The world of art in Thai costumes

The shirt is the shelter of the soul

Thai women in Nghe An often wear long-sleeved shirts in different colors such as blue, yellow, red, purple. The butterfly-shaped buttons are often made of silver, ivory, and nowadays, plastic and alloy. Men's and children's shirts are not too elaborate. Men's shirts are usually long-sleeved, have two pockets, and wooden buttons. Children's shirts are also sewn quite simply.

For Thai people, the shirt is considered the place where each person's soul resides.

There are many rituals of the Thai community associated with human life from birth to death and many of them involve the appearance of shirts. A child is born, after a short time will have a naming ceremony. That is also the first time, the shirt of the newborn appears in the ceremony. After that, during the process of growing up, every time there is a ceremony to call the spirit when Tet comes or when going to work, studying far away, or even when sick, the shirt appears in the offering tray.

The shirts also appear in the village worship ceremony. That is when all members of the village bring a shirt each, place it on the offering tray to the ceremony to pray for peace. They pray that the gods will bless them and their families with good health and luck in life. People believe that the gods will recognize each person through the shirts because that is where the human soul resides.

When a girl agrees to marry a man, she usually lets him bring her clothes to her parents to discuss. Then, during the wedding ceremonies, the clothes of both the bride and groom appear on the tray of offerings.

And when a person passes away, if he is the male breadwinner of the family, one of his shirts will be tied to the pillar next to the altar. That is also the last time a shirt appears in a ritual related to a person's life.

Because it is believed to be the dwelling place of the human soul, each shirt is usually carefully preserved and rarely thrown away. Even if it is crumpled, people still keep it carefully in a corner of the house. "Don't forget your shirt when you go out. Even if it is torn, you must bring it back, don't throw it away." - A Thai mother in Nghe An often tells her children when they go far away or are away from home for a long time. Losing a shirt is almost a taboo in the Thai community. People believe that if a shirt is lost, the person's soul can get lost.

Bracelets and silver jewelry

Bracelets, necklaces, silver pendants, and hairpins were once important jewelry for Thai women. These jewelry, combined with skirts, shirts, embroidered scarves, and handbags, give Thai women a very unique style of dress. A traditional Thai woman, when attending festivals or participating in village events such as weddings, house building, or Tet, often wears a traditional skirt and shirt, an embroidered scarf on her head, and a cloth bag on her hip. In addition, she wears a bunch of pendants on her hip as decoration. She also wears silver bracelets on her hands. These bracelets are usually round or flat, depending on each person's preference. All of these jewelry are crafted by goldsmiths who understand the Thai dress culture.

Thai women's silver bracelets come in many different varieties. In addition to the small, uncarved ones that look nothing special, Thai women in Nghe An also wear large bracelets carved with worms and flowers.

The most sophisticated is the chain worn on the waist, quite similar in form to today's key chains. Traditional chains are made of silver strings decorated with betel boxes, pressed sticky rice, shrimp, fish, and weapons. All represent models of the daily life and work of the Thai people.

Nowadays, the necklace, like most Thai jewelry, has undergone many changes. To better suit the budget of many people, silver necklaces are often combined with cheaper alloys. Silver bracelets crafted in the old form are now only found in the collections of some Thai culture lovers.

Hairpin when getting married

For the Thai community, the hairpin has gone beyond the limits of an ornament. The hairpin is associated with a number of cultural features and customs of many Thai communities in Vietnam.

The Black Thai people in Son La, Lai Chau, and Dien Bien provinces have a custom of pinning hairpins and tying up the bride’s hair on her wedding day. From then on, the hairpins will follow the woman throughout her life. The hairpins of most Thai women in Nghe An are made from ebony, with one end covered in silver. In the past, noble women in “local mandarin” families in the highlands also used ivory hairpins.

The hairpin only enters the life of a Thai woman in Nghe An when she gets married; unmarried girls usually do not wear hairpins. A tradition passed down through generations in the Thai villages of Yen Khe commune (Con Cuong), after bringing the bride home, the matchmaker, who represents the groom’s mother, goes to the bride’s house on the wedding day to perform a ritual act of placing a hairpin on the bride’s head. This usually takes place before the couple’s wedding night.

Also in Con Cuong district, some Thai villages in Chi Khe commune, the bride is often pinned with a hairpin by her own mother before the day of marriage. The bride is pinned with two hairpins. One is called the “husband” hairpin and the other is the “wife” hairpin. Nowadays, hairpins usually only appear on the heads of Thai girls on their wedding day. After the wedding, the hairpins are carefully kept as a keepsake.

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