Table Of ContentTextiles and Clothing
of Việt Nam
ALSOBYMICHAELC. HOWARD
Transnationalism in Ancient and Medieval Societies:
The Role of Cross-Border Trade and Travel
(McFarland, 2012)
Transnationalism and Society:
An Introduction(McFarland, 2011)
Textiles and Clothing
ệ
of Vi t Nam
A History
M C. H
ICHAEL OWARD
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina
LIBRARYOFCONGRESSCATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATIONDATA
Names: Howard, Michael C., author.
Title: Textiles and clothing of Việt Nam : a history / Michael C. Howard.
Description: Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc.,
Publishers, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016034297 | ISBN 97♾81476663326
(softcover : acid free paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Textile fabrics—Vietnam—History. | Textile
design—Vietnam—History. | Ethnic costume—Vietnam—History.
Classification: LCC NK8878.6.V5 H675 2016 | DDC 746.09597—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016034297
BRITISHLIBRARYCATALOGUINGDATAAREAVAILABLE
ISBN (print) 978-1-4766-6332-6
ISBN (ebook) 978-1-4766-2440-2
© 2016 Michael C. Howard. All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
Front cover photograph © 2016 YunYulia/iStock
Printed in the United States of America
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
Table of Contents
Preface 1
A Note on Spelling 4
A Note on Translation 5
Adminstrative Map of Việt Nam 6
Introduction 9
Technology and Materials 9
Looms 9; Fibers 11;Dyes18
Change, Status and Identity 19
1. Ancient Clothing 23
Bark-cloth 23
Ancient Bronze Age Northern Việt Nam 26
Ancient Bronze Age Yúnnán 32
Ancient Bronze Age Guìzhōu 40
Nán Yuè and Chinese Ruled Việt Nam 46
Chămpa 54
2. Feudal 66
Đại Việt 66
Chămpa 75
Mekong Delta Khmer and Chăm 76
3. Modern Việt Nam 82
Nguyễn Dynasty 82
French Colonial Period 88
Independent Việt Nam 96
Between pages 100 and 101 are 8 color plates containing 18 photographs
4. Ethnic Minorities in Northern Việt Nam 101
Kadai Groups 103
CờLao 103; La Chí 103; La Ha104; Pu Péo104
v
Table of Contents
Tai Groups 104
Tày105; Nùng107; Thái108; Lào116; Lự118;BốY and Giáy119;
Cao Lan121
Mon-Khmer Groups 121
Thổ 121;Mường 121;KhơMú122;Xinh Mun123; Kháng123;
Mảng123;ƠĐu123
Hmong-Mien Groups 123
Hmông123; Pà Thẻn128;Dao129
Tibeto-Burman Groups 139
Hà Nhì 139; Lô Lô140;La Hủ142;Phù Lá142;Si La144;Cống145
5. Ethnic Minorities in Southern Việt Nam 146
Khmer 148
Chăm 149
Central Highlands Malayo- Polynesian Groups 151
Gia Rai152; Ê Đê154;Ra Glai155; Chu Ru156
Central Highlands Mon- Khmer Groups 156
Tà Ôi and CơTu156;Bru159;Ba Na and Rơngao160;GiẻTriêng
162;XơĐăng163;Hrê165;RơMăm167;Brâu167;Mnông167;Xtiêng
173;Mạ175;CơHo177;ChơRo178
Chapter Notes 181
References 197
Index 205
vi
Preface
Clothing and Textiles in Việt Namis a survey of the clothing styles and types of
textiles produced in Việt Nam since antiquity. This is the first time that such a study
has been published in English on this important topic. The work is an outgrowth of
my earlier research during the late 1990s and early 2000s on the textiles and dress
of Việt Nam’s ethnic minorities that resulted, among other things, in the publication
of three books on the topic in 2002. That research included both ethnographic field-
work and exploration of the early prehistory and history of the region. In regard to
the latter I was especially interested in the early history of Tai- speaking peoples in
northern Việt Nam and of the kingdom of Chămpa in the south. My research on
ethnic textiles and dress in Việt Nam also led in 2007 to my involvement in a project
by the Meadows Museum of Art at Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana, on
French artist Jean Despujols and his visit to Indochina in the late 1930s. My work in
relation to the project included study of the textiles and dress of the people of Việt
Nam during the French colonial period.
Since the early 2000s I have been especially interested in the survival of cultural
traditions related to dress and textiles and efforts at reviving and modernizing such
traditions in Việt Nam. Cultural revival among ethnic groups was the theme of a proj-
ect by the Việt Nam Ethnic Minorities Arts and Literature Association that I partic-
ipated in between 1999 and 2003 and has informed much of my work in recent years
with the ASEAN Traditional Textiles Arts Community (ASEANTTAC). ASEANT-
TAC held a symposium in 2013 in Thái Nguyên, Việt Nam, on the theme of “Heritage,
Tradition & Connection in Textiles among ASEAN Weaving Communities” in col-
laboration with the Museum of the Cultures of Vietnam’s Ethnic Groups and another
in 2015 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on the theme of “Connecting Centuries of Tradition”
in collaboration with Payap University. These symposia highlight the contemporary
importance of textile traditions in Việt Nam and other Southeast Asian countries.
