Yao Textile Art - Needlepoint

Earlier today I wrote about my favorite piece of Yao textile art. I took a photograph of it to share the artistry of the piece.

The amount of work in creating the piece is incredible. The detail is very exact.

The quality is very good. There are a few pieces of thread hanging off of it which, for me, adds to the hand crafted nature of the piece.

The piece is made out of cotton - a needlepoint type backing fabric that colorful threads are inserted through with a needle to create the pictures and geometric design. After completion of the needle work, three pieces of navy blue cotton were sewn horizontally across the back of the piece to finish it.

The Yao people also known as the Mien, Iu Man, or Man are well known for their skill at embroidery. This is an example of their skill and prowess.

Hmong Textile Art - Sapa Vietnam

Yesterday I wrote a little about Hmong textiles. I attempted to do some research over the Internet to provide some specific details on it but I had no success.

There are many sites that are selling Hmong textiles but little information is available regarding the symbolism, techniques, or history of the handicraft.

Without any background or facts to cite or to justify my appreciation of Hmong and other Hill Tribe Textile art, I find my situation to be be like that of Justice Potter Stewart in 1964 when he was dealing with a obscenity (pornography) United States Supreme Court case. He stated that he could not define it "But I know it when I see it".

So it is for me with Hill Tribe Textile art. I can not define it but what I see I like and know it to be art.

We have seen and purchased Hill Tribe textile art in Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. In our home we have 7 pieces decorating the wall and furniture. We have two large Yao pieces stored away that we have to figure out how to most effectively display. My favorite Yao piece is 4 feet wide by 6 feet long and is completely covered in very fine and detailed colorful needlepoint. We purchased the piece one and one-half years ago from the Yao Grandmother who had worked on it for a year and three months. We paid 3,000 baht ($100 USD) for it. A piece of art for $100 - another reason why I enjoy being in Thailand so much.

As you travel the Hill Tribe regions of Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam, you will encounter many women and girls sewing, weaving, embroidering, and needlepointing. The results of their efforts are often for sale at very reasonable prices. If you prefer not to buy anything, you can photograph the walking art galleries that pass you by on the village roads or the works of art on display in the booths along the road.

Hill Tribe clothing in itself are works of art. They contain many artistic elements - embroidery, needlepoint, profusion of colors, batik, applique, metalwork, cross stitching, and beadwork. The only other clothing that I have found that approaches the uniqueness of Hill Tribe traditional clothing is on display at the Museum of the Plains Indians in Browning , Montana on the Blackfoot Indian reservation.

However examples of the Indian handicrafts and artistic skills are not available for sale.

Hill Tribe People - Hmong

The Hmong Hill Tribe people originated in the mountainous regions of Southern China. They are also known as the Miao, Meo, Maeo, or Mong. In the 1700s and 1800s there were several uprising and rebellions by Hmong people in China which led to violent suppression by the government. This along with the opportunity to make money through opium production caused the Hmong people to migrate south.

The Hmongs in SE Asia are now located from China's Yangtze River basin, Vietnam, Laos, and into Thailand. As a result of allying themselves with the United States in the Vietnam War and in the Secret CIA War in Laos, many Hmong people fled to the United States in the 1970s. There are an estimated 500,000 Hmong in the USA.

The Hmong first started migrating to Thailand about one hundred years ago. Today there are about 80,000 Hmong in Thailand excluding the Hmongs who are in refugee camps on the Lao border.

As strange as it sounds, even today 34 years after the end of the Vietnam War some Hmong continue their armed conflict with the Lao government. No wonder the Hmong fighters also known as "Montenards" by their American officers were well respected and admired. For them there are no political expediences or political correctness. For them it is victory or death.

The conflict with the Lao government has caused some reverberations back in the United States. In June 2007 a famous Hmong general, General Vang Pao age 77 was arrested in the United States for plotting to overthrow the Lao government.

