Unique costumes of Red Dao women
(TITC) – For the Red Dao people in Cao Bang, traditional costumes are preserved and conserved as a symbol of cultural identity. Red Dao women in the northern province of Cao Bang often wear indigo costumes with colorful embroideries.
The Red Dao people mainly use two colours, black and red, with red cotton strings attached to women’s shirts and many details showing their ingenuity and embroidery talent. While red is used mostly on the costumes of Red Dao women, which is also a distinguishing feature from other mountainous ethnic minority groups, the costumes of Red Dao men have a unique color, usually black and indigo.
The traditional costume of Red Dao women includes a shirt, pants, headscarf, belt and other accompanying jewelry. They often use indigo-dyed fabric to make their costumes. Each outfit has 5 basic colours: Red, blue, white, yellow, black, in which red is the main colour, because according to the concept, red brings happiness and luck, fullness and creates positive energy for people.
Silver motifs likened to “sunflowers” are attached parallel to two pieces of fabric that are worn around the neck like a halter. This halter has two front and back panels. The front of the shirt starts from the red border at the collar with 2 rows of silver flowers attached. From the collar down, there is a strip of red fabric to attach a row of silver buttons consisting of 7 to 9 buttons, in which the buttons are carved with moon and sun flowers. According to the Red Dao people, the most silver-decorated halter is a way to protect health and show the prosperity of each family.
Red Dao women often wear a large hat and silver bracelets. Before marriage, the girl will sew herself a traditional costume to wear on important occasions, including weddings, religious ceremonies and New Year festivals. The most recognizable accessory of the Red Dao women is the headscarf. The larger the headscarf, the better. The edges are hand-embroidered with floral and plant motifs.
Without using a conventional embroidery frame to flatten the embroidered fabric, the Red Dao woman holds the piece of fabric in her hand, does not draw the pattern in advance, but embroiders freely according to her imagination, creativity and life experience.
The Red Dao people’s costume making craft in Vu Minh commune, Nguyen Binh district was recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2023.
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