tribaltextiles.info

Hello everyone!

I'm a novice weaver who is living in Bangkok, Thailand. A few weeks ago I was up in Laos and saw this textile at the Talat Chaaw market. It's extremely long, coming in at around 5 meters in length. I can tell the fiber is hand spun and the piece is handwoven. The piece consists of about 7 panels picturing a big cat of some sort (maybe a tiger?) with elaborate borders in between each picture. The only colors are white, pale yellow, pale green, deep purple and hot pink. I'm positive the pink and purple are chemical dyes, but I'm not sure about the other colors. The warp is black.

The weight of the yarn is quite thick, it almost feels like a flat rug. The quality of weaving isn't great, I see a lot of mistakes and there are spots where the weaving isn't tight. Every panel featuring a big cat is unique, and the last panel in the series (the pink/purple cat) is squeezed and the picture looks distorted. There are also 2 phrases in what I assume is Vietnamese. I tried to google translate one and I came up with "Eternal dream" or "Short dream"

So, I'm a little lost. I initially thought that since it was woven in one go it was going to be cut up later. But I'm not sure why it never was cut, and I can't find a good part of the piece that could be cut without destroying the design.

My current theory is that it was a practice piece done by someone due to all of the mistakes and the constant variation in design from panel to panel. I don't know anything about tribal textiles though, so I wanted to post here!

Apologies for the quality of the pictures, I took them using my computer's webcam as I don't own a camera.

Hi Nickie

Welcome to the forum! So good to finally see your mystery textile - and to me it definitely is a mystery textile! Very interesting that the 'tigers' - and, yes, they do look like tigers to me too (or are those leopard spots or tiger stripes ?) - are woven pictorially lengthwise down the weaving. I would have expected them to be across the warp not down it.

It almost looks like a banner which would be stretched across an entrance or similar - across rather than hanging down. That is only a gut comment not, sadly, one based on specific knowledge.

It is possible that someone might recognise it immediately or this could be one of those long-term mysteries! You have set us an interesting challenge!

_________________
Pamela

http://www.tribaltextiles.info
on-line tribal textiles resource

Hi Nickie, Pamela is spot-on. It is indeed a banner for rituals. Many of the earlier examples (first half 20th century) are said to have been used in monasteries but I have been informed that they are also used for birthdays and weddings although I have no written sources to validate this. They have a name but I don't have that easily to hand, will post again when I find my notes. I have one in cotton and silk but I have seen them in cotton alone. The big cat seems to be a constant motif and most that I have seen would appear to be stylised tigers.Cheers, Jim.

Hi Nickie- As already mentioned, you have a ceremonial banner. In Thailand they are called 'tung' and are made of carved wood, as well as fabric. They can be used outside, along a road or at a specific site, or can be found inside temples where they are specially made and donated to make merit. Yours, however, is from Vietnam and is made by one of the Tai groups there. The letters are the cue, as the ones from Laos do not seem to include letters.

The Tai groups in Vietnam are virtually the same as across the border in Laos (tho their names differ), and have an almost identical textile repertoire, but there are some differences in motifs and technique. This banner is a good example. In Laos, a long banner is typically used for funerals and has very different motifs than yours. If it's silk, it is usually red from lac; if cotton, it's indigo (below). In one village/area of Vietnam they make a very unique funeral banner in cotton and silk that is woven in an unusual technique employing a compound weaving structure (I'll defer to the weavers on the forum to discuss the technical issues of this textile). Your banner could be used as a funeral banner in a certain area, but I do not know for sure. The tiger may be a 'vehicle' to the other world... These textiles are usually very meaningful in the use of motifs. I have had smaller panels with a tiger or two, but do not know what they are used for other than as wall decoration.

Nickie-
I just re-read your post and caught your translation of the lettering as "eternal dream". This would certainly suggest the use as being a funeral banner, no? Usually, these banners are hung lengthwise from a long bamboo pole, sometimes with bird figures on top, and put outside the home of the deceased, and/or at the cremation/grave site.

Tung.... that was the word that I was looking for. Thanks Susan. I am intrigued by your attribution of these banners to a Vietnamese origin. Can you expand on this as I haven't yet been able to find much information on these textiles? The person that I bought mine from was a former Australian diplomat in Laos who was told that it was a Laotian piece. The only other similar examples that I can find (that have an attribution) are described as "ceremonial banner - Tai Moy group, Xiang Koauang Province, Laos."
I asked the current owner for any other details known about their history and was told that they were "from a temple in Louang (Luang) Prabang ....used for weddings and holiday parades." I am not familiar enough with the Tai groups, their history or location so would appreciate your thoughts and observations. Will attempt to post photos soon.

Nickie-
Lots of good questions! I cannot answer them all, but can only give my thoughts:

Re language: they probably do speak their own dialect, but if they go to government schools, which is likely, they will probably learn Vietnamese. I know this is true here in Thailand- the hilltribe children who go to government schools learn Thai, but may speak their tribal language in their home villages; it's also the case among the Tai, who might speak a local dialect at home. Maybe someone who has spent time in this area could answer this better.

I don't know either if these groups are Buddhist, animist or both. It may vary from village to village. (Actually, according to Patricia Cheesman's fine work on Lao-Tai textiles, a more relevant term would be 'shamanistic', rather than animist.) Typically, I would expect the symbolism to relate to the journey to the other world. In the indigo cotton banner I posted the main motif is known as a 'lantern' and is to light the way to the spirit realm. This motif is often used on shamanic textiles. Buddhist textiles would probably have the mythological beasts from the Himmaphan forest. There isn't much information on this type of textile, but if I come across anything I'll post it.

I have no idea of the circumstances under which this might have been woven. My understanding is that usually they are heirlooms in the family, so I would think they would be carefully woven. At least in my experience the ones from Laos are finely woven and made of good materials. Sometimes they are cut in half, supposedly to satisfy handing it down to two different heirs, tho I'm not totally sure about this.

Do post your photos- it would help to see more.

Thanks Susan! That's all really interesting. Funeral banners remind me a little bit of Western mourning quilts from the 19th century. As far as textiles being part of the mourning process, an heirloom, and having a display function.