We have visited the Hmong in Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. While in Vietnam, Duang and I had an interesting encounter with some young Hmong girls. These girls live in the Sapa area near the frontier with China. Although Sapa is in Vietnam and has been for a very long time, the young women did not speak Vietnamese. They spoke English rather well and were self educated in speaking, writing, and reading English. When I asked how come they did not speak Vietnamese, the language of their homeland, it was made apparent and quite clear to me that they had no interest. Another example of the Hmong spirit of independence and self-identity. These young woman hike down the mountain cross a narrow valley, and back up another mountain to go into town (4 hours one-way) to access the Internet. They spend up to 5 days at a time staying at a friend's apartment.

The Hmong are renowned for their textile art. Hmong women wear richly decorated clothing. The women are very skilled at embroidery and very often you can see Hmong women embroidering or preparing hemp or silk thread for weaving.

Classic Hmong female clothing consists of a finely pleated knee length dark blue skirt. Underneath the skirt they wear black leggings. The skirt is usually dyed with intricate patterns using batik techniques. Batik involves placing an intricate geometrical pattern on a clothe using a stylo and molten bees wax. The cloth is then dyed and the wax is removed with boiling water. The bottom of the skirt has a wide colorful border of embroidery or applique. A narrow apron over the front of the skirt is attached around the waist with a wide colorful sash.

The women wear a long sleeved black jacket that has elaborate and colorful embroidery on the back collar, cuffs, and front opening.

The Hmong people live at the highest elevations in the mountains. They farm the steepest portions of the mountains. Up until the late 1970s, the Hmong were very adept at cultivating opium poppies in Thailand. They maintained their tradition of opium cultivation and processing until their opium culture was suppressed by combined Thai and American efforts.

To make up for the lost income from the elimination of opium poppies, the King of Thailand set up many Royal Projects to assist the Hmong in developing more acceptable ways of making an earning. Today the Hmong grow flowers and vegetables on their steep plots. In addition Royal Projects assisted the Hmong in developing markets for their textiles, silver smithing, as well as tourism.

The Hmong like most of the other Hill Tribe peoples are Animists. They believe that household spirits protect people, livestock, crops, money, gold, and silver. Sometimes these spirits escape and have to be called back. Some illnesses are believed to be caused by a wandering spirit, so an animal sacrifice is performed to entice the spirit back.

Hmong people typically get married at age 17. Duang and I witnessed the courtship ritual last month during Hmong New Years Festival in Laos. The adolescent boys and girls play pov pob. In Pov Pob a small ball is tossed back and forth between parallel lines of boys and girls. The tossing of the ball back and forth is an ice breaker between the sexes. If you are interested in someone, you ensure that you toss the ball a few times to the person that interests you. The boy then goes over to the girl and they may sing a song before leaving to get a drink, snack, or go off to a much more private setting.

A boy's father has to agree to his son's selection for a wife. The girl has the freedom of choice to accept. A boy and girl can have premarital sex, which happens a great deal of the time during the New Year Festival, but the boy is expected to send a representative the next day to the girl's family to inform them, set a wedding date, and negotiate the price.

When a Hmong baby is born, the placenta is buried in the dirt floor of the house. The Hmong believe that the baby comes from the spirit world. After three days, the baby is given a name and is believed to then belong to the world of men. The baby is then considered to be placed under the protection of the house spirits.

These animist beliefs are similar to other Hill Tribe people and also the people of Isaan. Many years ago while a young boy in Junior High School, I became aware of and read a book called "The Golden Bough" by Sir James George Frazer. "The Golden Bough" written in 1922 its sub title is "A Study in Magic and Religion". In the book there is a great deal of interesting information regarding pagan, animist, and other pre-Christian beliefs and rituals. I was impressed at how many of these have parallels in Christianity.

