Efforts to preserve and develop brocade weaving

The Brocade Club in Xay Dung village has just been established by the Women’s Union of Suoi Trai commune (Son Hoa district). This is the venue for members to learn and share their experiences in weaving in order to conserve and develop the weaving craft of the Ede ethnic group.

The Xay Dung village brocade club is the venue for women to keep and develop the weaving craft of Ede ethnic compatriots

The brocade club in Xay Dung village has had 24 members, including 10 elderly women who are very good at weaving. The rest are young, passionate women who love brocade, but are not fluent in weaving. The members have monthly and quarterly activities to share with each other the way of weaving and creating beautiful patterns on the traditional Ede dresses.

Mrs Mi Du, 53 years old, has seniority and well-known weaving skills in Xay Dung village, let known: I have been familiar with brocade weaving since the age of 14. Every year, I manually weave traditional dresses for the whole family to wear on village’s festivals and Tet holidays. However, the young are now busy going to school and working, so there are not many people who know how to weave. Therefore, when I heard the local advocacy to establish a brocade club, I was very happy. I wish to bring my experiences and skills to the young people in the village to preserve the traditional weaving profession of my people.

Ms Ho Uon, 24 years old, is the youngest member of the club. She does not know how to weave but loves to weave brocade. Ho Uon shared: When I was a child, I went to school; then growing up, I got married and was busy with doing business so I have not contacted the looms. However, in the village festivals, I enjoy being dressed in the traditional dresses of the Ede ethnic group. Therefore, when I heard the Women’s Union announcing to establish a brocade club, I was very excited to join. My biggest wish is to learn the craft, to hand-weave traditional costumes for me and my family.

Even though it has been just put into operation, the Xay Dung Village Brocade Club has been accepted and supported by many people and the communal authority. Mrs Mi Tho, 56 years old, is the “master worker” in the traditional weaving industry of Xay Dung village. In addition to self-made outfits for the family, Mrs. Mi Tho have been also often ordered to weave clothes for the people in the village and commune. She said: Currently, each traditional dress is priced from VND 2.1 million to VND 2.3 million. It sounds expensive, but in order to weave a brocade dress, the cost to buy the yarn is from VND 500,000 to VND 600,000; not including money for pattern. In addition, to weave a brocade dress, it takes nearly 2 months to work hard on the loom. However, this is still just a part-time job; cannot be the main source of income, because there have not been lots of buyers.

Besides Mrs Mi Tho, many E De women also maintain the traditional weaving profession; it is for both domestic use and exchanging goods or selling to people in the commune. However, no one dares to think about bringing brocade products to goods to generate income for their family.

Ms Nguyen Thi Nhat Tao, Vice Chairman of Suoi Trai Communal People’s Committee, said: Suoi Trai commune has had 526 households, with over 2,300 people; of which over 90% are from the Ede ethnic group. Here, the E De people still keep the customs and traditional festivals such as new rice ceremony, grazing ceremony, water wharf ceremony, maturity ceremony, new house ceremony… In festival activities, people still wear traditional clothes of our people. However, at present, the traditional brocade weaving is in danger of extinction, because many young people do not know how to weave this kind of fabric. Therefore, the establishment of the brocade weaving club is to preserve the traditional weaving profession of the Ede people. This is considered a pilot model; if this operation is effective, the locality will continue to establish more clubs in the remaining villages of the commune. In the long term, through clubs, the locality wish to create more handicraft products from brocade such as brocade paintings, bags, wallets… to serve tourism.

Source: Phu Yen Newspaper

Translated by TRINH THUY