Follow photographer Nguyen Son Tung to discover the beauty of Dao ethnic groups through portraits of costumes devoted to traditional rituals.
The Dao Lu Gang couple in traditional wedding attire in Ai Quoc commune (Loc Binh district, Lang Son), next to them are two boys blowing pistachio musical instruments. The Dao use this trumpet on occasions such as weddings, Tet holidays, to worship the rice god, the forest god. The sound of the trumpet is like the words of people’s hearts to heaven and earth, mountains and forests, words of love-seeking couples, words of children with parents.
Dao Lu Gang women wear traditional costumes on the side of Mau Son mountain, Lang Son, which is full of cherry blossoms. Dao women’s attire is a long dress with four bodies in front of the chest. The inside of the shirt is embroidered with patterns, with silver stars, decorated with beads and a white belt embroidered with black tree branches.
The wedding scene of the Red Dao in traditional costumes in Lung Slang village, Tri Phuong commune, Trang Dinh district, Lang Son. Lung Slang village has 35 households, 78 people, 100% of whom are Dao ethnic group, located about 15 km from That Khe town, Trang Dinh district. Around Lung Slang is the same mountain, the road is difficult, there is only one road longer than 2 km to go into this village.
“If you are once immersed in a Dao wedding, visitors see the main ceremony of the wedding taking place in accordance with the customs left behind. From brides, bridesmaids and grooms to the bride procession, they feel the joy of wearing their traditional costumes, ”said Tung.
Trieu Thuy Them, a Dao Thanh Y girl from Dinh Lap district, Lang Son in traditional clothes. Initially, the clothes were made of self-dyed fabric, but after some time, they realized that this fabric was difficult to wash, so they used modern fabrics, the main black fabric color and almost no embroidery motifs in the body. Adorning the outfit is a hand-pierced necklace and threaded into a certain shape.
Women’s costumes for the Dao Quan Chet people in Ba Vi commune, Ba Vi district, Hanoi. Ba Vi merged into Hanoi in 2008 and the Dao community in Ba Vi becomes one of the first ethnic minority communities present in the capital.
The Dao Quan Chet in Ba Vi live together in the community, accounting for 98% of the commune’s population, with 2,000 people. This way of calling this population group depends on the clothes with tight-fitting pants to distinguish it from other Dao groups.
Mr. Tung said life is simple, but with the Dao people, it is always full of faith and happiness. Currently, the wearing of traditional costumes of the Dao people in daily life is decreasing, but they still maintain the traditional culture.
Red Dao girl in Yen Bai wears traditional clothes. The Dao in Yen Bai are divided into four main branches: Dao Do, Dao Quan Chet, Dao Quan Trang and Dao Lan Tuyen. Distinguishing these Dao industries is based on the difference in their traditional attire, in which the Red Dao costume is considered the most brilliant including scarf, hat, shirt, pants, belt, leg cuffs and shoes.
The outfit comes in 5 basic colors but is mostly red. According to the conception of the Red Dao, red is the color of happiness, warmth, health and creates positive energy for people.
Red Dao girls in Ban Luoc commune, Hoang Su Phi, Ha Giang are colorful in traditional costumes. Hoang Su Phi district is famous for the National Monument of terraced fields that captivates tourists, besides there are also highlights of the culture of ethnic minorities in the area.
The district has more than 13,000 Dao ethnic people, accounting for 22% of the total population of the district with 4 groups including Dao Do, Dao Tien, Dao Ao Dai and Dao Quan Trang. In particular, the Red Dao are known for many typical cultural features with nearly 300 years of history.
In Ban Luoc commune, there are 10 villages, the Dao in Ban Luoc has many different groups, with separate customs that cannot be mixed with any other ethnic group.
Dao Cham ethnic (or Dao Ao Dai) in traditional costumes in the community tourism culture village Nam Dam village, Quan Ba commune, Quan Ba district, Ha Giang.
Nam Dam village is the residence of the Dao Cham people, retaining many cultural identities, customs, traditions and traditional activities. Currently in Nam Dam village has built a model of accommodation and catering services for tourists right at home.
Dang Hong Ngan, a Dao Tien ethnic girl from Tuyen Quang, dressed in traditional costumes at an event meeting the Dao community took place in June 2020 at the Hanoi Museum.
Each Dao branch in Tuyen Quang resides in a certain area, for example, the Red Dao branch mainly resides in Na Hang, Lam Binh and Chiem Hoa districts, while the Dao Tien branch mainly resides in Chiem Hoa, Na Hang and Ham districts. Yen. Unlike the Red Dao, the costumes of the Dao Tien are mainly a combination of two main colors: indigo and white.
In Cao Bang, the Dao Tien people live mainly in Na Chan hamlet, Hoa Tham commune, Nguyen Binh district. The Dao Tien community here diligently spins, spun and weaves, makes colorful clothes and skirts. Not only weaving fabric, Dao Tien people are also famous for brocade embroidery.
Diversified embroidery products including ethnic clothing, tablecloths, headscarves and wall paintings are bold in typical culture, thereby promoting the efficiency of weaving, creating sustainable livelihoods for people.
Red Dao women in Ban Khoang, Sa Pa, Lao Cai. The point of interest in the traditional outfit is the waist wrap 3-4 rings and tied behind. When worn, the pattern creates a harmonious balance for the whole outfit, demonstrating the closeness and friendliness to nature of the Red Dao.
Ethnic girl Dao Thanh Thuong in Binh Lieu, Quang Ninh in traditional costume, often wears a red hat like a box over her head, wrapped in a red scarf, printed patterns and lanyards. on the chin to show grace. These floral motifs reflect the cultural life of the ethnic people such as a harrow used in rice cultivation, cowpea flowers in the fields, ginseng flowers or terraced fields.
| Photo set “Colors of the Dao ethnic groups” by photographer Nguyen Son Tung (Lang Son) made on many different occasions in places where Dao people live. Most recently, during a photo creation trip at the event “Meeting with groups of Dao Lang Son. Solidarity – Spreading – Development” held in November 2020 in Lang Son. Photographer Nguyen Son Tung, often called Tung “Dao” by his friends because of his many works associated with portraits and the life of the Dao ethnic group, said that Vietnam now has about 800,000 Dao people, resident practice. In the northern mountainous provinces, part of the population has also migrated to the Central Highlands and Southeast provinces. The Dao in Vietnam are divided into many sub-branches. Based on factors such as language, costume or the time of migration, there should be different ways of identifying Dao groups. The Dao branches have an “invisible link”, which is the spiritual belief of the ancestors of the Dao – Ban Vuong ethnic group (another name is Ban Ho). This legendary character is mentioned in folk tales, legends and poetic stories, typically in Over painting, the board was passed down orally in folk and recorded by the Dao intellectuals in books and circulated. to this day. |
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