Red Dao II - the Muong Hum version

Neverending hill tribes!


It's amazing how many subgroups there are and I'll continue ploughing this blog with innumerable tribes I had witnessed on the Vietnamese getaway. These people wanted to be differentiated I am imagining - as aesthetic as it can be. They signify elements of their groups as well as the surroundings around them. Their costumes: represent, differentiate, are an armour, a status, a being, a belonging. They have foraged and used what is/was around them to develop their textiles. Evolved. However, sadly, as with most textiles in this day and age, chemical dyes and synthetic materials are becoming more & more popular with these hill tribal groups.



.Back in Muong Hum

On that end of April 2012 Sunday, on that same trip to Muong Hum Market (See previous post ), along with the Ha Nhi people, I witnessed another pleasing sight: White with floral red beauty. Very pure, without even trying too hard.

Focusing again on the ladies (they always steal the show, bless), these pure beauties seemed very similar to a tribe I'd taken note of in Sapa...the Red Dao. And, indeed, they are the Red Dao - but of a different subgroup.





.The Red Dao (this time: with floral reds and whites)


>You stand out:
-White embroidery (handcrafted)
-Red floral headscarves
-Indigo Hemp
-Silver coins and charms
-Red bobbles
-Single breasted V-Neck jackets
-Cropped trousers with embroidery
-White embroidered apron
-White embroidered waistbelt
-Your subtle, yet eye-catching elements. Smooooth.



>Visualise this:
Through a slow & bad camera lens and an intermittent shaky grip...









Adorable and pleasant,
Smile (with them!) x

Viet's Ha Nhi People

A visit to another market was in order...


.Where?

It was the end of April 2012, and this time it was Muong Hum market.

This minute town of Muong Hum literally sits next to China in the Bat Xat District in Lao Cai province of Vietnam (phew!) and is located about 50 uncomfortable kilometres from SaPa. I emphasise the uncomfortableness as a majority of the motorbike road is painstakingly unpaved (as of early 2012); leaving it incredibly slow, bumpy, rocky and dusty along windy, uphill and downhill "roads". As a backseat rider, it really did intensify the pain; adding ache to agony. Whilst I am coming across as a dramatic complainer, I did truly appreciate every tiresome second of this market discovery, as it exposed high mountainous passes, luscious green landscapes, oddly shaped carsts, wide turquoise rivers and wonderful strategically built rice terraces. It was also, in effect, real self-torture...because I was actually on my second visit to Muong Hum (ha!). I'd visited Muong Hum during its non-market day a month or so before.

This time I was looking for a contrast, and a contrast it surely was!





Three hours or so later, we had arrived slightly later than anticipated (roads blamed!), but I was still able to catch a glimpse of what I was in search for - hill tribes in hustle and bustle.

In general, this market is small and far less touristy than other surrounding markets of Vietnam's northwest region given the lengthy travel time and complexities in getting there..so it really did feel rural, local and well... rightly so - real.




.The Ha Nhi Women


>Discoveries
A few tribes were apparent at this market, though this post mainly offers to explore one particular tribe I had witnessed for the first time - EVER. The Ha Nhi people. In my stalker-ish manner once again, I couldn't allow my eyes to avert away from this elegantly looking tribe. Smooth and crisp, their outfits were really outstanding. Their costumes consist of a hat, a blouse, a waistband and a brassiere. I was drawn to the glowing blue colour which had a real shine to it (though they like to think of it being green - not blue!). Their colours steal the show; be it as a headscarf, embroidered on sleeves/borders of clothing or as a bag.

I'd also noticed that some women had their hair styled in a heavy plaited manner, some also wrapped over the head in turbane form. This seems to be an established female Ha Nhi trait: eye-catching, indeed! I was told that this can actually be classed as a hat which is plaited with horse hair! This helps drape over the lady's forehead.


>A snippet: about the Ha Nhi Tribe
The Ha Nhi tribe originates from Tibet. They gradually wandered through China and eventually, some seeped into Vietnam where they have now established themselves in the Lai Chau and Lao Cai provinces. Over 14,000 Ha Nhi live in Vietnam, whereas over 1.2 million are based in China; split into several subgroups. Ha Nhi language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman Group, while their culture is based on ancestor worship.

This particular subgroup in Vietnam use blue (or green as they prefer it!) to blend in with the beauty of nature. The Ha Nhi possess many ancient tales and stories in long verses. And that is widely so exposed in their costume - fringe details portray waves and clouds and flowers are made of silver. Cloth buttons also represent flowers. It takes over one month to complete an outfit for a woman or child - one week of that is spent embroidering the sleeves etc.





.Look @ them. Beaut.
Eyes glued, camera at the ready...please take a gander at some of the photos captured of these meticulously dressed tribal women wandering around busy Muong Hum Market on their liveliest day when they had come out to play; Sunday.










