The Dao Tien ethnic people’s beeswax-printing art

As the seasons change, white clouds glide lazily over the limestone hills of Coi village, Xuan Son National Park. Dao Tien women sit on the porch, boiling beeswax and printing designs for costumes used during holidays and festivals. This is a one-of-a-kind art form in Phu Tho.

Beeswax is melted over a charcoal burner.

Ms. Dang Thi Dien is just in her 30s this year, yet she already has 15 years of expertise printing designs with beeswax. For decades in Coi village, 14 and 15-year-old girls have been taught the arts of cloth dyeing and beeswax printing by their moms and grandmoms.

The cloth used to print the design is white.

A fully handcrafted Dao outfit takes many months. Dao Tien females in Xuan Son must learn to dye fabric, print designs, and embroider at an early age in order to produce their own garments as dowry when they return to their husband’s family.

Triangular tool for printing straight lines or angular designs.

Beeswax is an essential component in this unique style of printing. After bringing the wild bee hive home, it will separate the honey, boil the wax, filter the clear water, and continue boiling until thickened. After that, the beeswax left outside will harden into a smooth wax block, glossy with chicken fat, and may be stored for a long time.

The textile reflects the inventiveness of the Dao ladies and sisters.

When wax is required for printing, the Dao lady will heat it on a charcoal burner to melt it to the required liquid level. If the wax is too thick, it won’t adhere to the fabric. If it’s too liquid, the print will be blurry and unattractive.

After printing, the beeswax will be stained with indigo to make it seem transparent.

The printing equipment are similarly fairly basic, consisting of thinly sharpened bamboo bent into triangles with each side about 5-10cm and roughly a dozen round cylindrical bamboo tubes. When sketching, the woman sits next to a charcoal burner, dips a bamboo instrument in a liquid beeswax solution, and draws each line on the canvas by hand. When applying, skilled hands must ensure that the wax is uniformly absorbed, not uneven. The technique of dabbing beeswax and then printing on cloth is repeated many times until the fabric is completely covered.

Mrs. Dang Thi Sinh teaches her granddaughter about pattern printing processes.

Once the beeswax has set, the cloth will be stained with indigo and dried. The lady will next immerse the painted linen into boiling water until the beeswax melts and the design is plainly visible. Many of these procedures demonstrate the Dao Tien people’s intricate and precise costume-making process.

The process of dipping into wax and then printing on fabric is done several times.

Printing patterns with beeswax is a typical cultural element that demonstrates a girl’s intellect, originality, and dedication. As a result, when a bride marries into her husband’s family, the village elders simply need to glance at her attire to determine if she is considerate and thorough with her husband’s family or not. Mothers and grandmothers taught their children and grandkids how to print patterns and dye fabrics from a young age. As a result, this distinctive method of stamping designs with beeswax is still retained in the lives of the Dao Tien people in Xuan Son for many generations.

The completed cloth will have this form and color.

Mrs. Dang Thi Sinh led her small granddaughter in printing the initial strokes on the fabric while humming traditional hymns. The girl admires her people’s distinct appearance. Under the grandmother’s dedicated tutelage, each step is followed with careful small hands and attentive eyes. That is not just the legacy of quintessence, but it also drives this art, ensuring that it is not lost in current times.

The Dao girl’s enthusiasm at learning to print designs with beeswax.

The new generation no longer wears traditional clothing in everyday life, but only on Tet or ceremonial events. As a result, the ladies here are particularly concerned with conserving and passing on the fire to the neighborhood’s young children.

The beauty of Dao ladies wearing traditional clothing

With the slogan “People are the subjects of heritage,” Dao Tien ladies such as Ms. Dien and Ms. Sinh continue to play an essential role in maintaining their people’s distinctive culture, like a blazing fire that is passed down to future generations.

Thuy Trang