Vietnam bibliography

Listed below are details of a few books (from my own collection) which feature the textiles of Vietnam especially of the different ethnic groups who live there. Some books are solely devoted to a particular aspect of culture, including textiles, whilst others include a few pages of information within a wider study.

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	"Vietnam Museum of Ethnology" published by Vietnam Museum of Ethnology in 1998 edition. Catalogue printed for the opening of the Museum. Various items of material culture including costume and photos of minority groups. Some excellent baskets shown throughout.
	"Vietnam - Image of the Community of 54 Ethnic Groups" Editorial supervisor Do Phuong, published by The VNA Publishing House in 2002 English and Vietnamese text. Colour photographs of ethnic groups, material culture and location shots.
	"Ethnic Minorities in Vietnam" by Dang Nghiem Van, Chu Thai Son, Luu Hung published by The Gioi Publishers, Hanoi. New 2000 edition. This volume has been published in French and English since the 1980s and when I first visited Vietnam in the mid 1990s was the only information available on the minorities in Vietnam with a few black and white photographs. (I have 5 editions to date with differing photos across the editions. The 2000 edition saw a major update.)
	"Lao-Tai Textiles: The Textiles of Xam Nuea and Muang Phuan" by Patricia Cheesman and published by Studio Naenna Co in 2004 ISBN 974-272-915-8. Based nearly 30 years of exposure to Lao-tai textiles and in-depth research of the Tai-Kadai language group. In depth discussion of the textiles (from China, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam) against their historical and cultural background, with information on techniques and design motifs and with meticulously labeled illustrations. An excellent reference work for collectors.
	"Textiles of the Daic Peoples of Vietnam" by Michael C. Howard & Kim Be Howard in the series 'Studies in the Material Culture of Southeast Asia', No 3. Published by White Lotus Press in 2002. ISBN 974-7534-97-5. This is the first of three volumes by the authors surveying the textiles of the highland peoples of Vietnam. The research for the book started in 1995 and the article referred to below in the Textile Museum Journal in 1999-2000 was a preliminary study. I have found myself referring to this book frequently. The text and photos are an excellent textile collector's resource.
	"Textiles of the Central Highlands of Vietnam" by Michael C. Howard & Kim Be Howard in the series 'Studies in the Material Culture of Southeast Asia' No 4 published by White Lotus Press in 2002 ISBN 974-4800-13-5 First survey of the textiles of the peoples of the Central Highlands of Vietnam. 21 Ethnic groups speaking Malayo-Polynesian and Mon-Khmer languages.
	"Textiles of the Highland Peoples of Northern Vietnam, Mon-Khmer, Hmong-Mien, and Tibeto-Burman" by Michael C. Howard & Kim Be Howard in the series 'Studies in the Material Culture of Southeast Asia' No 5 published by White Lotus Press in 2002 ISBN 974-4800-13-5 Completes survey of the textiles of the highland minority peoples of Vietnam. It covers peoples speaking languages classified as Mon-Khmer, Hmong-Mien and Tibeto-Burman.
	"Textiles of the Southern Thai of Viet Nam" Michael C Howard and Kim Be Howard, published in 2001 in The Textile Museum (Washington) Journal 1999-2000 volumes 38 and 39. ISSN 0083-7407. An article based on research in the Mai Chau District in Hoa Binh Province in 1995. Very helpful text and photos for textile collectors. (There is also a good article on Kkumi, Khami and Mro Textiles from Burma in the same journal - see Burma Bibliography)
	"Among the Tribes of Southern Vietnam and Laos" by Captain P. Cupet published by White Lotus in 1998 ISBN 974-8434-45-1. Reports a chapter of Franco-Siamese politics played out in 1890-91 among the independent tribes inhabiting the crossroads between French Southern Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. The author was member of the famous Pavie Mission and studied the politics as well as the ethnography and anthropology of the tribes for years. His pictorial material is outstanding and unrivalled as a record of these peoples. Introduction by Walter E.J. Tips.
	"Minorities of the Sino-Vietnamese Borderland with Special Reference to Thai Tribes" by Maurice Abadie with an introduction by Michael Howard, translated by Walter E J Tips. Published by White Lotus Press in 2001 (originally published in 1924 as 'Les Races du Haut-Tonkin de Phong-Tho a Lang-Son') ISBN 974-7534-57-6. Translation of 1923 French language ethnographic introduction to tribes found in northern Vietnam and China's Yunnan province with new introduction by Michael Howard. Abadie was a Lieutenant-colonel in the French colonial infantry. Some interesting black and white photos and useful text.
	"Hill Tribes of Vietnam - Volume 1 Introduction and Overview" by Joachim Schliesinger published by White Lotus Press in 1997. ISBN 974-8434-10-9
	"Hill Tribes of Vietnam - Volume 2 Profile of the Existing Hill Tribe Groups" by Joachim Schliesinger published by White Lotus Press in 1998. ISBN 974-8434-11-7
