People who are concerned about "Xìn Đánh" (a Vietnamese idiom meaning "to beat someone")

(Baonghean)Even though she's nearly 60 years old, day after day she still diligently works at her loom, passionately focusing on each embroidery pattern and each stitch to create and preserve the traditional brocade weaving craft, a profession that has been with her since childhood...

Ms. Luong Thi Lan (Mac village, Thach Giam commune, Tuong Duong district) learned about brocade weaving and began familiarizing herself with the loom when she was just 8 or 9 years old. Her first teacher was none other than her mother, a capable and skillful Thai woman who cultivated mulberry trees, raised silkworms, spun silk, and wove fabric. In those days, brocade was mainly hand-woven, but after secretly watching her mother a few times, she could imitate her. By the age of 14 or 15, she was weaving brocade with her mother to sell. After retiring early from her job at the forestry farm, without a salary or land to cultivate, Ms. Lan decided to develop the brocade weaving craft. The work seemed easy but encountered many difficulties, the biggest of which was the difficulty in reaching customers.

Ms. Lan is introducing the product to a customer.

The first product she offered to the locals was a "xin danh," a red embroidered skirt with a black hem. This skirt was traditionally given by Thai mothers-in-law to their daughters-in-law as a wedding gift and was only worn during family funerals, symbolizing the distinction between family members and outside guests. At one point, the Thai people forgot this custom, and they mixed black and red skirts. Some even sold these exquisitely embroidered, hand-woven skirts, which their families had preserved for generations, to people in Laos and Thailand.

Regretting and fearing that the traditional Thai embroidery patterns would disappear, she searched everywhere, buying up any old dresses she could find. At the time, she hadn't yet decided what she would do with the old dresses, but whether they were torn or intact, ugly or beautiful, she accepted the loss, exchanging one old dress for two new ones. Thanks to these "xin danh" dresses, more and more Thai people in Tuong Duong came to know her, and in many places, they no longer called them "xin danh" dresses but "Mrs. Lan's dresses." Knowing this, she was very happy. Because the "xin danh" dresses had been preserved and passed down from generation to generation. Recently, she donated four dresses to the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology when they came to Tuong Duong to collect them, hoping that even more people would learn about this product of her ethnic group.

She also deeply cares about the embroidery patterns on brocade products because, according to her, brocade is a hand-woven product, so each dress carries its own soul and identity, unlike any other ready-made garment. Fortunately for her, among the old products she has collected are many precious patterns that are now difficult to find. Therefore, along with creating new designs, she spends a lot of time researching old patterns and gradually restoring them. Some elderly people in the village, knowing her deep concern for this, have been very helpful, not only teaching her how to mix colors but also joining her in the meticulous, elaborate, and time-consuming hand embroidery.

As the product became more widely known to consumers, she also organized classes to teach brocade weaving to the women in the village. Partly to help them preserve the traditional craft, and partly to provide them with employment and additional income. Thanks to this, although Mac village hasn't been officially recognized as a craft village, it has the highest number of people skilled in brocade weaving in the commune. Ms. Lan also travels to many other communes in the district to teach brocade weaving to the Thai ethnic minority. Last year, she taught a three-month short-term course in Mai Son, and this past year in Luan Mai and Nhuon Mai. The teaching fees aren't much, and she has to be away from home for many months, but she remains enthusiastic because, more importantly, these classes will help more people learn about and preserve the craft.

For over thirty years, she has been dedicated to weaving brocade, and even though she is now a businesswoman, she hasn't left her loom for a single day. Brocade weaving isn't a lucrative profession because it's so "complex," but she believes the path she's chosen is the right one. It provides her with a steady income, enabling her three children to graduate from university and college, and find stable jobs. More importantly, it helps preserve and promote the traditional craft of the Thai ethnic group within the community.

Text and photos:My Ha