Cham brocade in Silk village

(QNO) - The brocade weaving sector of a Cham family in the Silk village (28 Nguyen Tat Thanh street, Tan An ward, Hoi An city) is an attractive point to visitors.

Visitors at the brocade weaving sector.

"To preserve the Cham brocade weaving career, a Cham family from My Nghiep village, Phuoc Dan town, Ninh Thuan province has been invited to Hoi An Silk village to directly make products. At the same time, the brocade weaving sector is used as an exhibition space. Visitors coming here can touch the loom, experience the ways to weave brocade", said tourist guide Thieu Thi Huong.

This Cham family includes two sisters Dan Thi Tinh (67 year-old), Dan Thi Muon (58 year-old) and their brother-in-law Quan Dam (77 year-old). Both sisters learned how to weave brocade when they were very young. They have pursued this career for over 50 years. According to them, silk and cotton threads  are two major materials to make impressive pieces of brocade. In the past, these threads were made from the cotton trees.

Colours of brocade come from natural materials. The dark is extracted from chum bau leaves combined with thin mud, green from anil trees and red from the sap of Styrax tonkinensis…  

Ms Tinh and Ms Muon can weave about 9 brocade pieces a month. Ms Muon said that every child in a Cham’s family has to learn to weave brocade. This career is in need of patience, cleverness and creativity.

Mr Bernard Banks- a tourist from New Zealand said: “I admire the brocade weavers here much. It seems very difficult to make a piece of brocade because it’s time-consuming with many  movements. These are perfect and impressive products I have never seen before. We are very pleased”.

By BUI THI THANH MINH