Today I am just as impressed to witness some of these beliefs or at least some very similar beliefs and rituals being practised in the 21st century. Over all the centuries the animist beliefs and rituals remain a link to our far and distant past. Through all the centuries of progress and evolution, these rituals continue to serve man providing answers and direction to man's spiritual needs.

I am fortunate to be able to photograph, experience, and share these rituals.

Cure for Alcoholism, Deja Vu - All Over Again

Yogi Berra, a famous baseball player, former Yankees Manager as well as a former New York Mets Manager but not noted for his elocution, once said "This seems like deja vu - all over again"

So it was for Duang and I today. Although I wrote about a local "cure" for alcoholism at the end of last August, I am writing on the subject once again. This time I was better prepared to photograph and observe what was happening.

Duang's oldest brother was married in November to a local widow here in Isaan. Like Duang's youngest brother and so many other men in Isaan he has a drinking problem. Unlike her youngest brother he has not done anything about it until today.

Duang's youngest brother took the pilgrimage in late June to see the "No 1 Buddha" to get cured of his problem. I am pleased to report that to this day he is clean and sober. The village drunk of Tahsang Village took the cure earlier last year and he remains sober today as he has everyday since he made his pilgrimage south to take the cure. Duang's Uncle and one of her 92 cousins also have refrained from drinking since they visited the Monk. It may be a coincidence or not but I believe in miracles. Believing in miracles allows me to accept, at times, what can not be rationalized or fully explained. A single visit to a simple Monk curing alcoholism?

People in the United States spend 30 days at a time in special hospitals and centers attempting to cure their alcohol addiction at a cost of thousands of dollars - often to quickly relapse. The cost to the people who take the cure from the Monk is a donation in an envelope that they offer to the Wat. The individual decides how much to offer.

Not everything is the same. Today I drove to the Wat. Duang's son remained in school for the day. When she called the Monk yesterday to make an appointment, he indicated that today was the best day, Apparently several local people had died and he would be busy on Friday as well as over the weekend. I am now fairly comfortable driving so I agreed to drive down to the Wat - 100 miles south of Udonthani.

We picked up Duang's brother and his wife outside of Kumphawapi and headed south. I can not write where we went. It's not a secret. I just don't know. We used the back roads - paved two lane country roads, dirt roads through cane fields and rice paddies. There were many twists, turns, and a couple times we crossed a major road. We had to slow down four times for cattle or water buffaloes on or along the road. Every small village that we drove through had several dogs lying in the road - reluctant to get out of the way. I would not say that they were trying to play chicken with our truck because there were plenty of chickens around and they never came close to being hit. Unlike the other day when I drove back from Duang's daughter's home, there were no elephants walking along the country road.

The sugar cane harvest is still in process. The roads are filled with vehicles of all types, shapes and sizes hauling long lengths of sugar cane. You might wonder why I didn't write "trucks of all shapes and sizes". That would be appropriate for an American harvest. But this is Thailand!

There were conventional diesel trucks with single or double trailers stacked at least 15 high with stacked cane. There are no overpasses or flyovers in the country so height considerations are irrelevant except to avoid flipping over on tight curves.

Sharing the road with conventional trucks were "Tuk-Tuk" trucks heavy laden with cane. These open cabbed vehicles are powered by small yard tractor sized diesel engines that make a "Tuk Tuk" sound as they putt putt down the road. The cane is carefully stacked so that a roof is created over the top of the driver. The drivers all wear balaclavas and straw hats as they S-L-O-W-L-Y make their way along the road.

In addition to "trucks" carrying cut cane, there are motorbikes with side cars hauling sugar cane. They go even slower than the Tuk Tuk trucks.

Today we even saw one man going down the road with a bundle of sugar cane balanced on his shoulder as he steered his motorbike with one hand.

We went by one elderly lady along the road that had a push handcart. She was not "hauling" cane but she was picking up scraps of cane off the road that had fallen off of other "vehicles".