The present study begins with a look at weaving technology, fibers, and dyes.
While most clothing in Việt Nam today is made of industrially woven cloth, industrial
weaving is a relatively recent development in the country and many of the country’s
ethnic minorities still weave cloth by hand on a variety of types of loom. As for fibers,
the Bronze Age cultures of northern Việt Nam are associated with some of the earliest
production of silk and silk has a long and important history in Việt Nam. In contrast,
cotton has a shorter history in Việt Nam and in modern times most cotton thread
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Preface
has been imported. Other fibers, such as kapok and hemp, were widely used prior to
the advent of cotton and such fibers are still used by some minority groups. As else-
where, most cloth in Việt Nam today is colored using commercial dyes, but the coun-
try has a rich tradition of employing natural dyes and many of these are still used by
highland minority groups.
Our history of clothing and textiles begins with a look at the use of b ark-c loth
in Việt Nam. Bark- cloth appears to have its origins in southeastern China, in an area
adjacent to Việt Nam. B ark-c loth was widely made throughout ancient Việt Nam and
it has survived in a few remote areas up to the present. We then look at the Bronze
Age cultures of northern Việt Nam and neighboring Yúnnán and Guìzhōu that are
of relevance to the history of clothing and textiles in Việt Nam. What we know of
clothing and textiles from this period comes largely from human figures depicted in
bronze from which we can learn about the shape of clothing, but little about the
colors and fibers used. Over the next thousand or so years the history of Việt Nam
is essentially that of a Chinese- ruled north and the independent kingdom of Chămpa
in the south that was influenced by Indian culture. In both instances, clothing styles
developed that included local and imported elements with the clothing of elites being
especially prone to external influences. During this period the style of dress of elites
in the north in particular tended to mirror Chinese fashions. These patterns of dress
persisted during the feudal period after the end of Chinese rule in the north in the
independent kingdom of Đại Việt and in Chămpa. Among the topics discussed in
relation to this period are the numerous edicts relating to dress issued by the various
rulers of Đại Việt.
The early 19th century witnessed the creation of a unified Việt Nam and an end
of the independent kingdom of Chămpa in the lowlands (thus, reducing the Chăm
to a small minority with its feudal elite gone), but much of the highlands remained
autonomous. This meant that, while the style of clothing worn by people in the low-
lands became increasingly uniform, there was still considerable variation in the north-
ern and southern highlands where people continued to wear their local styles of
clothing. Also important was the fact that while modernity had begun to manifest
itself in some ways in Nguyễn-ruled Việt Nam, the clothing styles of lowlands common
people and elites remained firmly rooted in the past. Modernity became much more
evident under French colonial rule and gradually the French brought the highlands
more tightly under central authority. Nevertheless, ethnic divisions within colonial
society meant that many forms of traditional clothing were retained, especially away
from urban areas. Of particular importance was modification of the traditional female
tunic during the 1920s in accordance with contemporary tastes to create the modern
áo dài, which today is recognized worldwide as a Vietnamese national symbol. The
history of this garment along with other fashion trends are discussed in sections cov-
ering the French colonial period and the post- colonial period when Việt Nam for a
time was divided into two countries with governments that exerted very different
influences on the types of clothing people wore.
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Preface
While a large majority of the Vietnamese population belongs to the Kinh ethnic
group, Việt Nam remains an ethnically diverse country. Many of its ethnic minorities
have distinctive clothing and textile traditions and these are discussed in the final
two chapters of the book. These ethnic minorities include groups such as the Thái
that have lived in Việt Nam since antiquity as well as groups such as the Hmông that
migrated to the country in modern times, bringing with them their traditions of dress
and weaving. The first of these chapters covers the highland minority groups of north-
ern Việt Nam. The majority of the people belonging to these groups speak Tai lan-
guages. Among the northern highland groups the Thái are of particular importance
since it is from their homeland that many of the Tai speaking groups in neighboring
Laos and Thailand migrated and the origins of the clothing and textile traditions of
Tai speaking groups in these countries can be traced back to the Thái of Việt Nam.
The second of these chapters covers ethnic minorities in southern Việt Nam. These
include the Chăm in the lowlands that are among the most important producers of
h and-w oven textiles in p resent-d ay Việt Nam and a variety of groups in the Central
Highlands. Recent social and economic changes in the Central Highlands have served
to diminish wearing traditional clothing and making hand- woven textiles. Neverthe-
less, weaving by hand continues among many of these groups and traditional clothing
is still worn, although increasingly only for special occasions.
3
