The Central Highlands’ Brocade

The Central Highlands’ ethnic groups are famous for a village trade, named “planting cotton and weaving fabric”. After a season of slash-and-burn cultivation, women sit by weaving frames to make skirts, scarves, brocade bags…Having nice brocade cloths with unique lines and patterns is a process of hardship, elaboration and tiredness. The work is conducted step by step: planting cotton, handling cotton, pulling cotton yard, dying color and weaving. A weaving frame is mainly used for weaving skirts, and blankets. Another weaving frame is made use of weaving smaller cloths such as brocade bags, scarves, loin-cloths…

The color of the cotton yard is dyed from different kinds of trees. Black is dyed from Mo tree’s leaves, indigo-blue from trees’ leaves (Truon Nhay tree, Kpai, and To Rum tree), Red from Hoang Nau tree’s leaves…According to traditional customs in the Central Highlands, black cloths symbols land to which their whole life is close; red represents indulgence, development, aspiration and love; green or blue is the color of earth and heaven and trees; yellow is the color of light and a harmonious combination between human and nature.

Restoring and developing the brocade-weaving trade of the Central Highlands’ ethnic groups contributes greatly to forming diversified feature of brocade products; making the nation’s cultural characters more beautiful; and solving the problem of employment creation to raise income and improve the living standard of the ethnic groups. However, the core issue is to lack outlets, which should be paid more attention and supported by relevant sectors.