The smaller vehicles were headed to one of several weigh stations that we passed. At the weigh station the cane was offloaded from smaller vehicles and stored for loading by cranes or front end loaders on to the double trailers for shipment to refineries.

In addition to all the sugar cane moving around, the cassava harvest has started.

It was all very confusing. Three times we had to stop and ask for directions. Eventually we arrived at the correct Wat around 11:30 AM.

We entered the Wat, and waited our turn. I went to the corner and prepared my camera and flash. With our second visit to the Wat, I wanted to be able to take better photographs of a ritual that I am so impressed with.

Duang's brother went up to the Monk went it was his turn. The Monk recognized me from the previous visit (I guess that he doesn't get many foreigner visitors). He motioned me forward and invited me to take photographs of the process. I was thrilled.

Duang's brother paid his respects to the Monk, received some counselling, and had his name written by the Monk in a large ledger. The Monk then gave him a blessing and tied a cotton string around his wrist in sort of a Bai Saii ritual.

Together they walked behind the Monk's reception platform to the base of the large Buddha statue in the Wat. Duang's brother was carrying a saucer sized plate upon which he had his offering envelope, some flowers, three yellow candles, and leaves. He knelt before the statue, prayed with the Monk's hand on his head. After completing his prayers, he left his offering at the base of the statue. The Monk then walked over to a small blue plastic ice cooler and dipped a medium sized bowl into the container to fill the bowl with the pre-prepared liquid.

The Monk then stood over Duang's kneeling brother and placed his hand on her brother's head. The Monk said some chants as he assisted her brother to drink all of the watery liquid.

The Monk graciously allowed me to document this process for two other men. Upon completing the ritual for the second man, the Monk took his lunch break and we headed back on our 100 mile journey to Udonthani.

We only had to turn around three times to find our way back home! Like his younger brother in June, Duang's brother was sick as a dog several times on the way back. Amazingly as it may seem, he was sick starting at the same times, same places, and same ways as his brother. Fortunately we were aware and prepared so it was not a problem for US.

My very good friend in America, who is a pharmacist, discussed my last blog about the cure with me. It turns out that there are herbs and plants that can provide this type of reaction and aversion to alcohol. I know that aversion therapy is a focal point of treatment in the USA but the mystery or miracle to me remains how one 5 minute treatment seems to work so well here in Thailand with this Monk.

The Monk's name is Patco Pahdit Villhit Yapon. He apparently is a celebrity and appears on his own television program once a week. His Wat I believe is called Janwat Maha Salacom and is located in Baan Pon, Tambon Pon Tong Amphur Siangyun. I have his business card but it is written in Thai. Writing to him is probably more difficult than driving to him!

Again I am honored and feel privileged to be able to witness, photograph, and document an aspect of Thai life that is unique.

It is one of my goals in photography to share these aspects of world culture with others. My friend in America rightfully pointed out that the secret of photography is not simply the technical aspects but being there in the first place to take the shot and recognizing the shot.

I have been fortunate to be in so many places at the right times with such gracious people for my photographs.

Karen Hill Tribe People - Paduang Tribe

The Karen people have moved into Thailand starting in the 1700's from Burma. It is believed that they originally came from Tibet.


Today and for the past 15 years there are refugee camps on the Thailand-Burma border where Karen who have fled persecution by the Burmese regime have sought refuge. In side of Burma, also called Myanmar, there is populist armed movement for a separate independent Karen state. This conflict has lead to the displacement of many thousands of people.


For many of the displaced Karen refugees they are trapped in the border camps - they can not enter into Thailand and if they return to Burma they face discrimination, prosecution, or worse. They do not have passports, do not have Thai rights and are essentially stateless people. The United Nations and other NGO (non-government organizations) provide some minimum relief to these people.


The Karen make up the largest group of the 6 Hill Tribe peoples in Thailand. There are about 250,000 Karen in Thailand. Only the near recent arrivals from Burma are refugees and in camps. Karens who arrived in earlier times are integrated into Thai society in that they have citizenship, passports, and Thai rights.