Amongst this market's hustle and bustle,
Aesthetically pleasing and admirably peaceful people,
Captivating,
Enjoy x

Lu Lu!

Note: please excuse poor quality photos - this is much due to a distasteful camera being used.


During a Vietnamese Sapa stint, it's easy; and hardly unavoidable - to cross paths with two particular tribes; both of whom I've mentioned in previous posts. So whilst floating through the tourist strip and local market, eye-spy amidst the Black Hmong's and Red Dao's, an anomaly.




.Discovery mode

Being located roughly 20 metres away from them, I couldn't let these beautifully dressed women who were happily shopping around for their goods escape my eyes.

These women stood out from the crowd. Why? Their clothes indicate their differing tribal status. I managed to retain my stalker-ish ways and snap away from that short distance in a non-stalker-ish manner. I am keen to approach them, but fear that either my prying will distract their innocent ways or, contrastingly, they'll begin to "sell".

They really do stand out from the rest of gang, and seem rather alien and vulnerable to the tourist mecca.

Later on in the week, I met a man in my fave little restaurant of Sapa; 'Little Sapa'. He was a French man. And from the French island that sits in the Indian Ocean: La Réunion. The first French I'd met from this exotic, little and isolated island. Anyhow, he began by explaining his reason for being in Sapa; much akin to mine....hilltribes. He then went on to talk about his ethnographic interests and his work on setting up a museum exhibition on these hilltribes in La Réunion. Very interesting indeed. So interesting that I had to get hold of his contact details.

It was not until later...

*Ding* - it occurred to me he may settle my wandering thoughts of this beautiful tribe I stalked days before. (Well, I could easily have asked the local tourism office, but sometimes I do enjoy beating around the bush and can't pass a challenge-annoyingly so). Emailing my question with stalkerish photos attached, he replied asking his link in the Hanoi Ethnological group. Low and behold....the helpful man had my answer. My next quest had begun...





>Welcome to the Lu people tribe!

So after much excitement of discovering where these tribes are located, I set on a little expedition to hunt them down. Offered a free guided day motorbike ride on a barely beaten track to their villages through mountains and paved and unpaved rocky roads, we arrived in their 'hood' of Lai Chau; apparently the most sparsely populated province of Vietnam, and a province that borders China.

Succulent scenery and delicately & strategically built stilt houses over marshland, we noisily rocked up on the motorbike in one of the small Lai Chau villages. It's spacious and natural with elements of 'wireism' in tact. And the Lu people start to poke their heads out of their stilted homes. It's hardly surprising.... once again, I'm attacked!!!!! Tourist written all over my face/body. Disappointed! I, having thought I'd escaped this demanding-money-from-tourist action. I guess not. Anyway, I was much more interested in discovering their textile ways, and their ways of life..and surely amidst the selling tactics of some of the Lu's, I managed to discover.. And so it was discovered....




.The Attraction
What attracted me mostly to this hilltribe, is the mysteriously dark and elegant clothing and headgear, rich textile properties embellished with touches of colour and ultimately, their teeth! Not so much the pearly whites kind of thing, their dentures are black. And that's a fashion statement for these ladies. The blacker your teeth, the more beautiful you are/exert and the more desirable you will be to male members of the tribe. Black rids the white teeth that the Lu's believe are associated with demons and wild animals. However, it did occur to me that black teeth were mainly prevalent in the older generation. It seemed to be, and I was told - that the younger generation are veering away from such beauty techniques and latching onto the 'au natural' way. That's a shame, because they do look a real treat with their black teeth in place. Beautiful? Hell yes!


Black teeth process:
The black shade is created by burning a piece of bark and using the dull plant dye resin to scrub along their teeth, and is done several times a day. Hard to imagine, but it also acts as a teeth cleaner too. I was given a demonstration as depicted from photos. I was also asked to scrub my teeth too...they persisted in their comedic ways until I gently reminded them that I was content with my currently off-white teeth and that black teeth may potentially deter the male population.. No thanks!









>Textiles. Clothing. Nature.


. I especially like their hand-loomed decorative sheets of fabric which they usually use to carry their bubba's in. It's a heavy piece of durable fabric that is well-crafted in geometric shape-age. Its weight and detail also suggest the patience, talent and time it takes to create such a piece. A hand-loom is shown below; these tend to sit in the front balcony area of their stilted homes.






. Below allows you to be bombarded with the Lu people in SaPa and their homeland Lai Chau - all in the northern region of Vietnam. It exercises some photos of women's clothing, their textiles, their intricate hair pieces and details, and ultimately... the Lu immersed in nature. What a funny bunch of ladies!




Aspiring hill tribe beauty,
Much Lu love x