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"Tribal Traditions" ~ August, 2007
These photos are from a trip I took with the
Chiang
Mai Textiles Group (Chiang Mai, Thailand) to visit Raza, a hemp
cloth maker in the Hmong Hill
Tribe Village of
Ban Pha Nok Kok.
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In a small, wooden workshop,
Grandma Raza shows us the steps for preparing and weaving hemp fabric.
She starts by showing us the tough stalks and demonstrates how she
splits them into strips. It's hard to photograph, because she is
moving so quickly! The rough fibers are dried and the ends are joined
together to make continuous strands for weaving. |
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Then, she uses what looks like
a spinning wheel to work and ply the hemp. She winds the strands onto handheld spools.
And the hemp is boiled
several times, which softens the fibers. |
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In the next step, the strands
are rolled between wood and stone to further soften, smooth and polish
the fibers. The wood represents female energy, the stone is male.
However, men do not participate in the weaving process. If they
do, Raza says that "they will find snakes in their traps".
Translation... their luck will become very bad! So, weaving
hemp is an exclusively female endeavor. Girls begin to learn the
craft from their mothers at
around 14 years of age. |
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Raza shows us how to weave cloth, using a traditional backstrap
loom.
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Her wooden loom shuttle is worn
beautifully smooth from many years of use. |
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The finished cloth is sometimes left it's
natural color.
Or it may be dyed or batiked with intricate
traditional patterns and then dyed. Often with natural indigo.
Indigo is one of my favorite dyes. It has been used since ancient
times. And, some cultures see it as having magical or talismanic
properties. |
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Some other faces of the village... |
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Photos copyright Deb Swingholm, 2007
All rights reserved |
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Visit other pages in Deb's
Photo Gallery
Visit Deb's
Flowering Moon website
to learn more about consultations and workshops in Feng Shui, Space
Clearing and other ways to bring more balance and beauty to life. |
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Find out about
"The
Golden Triangle - Music and the Cycles of Life", a new film
project that artfully chronicles tribal life, music and spiritual
traditions |
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And for tribal artifacts and textiles from
this region visit
Tribal Trappings |
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