The Karen are made up of many different subgroups. Two of the most distinct subgroups are the Paduang and the Kayaw.


The Paduang are known throughout the world for their custom of placing brass coils around the neck of their women. This custom gives the appearance of elongated necks. In reality it is the shoulders of the women that are being depressed by the weight of up to 30 pounds of metal wrapped around their neck that creates the illusion of an elongated neck. Outsiders refer to the Paduang as "Long-Neck", or "Giraffe Women".


Coils are placed around a female's neck commencing when she is 5 or 6 years old. An additional coil is added each year and on special events in her life. Some of the older woman have more than 30 coils around their neck. Often a strip of colorful cloth or a leaf is worn underneath the coils at rubbing points on the skin.

Paduang women also wear brass coils wrapped around their legs - calves and ankles.


The Kayaw subgroup live side by side with the Paduang. The Kayaw people are known throughout the world for their custom of elongating the ear lobes of females. Large diameter hollow cylinders are placed into the ear lobes of female children and adults. Some Kayaw woman wear several heavy metal earrings in each ear to extend their ear lobes.


The Karen people live in elevated bamboo houses elevated above the ground. The roofs of their homes are made out of very large leaves from the nearby forest - based upon the size as well as shape I suspect that they are teak leaves. Beneath their house they keep pigs, chickens, and water buffaloes. The Karen are excellent farmers and unlike their other Hill Tribe neighbors never were heavily involved in opium cultivation. They grow rice, squash, garlic, cabbages, and cotton.


Karen women are very skillful in weaving, sewing and dying fabrics. Until they get married, Karen women wear a white smock that is decorated with applique, and embroidery. After getting married, Karen women wear short white blouses with more extensive decoration and trim along with colorful as well as more intricate patterned sarongs.


The picture above is Freida's mother. If I counted correctly, she has 25 rings of brass around her neck. The rings start of as a long piece of brass much like the coiled copper tubing that you can buy at Home Depot or plumbing supply store. The tubing is then shaped and wrapped by hand around the woman's neck. The shaping and wrapping requires a high degree of skill. There are only a few women in the village who have the skill and experience to perform the work.


Freida is a very photogenic Paduang young woman that I have visited twice - so far. I wrote about her in an earlier blog. The following links will take you to a separate gallery to view more photographs of Freida, Paduang, and Kayaw people.


http://hale-worldphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/7143139_x6iHm/1/458274870_fBKzL

http://hale-worldphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/7005894_2yLWv/1/448509487_2NUTb

Lisu Hill Tribe People

The Lisu Hill Tribe people are believed to have originated from Tibet. The Lisu in Thailand migrated from northern areas of Yunnan province of China in the late 1800's. They first arrived in the Chiang Mai area. There are approximately 20, 000 Lisu in Thailand.

Lisu women utilize more applique and brighter colors in their clothing than the other Hill Tribe groups. They wear a typically blue loose double breasted smock. The smock has appliqued strips of multi-colored cloth sewed around the sleeves, and neck. They wear either long baggy pants or short pants with leggings. Over the smock they wear a decorated apron.

The Lisu typically settle in areas that are not easily accessed by outsiders often near the tops of mountains. Their villages have a spirit house. Like the Akha, each house has a small shrine for the spirits and ancestors.

The Lisu are a very competitive people and strive to out do their neighbors in everything. They are also considered to be a handsome people which is not lost on themselves. The Lisu are also very adept business people. They consider themselves to be a higher status than their neighbors. In many aspects it seems like I might be describing the Germans of the Hill Tribe people!

The Lisu are, like the Akha, animists. Spirits are believed to be responsible for many problems and illnesses. Shamans, offerings, and animal sacrifices are used to maintain a healthy balance between humans, ancestors, good spirits, and bad spirits.

