Ethnic Groups

The White Hmong in Y Ty Commune, Bat Xat District, Lao Cai Province

The White Hmong in Y Ty, Bat Xat, Lao Cai

Y Ty commune located precariously on the North pole of Bat Xat district, which is the most distant land and difficult in this district, where cold and haze weather throughout the year. The Hmong in Y Ty focus on farming and breeding everyday. They grow rice, maize and some crops such as peanuts, potatoes, beans and vegetables. They also harvested cardamom, small apple sold for additional income. They feed the cattle and poultry such as cattle, pigs, chickens…

Traditional costume of white Mong in Y Ty include the decorated exquisitely rectangular neck shirt section, short pants to calves, sleek black leggings, wrapped several layers of scarf round on top and an apron. Aprons are decorated meticulously with the main section applique sewed large rectangular pattern horizontally and a coupled of smaller rectangular pieces along both sides. A waist connected to the apron has each of three squares which are very fussy embroidered with diversity patterns of spirals by applique techniques. The pieces of plain red fabric are interspersed between these squares, with only a few of white lines embroideried vertically.

Traditional motifs on the costumes of white HMong in Y Ty are created and inspired from the familiar items in life like a comb, hole of sewing needle, a snail, flower and melon seeds … Their embroidery technique is also very sophisticated, including the spiral by applique techniques and multiplier sign embroideried. The traditional patterns are always dark tones, not too showy with large markings, but attract people look particularly by extremely delicate and picky embroidery lines…

With the support of Craft Link and the Women’s Union of Lao Cai province, Bat Xat district and Y Ty commune, white Mong group in Y Ty has been involved in a development handicraft project from 2014 to 2016 in order to improve the economic life, preserve traditional culture and raise awareness to the community. CRAFT LINK provided training courses to this group on preserving traditional embroidery skill, sewing, hand sewing finishing skill to the group members and group management skills, book keeping and marketing skills to the management board … The new product was developed entirely based on traditional motifs of the Mong costumes here and there is high value of use in daily life …