Thursday 3 January 2019

A guide about Vietnam's traditional dresses

A guide about Vietnam's traditional dresses
With such rich and diverse culture, one will find a unique clothing pattern in the traditional dress of Vietnam. With roughly sixty different ethnic groups, Vietnam has a vast variety of clothing styles, similar only in their affinity to bright, contradictory colours and vibrant patterns.

1. Traditional Vietnamese Dress for Men

Traditional Vietnamese Dress for Men
The traditional Vietnamese dress for men is known as the Ao Dai. It is a long silk tunic with a conventional looking snug collar and is buttoned down on the left side. The male tunic falls to the knees and is generally worn with loose pants underneath.

In the past, the colour of the Ao Dai in Vietnam indicated a man's position in society. Gold is the colour that represented royalty in ancient Vietnam. The Kings' Ao Dai was embroidered with dragons to represent their strength and might. High Ranking officials wore purple Ao Dai's and the commoners wore various shades of blue.

Today, The Ao Dai is not worn commonly, on an everyday basis. However, The Ao Dai is a symbol of purity and grace and the Vietnamese wear it in large numbers on traditional occasions such as weddings and Tet (New Year).

2. Traditional Vietnamese Dress for Women

Traditional Vietnamese Dress for Women
The Ao Dai, Vietnam's traditional dress, has a feminine version as well. Vastly similar to its masculine counterpart, the female Ao Dai has one striking difference - this silk tunic flows down to the ankles. The Ao Dai has two major varieties - a four-part variety, which consists of flaps in the front that women button up, and a five-part variety, which consist on an extra flap on the right to secure the Ao Dai.

3. Traditional Thai Dress in Vietnam

Traditional Thai Dress in Vietnam
The Thai ethnic dress in Vietnam is elegant and demure. It consists of a plain blouse and a long skirt, which are embroidered with motifs of the sun, flowers, and dragons. The costume is accompanied by belts and Pieu scarfs and a few pieces of silver jewellery.

4. Traditional Dress of the Hmong in Vietnam

Traditional Dress of the Hmong in Vietnam
The Hmong people in Vietnam prefer to dress in a more sophisticated, yet vibrant and colourful fashion, with a bohemian flair to it. Their clothes are made of linen and consist of many colours and embroidered motifs. The outfit is made up of a black shirt, a colourful skirt, leggings, and headgear. The women often attach silver beads and jewellery to their dresses, to add a sense of individuality and spirituality.

5. Traditional Cham Dress in Vietnam

Traditional Cham Dress in Vietnam
The traditional clothing of the Cham women may not be as colourful or bright as the rest, but it has a certain charm to it. The costume consists of a tight-fitting tunic shirt, a skirt the colour of the shirt and a gorgeous headscarf. The highlight of the costume is the waistband that is tied across the chest and around the waist and is prominently designed with golden iridescent shades and meticulous detail.

In the mountain regions, the most commonly worn costumes include trousers or skirts and indigo vests with motifs of wildflowers or beasts. These trousers and skirts are designed to enable easy navigation through the mountain slopes and to make farming easier. Most of the traditional Vietnamese dresses are made intricately by hand and are often sold by the locals to curious foreigners.

Thursday 13 December 2018

Traditional custom of Vietnamese ethnics on Lunar New Year

Traditional custom of Vietnamese ethnics on Lunar New Year
Each ethnic minority group has its own festivals, customs, beliefs and farming practice. Tet festival lasts about half a month, during which time many exciting cultural and community activities take place. Following are traditional Tet festival customs of some ethnic minority groups in Vietnam.

Dao ethnic minority

Tet festival of the Dao ethnic minority usually takes place in the first month of the lunar calendar, beginning a new year with good weather and a lush green harvest. This is a nice traditional culture of Dao people.
Traditional custom of Vietnamese ethnics on Lunar New Year
Before the festival, Dao people usually prepare an altar. The altar is made of four timbers, surrounded with bamboo. Inside the altar are three big round tubes, used as thuribles symbolizing sky, land and people. There is votive paper money in the censers. Space under of the alter is a bundle of sugar-cane to wish for good things.

Cham people

Traditional custom of Vietnamese ethnics on Lunar New Year
Like other ethnic groups, the Cham ethnic people also celebrate their Tet sumptuously. They kill pigs, poultry and enjoy a variety of fruits and cakes. During the Lunar New Year Festival, the Cham ethnic group has no taboo so their friends and neighbours can share happiness with them easily. During the Tet festival, the Cham ethnic people also organize games such as fan-dancing, gong-beating, singing, drinking and archery.

Tay ethnic minority

Traditional custom of Vietnamese ethnics on Lunar New Year
The Tet festival of Tay ethnic people starts on the 30th of the last lunar month to the morning of the third day of the New Year. On the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, they go to work in field, but only as a formality. On the 15th day of the first lunar month, they celebrate Tet festival again.

Different from Thai ethnic people, Tay ethnic minority’s taboo is that a person who is not invited to come their home on the first day of the Lunar New Year. The first caller on New Year’s Day chosen is a virtuous person or a person well respected in the hamlet, and they especially refrain anyone in mourning. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Tay ethnic men usually go to their parents-in-law to wish a Happy New Year and the third day of the New Year to wish magician.

Co Tu ethnic people

Traditional custom of Vietnamese ethnics on Lunar New Year
On the Lunar New Year festival of the Co Tu people, the crossbows, spears, broadsword, cymbal, drums and gongs are carefully cleaned. Many cultural activities take place in Guol house (communal house) such as telling stories, dancing, singing folk songs. Co Tu girls have chance to exchange feelings and invite others to go out for a month-long.

H're ethnic minority

The Tet festival of the Hre ethnic group, who live in Quang Ngai province, lasts for several months. Each family must make large quantities of Tet (cylindrical glutinous rice) cake, can wine and slaughter a buffalo to make a feast for guests, relatives and neighbours.
Traditional custom of Vietnamese ethnics on Lunar New Year
To celebrate Tet, all the villagers gather at the house of the village chief to enjoy the banquet and offer him their best wishes. Afterwards, they visit each other’s houses in the hamlet. During Tet, the locals enjoy good foods and drinks while dancing and singing. The Hre have their own unique way of counting their age. Each year, when local people make Tet cake or serve guests during Tet, they wrap a plain cake without stuffing and have it as their individual portion.

San Chi (Cao Lan) ethnic minority 

Traditional custom of Vietnamese ethnics on Lunar New Year
When spring comes, the ethnic San Chi people start preparing for Tet. They make traditional food to offer to their ancestors during the holiday. Like other ethnic groups, San Chi people also erect Neu poles from Vau trees, symbols of spring,to pray for peace and prosperity. High Neu poles, they believe, will bring good business. Any house without a pole is not considered to be really celebrating Tet.

Before lowering the Neu poles, the San Chi ethnic group select an auspicious direction to pray for support from the spirits. 

Source Vietnam CultureInformation