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Lung Tam is a long-standing home of the H'Mong ethnic minority. Located about 50 km from the center of Ha Giang City, the village nestles beneath the Quan Ba Twin Mountains. Visitors to Lung Tam brocade weaving village can witness the bustling daily lives of the locals. Particularly noteworthy is the sight of H'Mong women skillfully working at their looms, creating beautiful fabrics and unique brocade products.
Lung Tam is a place where the H'Mong ethnic group has lived for generations.
Linen weaving is a long-standing craft that has been passed down through many generations.
During a visit to Lung Tam village to learn about the craft of spinning and weaving flax, Mr. Dong Nhat Huy (born in 1991, Vung Tau City) shared: “During a business trip to the Northwest with the HTV film crew to produce a program about culture and cuisine, I had the opportunity to visit Lung Tam village, famous for its flax spinning and weaving into products to introduce to all my friends at home and abroad.”
According to locals, linen weaving is a long-standing craft passed down through generations. This work both helps increase income and preserves the cultural identity of the ethnic group. The main raw material comes from flax plants grown by people in the village or surrounding areas. Hmong women, upon reaching adulthood, also have their own plots of land to grow flax.
This work helps to increase income while preserving the cultural identity of the nation.
The intricate processes of linen weaving are truly remarkable.
During the trip, Mr. Nhat Huy had the opportunity to witness many stages in the production of H'Mong linen fabric. First, they must skillfully strip the flax plant to obtain the bark. The bundles of flax bark are tightly rolled and then pounded in a mortar until all the powder is removed, leaving only the tough fibers. These bundles of flax fibers are then spun and coiled into large strands of yarn.
After several boilings in ash water and one boiling in beeswax water, the flax fibers become whiter and softer, and the Hmong women begin to sit at their looms. Spinning is done anytime, anywhere during leisure time, so Hmong women and girls always carry flax with them. To make the spinning stronger, the Hmong devise a tool that coordinates foot and hand movements, allowing them to spin multiple flax fibers simultaneously. The finished fabric must then be washed several times to ensure it is completely white.
The image depicts a Hmong woman sitting in front of a loom, skillfully creating beautiful fabrics or unique brocade products.
After weaving, the linen fabric is dyed. Besides the main color, indigo black, the H'Mông people also dye it in other colors such as red, yellow, and dark blue… All the dyes used are extracted from forest leaves and do not contain industrial chemicals.
According to Mr. Nhat Huy, one of the special things that makes the H'Mong linen brocade from Lung Tam unique is the creation of patterns and motifs using a distinctive technique of embroidery and beeswax painting. The motifs on the products symbolize friendship or health. The H'Mong people have invented the use of beeswax to draw on white fabric in symmetrical rhombus or square shapes, which helps the patterns on the fabric last longer.
What makes the H'Mông people's linen brocade from Lùng Tám so special is the creation of patterns and motifs using unique techniques of embroidery, appliqué, and beeswax pattern drawing.
The Hmong people invented the method of using beeswax to draw on white fabric in symmetrical rhombus or square shapes, which helps the patterns on the fabric last longer.
With the skillful hands of the H'Mông people, many diverse products have been created, such as trousers, shirts, scarves, wallets, and handbags… Not only serving daily life, many products are also used in restaurants and hotels.
The meaning behind linen weaving
The Hmong people prefer weaving linen over cotton because they believe linen fibers are more durable and stronger. From a spiritual perspective, they believe linen fabric is a bridge between humans and the afterlife. According to them, if a person crosses over to the other world without linen clothing, the entire village and clan will not perform the funeral rites; the deceased will not find their way back to their ancestors, and their ancestors will not find the deceased. Elderly people also believe that linen fibers guide the deceased back to their ancestors and into reincarnation.
The Hmong people prefer weaving linen over cotton because they believe linen fibers are more durable and stronger.
Every Hmong woman must learn to weave linen from a young age. Weaving linen demonstrates diligence and skill, which are also criteria for judging a woman's good character. Only when she can sew a complete traditional garment herself is she considered mature. Before getting married, a Hmong girl will receive a linen outfit woven by her mother. After moving to her husband's home, the daughter-in-law will give her mother-in-law a linen outfit that she made herself.
Every Hmong woman must learn to weave linen from a young age.