Lisu courting rituals are very discrete. It is taboo for a man to show interest in a girl in front of her parents or her older male relatives. The Lisu also refrain from having sex in another man's house. This is most likely a good idea in any culture especially if your partner is his wife or his daughter!

I have photographed many Lisu people and I can attest to their beauty. I have found them to be a very hospitable and gracious people. I look forward to visiting them once again.

Akha Hill Tribe People

There are six major Hill Tribes in Thailand. They are the: Akha, Hmong, Lisu, Karen, Lahu, and Yao.

Over a hundred years ago the Hill Tribe people immigrated to Thailand from China, Tibet, Mongolia, through Laos, Vietnam, and Burma. The people were nomadic farmers. "Nomadic Farmers" sounds like an oxymoron but these people farm an area and when the soil was depleted they moved on to the next site.

Each of the Hill Tribe groups is different with their own separate language, culture, religion, art, and clothing.

During the past three years, I have had the pleasure of meeting and photographing all six of the major Hill Tribe groups in Thailand. I have also visited some of the groups in Laos, and Vietnam.

I have no favorite Hill Tribe group. I find each group fascinating and just as interesting as the others. However I do believe that the Akha (Ekaw) people are the most photogenic in the sense of colorful and unique dress.

It is believed that the Akha people migrated from the southeastern region of Yunan Province in China. The Akha spread through Vietnam, Laos, an Burma. Around the start of the last century, they began entering Thailand from Burma.

The clothing of the Akha women, in my opinion, makes the group the most interesting to photograph. The women wear a helmet shaped hat that is heavily decorated with silver coins, colorful strings of beads, and colorful feathers

Akha women wear long dark skirts over dark leggings, a sash around their waist, and a long sleeved jacket made out of indigo dyed hand woven cotton. All of the vestments are heavily decorated with colorful embroidery, silver, and colorful beads.


Akha villages have an elaborate gate at their entrance. Guardian spirits are believed to watch over the village. The village is also believed to be surrounded by many evil spirits. The sacred gates divide the area between the humans and spirits. Each year before planting the new rice crop, the village men led by a shaman rebuild the gates and decorate them with charms as well as symbols of wealth. The evil spirits are warded off by symbols of wealth.

Outside the gates there are figures of people "doing the horizontal mambo", "boom booming", "screwing", "doing the nasty", "humping" or whatever your euphemism is for sexual intercourse. The men although smaller than the women statues, have very large "members". Supposedly human sexuality also keeps the bad spirits away.

The Akha village also has a common area with benches where young people get together in the evening. The young boys and girls have fun flirting, singing, dancing, and "courting". The Akha believe that sexual intercourse strengthens boys and matures girls so I can only imagine what "courting" entails. Duang and I were there in the morning and saw the village men cleaning up the area by trimming the bushes and raking up leaves so I have no details to provide at this time. Perhaps after our next trip to the Akha people, we will have more details but most likely no photos or at least photos that can be shared on the Internet!

Akha houses are raised up on posts. A thatched roof hangs very low over the house sides and the porches on each end.

Inside the house there is an altar for ancestor worship. The altar is typically a bamboo shelf high on a wall with three rice stalks from the latest harvest on it. The floors are compacted dirt and there is a small hearth for cooking over a small wood fire.

The Akha, in my opinion, are the poorest of the Hill Tribes. They were also the most aggressive in wanting money. They push very hard the selling of their handicrafts, and souvenirs. Many expect or ask for money to be photographed. Many Akha just out and out beg for money.

This may be disconcerting to many people but the amount of money to appease them is very small. When you see their situation and understand their limited opportunities, it is not so offensive. You give them some to help them survive or you politely refuse.

My philosophy is to always buy some handicrafts and if asked donate some money to a person for posing for several photographs.

Given the same set of circumstances and conditions as the Akha, I question how aggressive any of us would be. I know how I would be.

To the extent that I can, I would not want to deny someone their daily bread.