Embroidered scarves in the spiritual and cultural life of Thai people in Nghe An
(Baonghean) - The embroidered brocade scarf not only contributes to the highlight of Thai women's costumes but is also sometimes draped over the groom's shoulders when picking up the bride. The embroidered scarf is also worn by men with their ceremonial costumes in some festivals.
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| Charming Thai girl in traditional costume, with embroidered scarf on her head. Photo: Quoc Dan |
The Pieu scarf of the Thai people in the northern mountainous provinces has become very famous and has become the most unique brocade product of the third largest ethnic community in Vietnam. The Pieu scarf, along with skirts, shirts and some other accessories, makes up the typical costume of Thai women. For the Thai people, who have a rich spiritual life, each outfit, even every item of clothing, is associated with its own unique customs and the Pieu scarf is no exception.
However, for the Thai community in Nghe An, there is a slight difference. The Thai people in Nghe An call the Piêu scarf an embroidered scarf (slanted scarf), and in some places it is called “khan tai”. Despite the difference in name, the position and meaning of this brocade costume is still very important in the cultural and spiritual life of women here.
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| When weaving a piece of fabric, the craftsman must estimate the size of the fabric according to its intended use. The length of the scarf, the pattern... are all carefully considered from the weaving stage. Photo: Ho Phuong |
The embroidered scarves of Thai women in Nghe An have quite diverse forms. The purpose of use, age, preferences of each person or region determine the form of the embroidered scarves. They are often made with different fabric widths, but the embroidery patterns are quite uniform.
Each scarf has a “leo” image, which means to ward off evil spirits; in addition, there are flowers, leaves, birds, animals, elephants, horses, the moon, the sun, etc. Large embroidered scarves can be about 2 spans wide and about 1.5 meters long, while smaller scarves are about 1 meter long and 1 span wide.
As in the mountainous areas of the North, Thai women were taught by their grandmothers and mothers from the age of 9 or 10 how to grow cotton, reel silk, weave cloth, embroider skirts, embroider scarves, etc. In the past, creating an embroidered scarf was a feat. After being picked from the fields, cotton had to be spun into thread, then dyed indigo and colored. White and yellow silk threads were also the preferred materials for making embroidered scarves.
Before starting to weave a piece of fabric, the craftsman usually has to calculate the intended use in order to estimate the width of the fabric. After weaving a piece of fabric, people cut and sew it into the shape of a scarf and then embroider patterns on it. There are also cases where the patterns are embroidered directly on the loom, but they are usually not as sophisticated as hand embroidery.
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| Embroidered scarves are present in many important cultural activities of the Thai ethnic group. Photo: Nguyen Book |
Unmarried girls usually only wear embroidered scarves during festivals, when wearing beautiful clothes. On normal days, they only wear skirts, shirts, hairpins, and often leave their hair loose. Married women often have to wear scarves when visiting relatives, receiving guests, or when visiting their husband's relatives, when attending festivals, funerals, weddings, etc.
A girl who is about to marry is usually given an embroidered scarf by her mother. The bride can remove the embroidered scarf from her head after the wedding ceremony is over. There have also been cases of Thai brides wearing modern wedding dresses instead of traditional costumes. This often happens when Thai girls marry Kinh men.
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| The groom wears a turban during the wedding procession. Photo: Huu Vi |
There is something quite special that in many Thai villages in Con Cuong district, the groom also wears an embroidered scarf during the wedding procession. That is also the only time a man has to do such a thing in his entire life. Before burning incense with the bride to thank the ancestors of the bride's family, the groom is given an embroidered scarf to put on his shoulders, or on his head. Then it is left like that during the wedding procession and the scarf is only taken off when the groom has brought the bride to his house.
We can also see men wearing embroidered scarves in some festivals such as Nine-room Temple (Que Phong), Pu Nha Thau (Ky Son) in the buffalo bathing ceremony. Many Thai shamans also often wear embroidered scarves on their heads when performing ceremonies.
