend colour to the fabrics. In the language of the Co Tu ethnic group, black is taken from leaves of the ta ram plant, yellow from ma-root, red from bhal or soaked dhovan. Blue is created by dipping the fibres only once in black dye. Recently, residents have taken to planting seeds in their gardens or mountain fields in order to save time searching for pigments in the forest. For black clothing, the fabric is immersed in a mixture of water and roasted, ground corn, while brighter colours are soaked in lime water.

Weaving wonders: JorumBang shows off items she has woven over the last few months.

"We have 97 weaving families in the village, and most of them own two or three different-sized looms that are even suitable for children," said Jorum Bang, 40, head of village women's association.

In order to keep the tradition alive, local people work hard to cultivate cotton and weave new pieces of clothing everyday. Bling Pa, who has been using a loom since she was a little girl, said: "The cloths we make are thick and soft. They keep us warm during the rainy season and allow us to stay cool in the dry season. Co Tu women and men have to wear handmade dresses and loincloths." The 75-year-old woman said that weaving cloth, and especially spinning cotton, takes a lot of time and effort.

Despite the widespread availability of synthetic threads of all colours, Cong Don inhabitants take pains to weave and dye the cloth by themselves. Jorum Bang said that in addition to using industrialised fabrics, young women still spend their time learning the weaving tradition. Many young girls and women are skilled in the art of spinning thread, she added.

The elaborate work of carding cotton, spinning fibres, dyeing and weaving is allotted to the women, while men are responsible for crafting the looms and finding trees and minerals to use as colouring.

"I have to help out in order to have cloth for the rainy season, such as an aduon (a garment wound around the upper torso) and tuot (blanket). Making cloth is a painstaking job, and I cannot leave it all for the women to do," Aviet Crai said.

Since women in the village are busy during the day with housework and farming, they often weave at night, bringing their looms to a communal house to be able to chat while they work. A skilled weaver can make five to seven dresses and several aduon and tuot in a year.

"We cannot sell our products cheaply because it takes so much time and effort to make high-quality clothing. But many people are too poor to purchase it if it's expensive. It's a tough problem, but we have to preserve the tradition of our ancestors," Jorum Bang said.

Tran Tan Vinh, director of the Quang Nam provincial museum, believes that Cong Don is the only village around Truong Son mountain and the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) area that still preserves the weaving tradition in its full form.

"The province is lucky to have the village. It's unfortunate that the government has not developed a plan to help preserve the local textile industry. If the village received financial support, Cong Don could be turned into a tourist destination and could sell cloth to visitors." — VNS