Vietnam's population
includes a fascinating mix of 54 different minority
groups. These groups remain relatively unknown to the western world and
untouched by the modern world. Men and women alike continue to wear the
distinctive clothing of their particular ethnic group. Textile traditions that
are centuries old such as indigo dyeing, batik, ikat, weaving with beads,
supplementary weft weaving, and elaborate embroidery and appliqué work
remain
culturally significant.
This tour will lead
us into remote villages in northern Vietnam where we will
have the opportunity to visit and study the cultural and textile traditions
of
several minority groups including the Black Thai, Red Hmong, Giay, Red Dao,
Tay
and Nung An. Some of the highlights of this trip include weaving and indigo
dyeing demonstrations, dance and musical performances, traditional ceremonies
and a visit to the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology.
Our tour leader is
Michael Howard, an anthropologist who has conducted research
and written extensively about the peoples of Southeast Asia, Australia, and
the
South Pacific. During the past decade, Michael worked on a cultural revival
project with minority communities in the highlands of northern Vietnam. Some
of
Howard's recent writings include Textiles of the Daic Peoples of Vietnam,
Textiles of the Central Highlands of Vietnam, Textiles of the Hill Tribes of
Burma, "Vietnam Museum of Ethnology" (Arts of Asia Magazine), and
Textiles of
Southeast Asia. In addition to his work in textile studies, Professor Howard's
previous projects include: training Indonesian anthropologists in eastern
Indonesia; conducting surveys among mine workers and plantation workers in the
Philippines; and a study of the Palaung in northern Thailand (refugees from
Burma).
Also accompanying
us will be the co-author of Textiles of the Daic Peoples of
Vietnam, Kim Be Howard, a native Tay woman from the province of Lang Son in
northern Vietnam. Formerly a dancer and choreographer with the Vietnam Theater
of Song, Dance, and Music, Kim currently resides in Canada and works as a
gemologist and an instructor in Vietnamese dance.
For more information, contact Serena Lee Harrigan at :
textile_odyssey3@yahoo.com
(415) 666-3636
854 - 34th Avenue, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A. 94121
Serena Lee Harrigan is founder of Textile Odyssey, an enterprise that connects people from diverse cultures through an appreciation of textiles. Serena’s interest in clothing and textiles has led her to travel to remote areas of Asia and South America since 1973. She designs tours to encourage the cultural survival of minority groups through the support of textile traditions. For the last four years, she has organized textile tours to the Andes in Peru and Bolivia. This year’s trip to Peru has been selected by the Textile Society of America as their inaugural tour.
(This tour has no connection with the tribal textiles.info site and no representations or warranties are made by us in respect of it.)