Relevant people contribute to the preservation of Nung ethnic costumes

– Along with other cultural elements, costume is a unique cultural element that creates the unique identity of the Nung ethnic group in Cao Loc district. In order to promote those unique values, tailors in the district have been day by day sticking to the job of cutting and sewing Nung ethnic group‘s traditional clothes.

Ms. Loc Thi Ben, Na Ten village, Hai Yen commune has more than 20 years of experience in sewing Nung ethnic costumes. For a long time, her house has been a familiar address for many women in the village, commune and customers outside the province to order costumes. Ms. Ben said that in the past, customers were mainly girls who were about to get married, now the demand increases, customers are of all ages from students to adults…When it is busy, she has to stay up all night to make costumes in time. Every time she sees ethnic costumes made by herself that are loved and used by customers, she is very happy because the ethnic identity is still preserved.

Ms. Loc Thi Be, Ban Lanh village, Hoa Cu commune, is also a tailor who has been sticking to the job of sewing Nung ethnic costumes for more than five years. Sharing about this work, she said that as a Nung person, from her young age, she was taught how to make ethnic costumes by her mother. In the last few years, due to people’s increasing demand in the village and in the commune, she sews to both serve people and increase her family’s income. The more important thing that makes her stick with this profession is because she wants to preserve unique cultural features in her ethnic group’s traditional costumes.

Ms. Ben and Ms. Be are just two of about 20 people who are maintaining the traditional costume cutting and sewing job in Cao Loc district. Through research, we know that traditional costume tailors have passion and desire to keep traditional costumes in the area. From their young ages, they were used to the image of mothers and grandmothers weaving, dyeing indigo, embroidering shirts with unique skilful patterns and taught how to cut, sew and embroider to make costumes for themselves and their families.

To make a beautiful costume, the tailor must choose a beautiful fabric; be skillful and meticulous in the process of sewing and embroidering details. In the past, the making of the Nung costume was completely sewn by hand, but now it is replaced by a sewing machine, so it shortens the time and effort of the tailor… Currently, the Nung costume is still worn by people in the district especially in the Hoa Cu, Hai Yen, Cao Lau, Gia Cat communes … in daily activities and on holidays, Tet, wedding, engagement ceremonies and so on.

The tailor of Nung ethnic costumes, Hai Yen commune, Cao Loc district cut and sewed clothes for customers

Not only contributing to preserving the traditional costumes of the Nung ethnic group, this job also contributes to providing a stable income for the tailor’s family. It is known that at present, Nung women’s clothes cost from 200 to 350 thousand VND/set depending on the fabric; men’s shirts cost from 400 to 900,000 VND/item depending on the skilfulness of the embroidery pattern on the shirt… On average, a tailor can make two sets of women’s clothes per day, men’s shirts have more decorative details, so it takes two to three days to complete one product. Excluding all expenses, it is estimated that on average the tailor earns from six to ten million VND/month.

Mr. Dinh Duc Do, Deputy Head of Cao Loc District Culture and Information Division said that over the past time, tailors have contributed to preserving and promoting the traditional costumes of the Nung ethnic group in the district. Next, they will coordinate to propagate people to regularly wear traditional costumes and preserve this fine cultural identity. Along with that is propagating and encouraging skilled tailors to always stick with and keep this job and actively guide how to sew and embroider ethnic costumes for the young generation in the area.

It can be seen that, with passion and love for traditional cultural values, tailors making Nung costumes in Cao Loc district have been and will continue to diligently preserve this job of making traditional costumes. They are really the tailors of the village, contributing to preserving and promoting the cultural identity of the Nung ethnic group.