	"Patterns on Textiles of the Ethnic Groups in Northeast of Vietnam" by Diep Trung Binh published by Cultures of Nationalities Publishing House Hanoi in 1997. ISBN 200000558. Research on the textile patterns and symbols of minority groups in northeast Vienam - the Tay, Nung, Lo Lo, Phu La and some branches of the Mong and Dao. Nearly 300 colour plates. A useful review of detailed designs and their meanings.
	"Sa Pa" edited by Leigh Stubblefield. Published by Gioi Publishers, Hanoi in 1994. A short booklet about the biological and cultural diversity of Sa Pa in Lao Cai Province (formerly Hoang Lien Son Province) in north-western Vietnam.
	"A Yao Community in Sapa, Vietnam" by Vo Mai Phuong & Claire Burkert in a series 'Our Craft Traditions'. Published by The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology in 2001. An excellent quality slim volume featuring craft traditions of the Yao (Dao, Mien) of northern Vietnam and in particular the Red Dao of Ta Phin commune (about 10 km from Sapa). Excellent photos and informative detail on embroidery and costume traditions which I particularly value as I visited the commune in 1995. The research for the book was carried out from 1998-2001 under a joint project between the Museum and Craft LInk, a Vietnamese handicraft organisation.
	"The Yao: The Mien and Mun Yao in China, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand" by Jess G. Pourret published by River Books Co., Ltd, distributed outside Thailand and USA by Thames & Hudson 2002. ISBN 974-8225-52-6. Full of excellent photographs and a textile collectors' dream when it comes to identification showing very many textile examples both by themselves and being worn. Colour photos from the end of the twentieth century with black and white photos from the 1920s, 1940s and 1950s - unfortunately I have yet to find to background of the earlier (very excellent) photos. The material is not grouped by country but by topic illustrating similarities regardless of geography.
	"Of Tribes, Tourists and Trade" by Jill Gocher published by Vietnam Airlines 1994. Some text and photos abot Dao and Hmong in Vietnam from the Sep/Oct flight magazine
	"The Hmong, A Guide to Traditional Lifestyles" by Robert Cooper published by Times Editions Pte Ltd 1998. ISBN 981-204-803-0. Provides insight into Hmong history, the establishment of house and household, lineage and clan, village life, courtship and marriage customs, economy, music codes, crafts (very little on textiles), belief in the otherworld and communication with it, propitiating the spirits, shamanism and death rituals with accompanying photos and illustrations.
	"The Akha: Guardians of the forest" by Jim Goodman published by Teak House, Asia Film House Pty Ltd in 1997. ISBN 1-876437-02-2. Information on the Akha, history, culture in Thailand, Burma, Laos, Vietnam and China. Full of excellent photographs with very many showing textiles being worn.
	"Textiles and the Tai Experience in Southeast Asia" by Mattiebelle Gittinger, H Leedom Lefferts Jr published by The Textile Museum, Washington 1992. ISBN 0-87405-030-8. Catalogue from 1992 exhibition at the museum. Mainly black and white photos but 23 colour plates. Detailed chapters from the authors on Tai texile forms, contexts and meanings, textiles in the service of Buddhism, in the service of Kings and in the service of self. Main focus on the Tai as majority populations in Thailand and Laos but also references to the 'strategically situated minorities' in Vietnam and Myanmar and the small minorities in China, India and Cambodia.
	"Textiles of Southeast Asia: Tradition, Trade and Transformation" by Robyn Maxwell published by Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd in 2003. ISBN 0-7946-0104-9. This is a reprinted edition of the book below with new colour plates, a corrected text, and a new foreword by Mattiebelle Gittinger. There is no doubt that the switch to colour of the majority of the plates makes a huge difference to this excellent major reference work.
	"Textiles of Southeast Asia: Tradition, Trade and Transformation" by Robyn Maxwell published by Oxford University Press, Australian National Gallery in 1990 and reprinted in 1994 ISBN 967-65-3060 3. Major reference work on the textiles of Southeast Asia. Central focus is the interplay between indigenous Southeast Asian traditions and the external cultural forces that have had a crucial part of the historical development and changing nature of the region's textile traditions. Needs careful (but rewarding) study as textiles from particular groups or areas appear throughout the volume illustrating different themes.
	"Textiles of Southeast Asia: An Annotated & Illustrated Bibliography" by Michael C. Howard published by White Lotus Press1994. ISBN 974-8496-13-9 In depth compilation of the literature in the field. Small number of colour plates of textiles including a few from Laos. Almost 50 pages of detailed references to literature on textiles in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.
	"The Art of Asian Costume" published by University of Hawaii Art Gallery University of Hawaii in 1989. Exhibition with apparel from 20 Asian countries from the Asian Costume Collection of the Department of Human Resources at the University of Hawaii
	"Handwoven Textiles of South-east Asia" by Sylvia Fraser-Lu published by Oxford University Press 1988. ISBN 0-19-588954-1. Covers weaving in Burma, Thailand, Laos, Kampuchea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Philippines, Indonesia.

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