Family Ties and Deep Regional Roots
Photo taken by Jay
These journeys are a learning process for me, and a voyage of discovery into the cultures of Mai Chau. By asking questions, researching and experiencing for myself am I able to expand my knowledge to pass onto the travellers. After all, not only am I pushing to create a space in which a spotlight can be shone on the crafts in need of preservation, but also one in which people can be brought together to share ideas and dialogue.
JOURNEY OF PRESERVATION.
I first connected with Jay via a mutual friend - a photographer I frequently work with. As a local guide, Jay’s knowledge of the Mai Chau region and its tribal communities is wonderfully concise, his passion for the history, language and anthropology of the region is inspiring. I immediately felt a lingering fondness for Jay and his remarkable family; his values, integrity and humble disposition are utterly endearing, and from the moment of meeting I had no doubt in my mind that I wanted to bring him into the TextileSeekers community. What’s more, his insights and incredible family ties will impress you as much as they’ve impacted me.
With Jay onboard, many of the pieces of the puzzle can come together like never before, and I believe I can immerse myself in travelling alongside my guests in ways which will be deeply positive for all involved.
The Ethnic Diversity of Vietnam
A stunningly diverse country that’s home to hundreds of local tribes, which have been classified and reclassified into 54 distinct ethnic groups each possessing their own language, culture and identifiable differences.
By far the largest of these groups is The Kinh, who account for 87% of Vietnam’s total population. Based primarily in the Red River delta in the north, the Mekong delta in the south and the coastal plains of central Vietnam, they’ve helped shape much of the country’s identity and overall cultural norms. The remaining 13% of the Vietnamese population is made up of another 53 minority ethnic groups, making their homes in the northern mountainous regions. The Tay and Thai groups have populations of over a million individuals, while others - such as the O Du and Ro Mam are made up of a mere few hundred.
The northernmost reaches of Vietnam, where rolling verdant hillscapes and mountainous passes typify the landscape, are home to the Hmong people; one of the most distinctive ethnic groups in the country. A population of nine million spread across several countries, the Vietnamese Hmong people number around 800,000 within Vietnam itself. Arriving in Vietnam from China and Laos for the past 300 years, the Hmong are of particular interest for their textiles and handicrafts - indeed, they have been divided into six distinct sub-groups based upon the colours and styles of their textiles. The Green Hmong, Red Hmong and Flower Hmong would be three such examples, so named due to the nature and appearance of their ancestral weaving techniques and coloured traditional clothing.
Within the Hmong culture, textiles are central to identity and various aspects of everyday life. A Hmong woman who excels at embroidery, batik and other traditional handicrafts will be highly valued and respected, and mastering such skills displays their devotion to their tribal traditions. As such, passing on these ancestral skills and the knowledge behind the symbolism embroidered onto textile is a key aspect of childhood; often lifelong apprenticeships between daughter and mother will begin from the age of five, with skills being passed down through a watch, practise and learn system, carried forward from their most ancient roots in other lands.
Family Ties and Deep Regional Roots
Jay, or Dê, is from a Black Hmong family, and lives with his father Xanh (55) and mother Nhừ (56), his wife Hoa (30) and his two daughters Vy (7) and Đào (5) in a house built by his aunt. An agricultural family living with and off the land, his father is a blacksmith and musician, masterfully playing the Thầy khèn - a traditional Hmong panpipe. His wife produces handicrafts which are sold locally, and his mother, perhaps most fascinatingly, is a local shaman and artist. Her wares/pieces perched with pride inside the little stall they run across the street from their home. Her shamanic rituals including using handmade bamboo paper are seen on the family’s altar. The paper has multiple cut outs, creating patterns which only a shaman can perform. The art of bamboo paper making continues and families still make them for the community’s shamans.
Jay took time to explain to me that his shamanic mother was chosen by the tribal ancestors to help his community, a role more commonly given to men, that she offers her assistance to neighbouring tribes by enabling worship and providing leadership. He also explained that the community shamans also have their own rules, and live in peace within the tribe free from division - clearly an intriguing and remarkable woman!
‘My family came to Mai Chau from China, two brothers migrated down the Red River, yet lost each other along the once-treacherous journey.’ They crossed the Red River to live in Son La, where their families flourished before certain members came to put down roots in the village where his family remains to this day and have lived for four generations. The time for nomadic lifestyles has long since passed, but Jay feels some compulsion to travel to China in the footsteps of his ancestors, to uncover more of his family history.
Pa Co - where Jay’s family settled - is made up of six distinct villages, where the entirety of the population is Hmong. It’s a close-knit community - ‘Hmong people help each other, providing support and assistance where necessary - and when somebody in the community is building a new home, the villagers will come together to help’. This community spirit is also reflected in the spiritual practices and in worship of their ancestors beauty.
Work, Aspirations and Dreams
Jay is a farmer, first and foremost, like so many members of his tribe, he moves with the season. Twice a year in May and October Mai Chau’s rice terraces transform from lush green to golden yellow, indicating the rice harvest season. The rice is harvested by hand, grains drying by roadside tarps in the sun, and a lingering smoky scent is felt all around. The rice plant is a commodity and every part of the plant is used either as fertiliser, livestock feed and husks as fuel, everything has a purpose - taking stock for the family’s annual rice consumption needs are rice sacks stacked inside his home. Jay tells me, ‘my family is not poor, we live simply with the necessities and we take from Mother Nature what we need’.
He takes an interest in the tourism industry as it’s another source of income for him and his family, and it opens a world of knowledge for him to explore. Jay considers himself lucky to be a college graduate, and plans to one day become a teacher… but right now, his aims are altogether familiar ones: he wants to enjoy a peaceful life, to build connections with people across the world, and to ensure a brighter future for his family.
Like any good father, Jay wishes for his children to enjoy the freedoms that life offers. Jay is a self-taught English speaker, and he sees the value of being able to use an international language in several areas of his life. He’s worked hard to introduce his daughters to English and to imbue them with life skills, and wishes for them to work as a tour guide or receptionist. However, he understands that their destiny is in their own hands, and with their talents and his guidance, believes they will choose their own path.
As for his connection with his tribe’s textile traditions, Jay has some fascinating insight into the role of men when it comes to this important aspect of Hmong life. He tells me that Hmong men are responsible to build the looms for weaving, craft the baskets and produce the batik pens, and they also provide advice for the women using these items to create the handicrafts…smiling at me shyly, then adds although he’s the first to admit that the tribal women know exactly what they’re doing, and their skills are highly valued.
For many, tourism seems like a double-edged sword; something which brings harm as well as benefits to tribal communities and villages such as the one Jay calls home. However, Jay is keen to express his optimism regarding tourism in Mai Chau, and considers it an ‘inevitable future development’. He’s ready and willing to help his community prepare for increased tourism and to embrace the positives it may bring, and recognises that many in his village want to be involved in tourism but currently lack the skills to make it work. He hopes the government will implement policies to support villages for this burgeoning industry, and introduce classes to teach villagers the skills they need to succeed.
As is the case across so many communities in Vietnam, traditional skills are under threat from increasing modernisation and globalisation. Jay is compelled to preserve his community’s traditional skills and crafts, and strongly believes that his tribe not only have a duty to protect their heritage in this way, but also find ways to make it financially beneficial for all involved. With tourism slowly increasing across Mai Chau, there are further opportunities for work and for enjoying a better quality of life. It’s important, in Jay’s view, as there needs to be an incentive for the younger generations to stay within the community rather than seek their fortune elsewhere.