Ancient dress made from bark found
10:48' 20/01/2006 (GMT+7)


A collection of ancient dresses made from tree bark has been found in Quang Tri Province. It is believed that is a relic of the Van Kieu, one of the Vietnamese ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands.

It was a collection of seven bark dresses, made from a hundred years ago.

According to experts, making a tree dress is very difficult. First, skilful artisan is chosen to get the bark from the Pi, a tree in the Central Highlands. He would not chop down the tree, just pare round it and take a layer of bark.

At home, the artisan’s partner prepared cask of boiling water, with spices such as ginger, sugar-cane, and citronella. The tree skin would then be soaked in the water in 10 days to release its poisons. It would then be dried for a week and restored. On the 14th day of a lunar month, people would take it and sew into clothing.

Normally, each bark dress included three parts: two in the front and one in the back. The collar was round and it was sleeveless. The thread was made from rattan fibres. The inside surface of the dress was smooth.

Although made from tree bark, this dress was very tough, flexible and warm. Both Van Kieu men and women liked to wear it, especially in Winter.

In the past, Van Kieu people wore the dress when hunting, working and fighting enemies. According to ethnologists, the tree bark dress is the oldest relic of the Van Kieu people. It shows that they related closely with the forest.

According to Ho Ta Khu, a Van Kieu person, only a few people know how to make the dress now. Sewing is the difficult part. Only a few people can do it.

According to Le Duc Tho, Deputy Director of Quang Tri Museum, a culturist, the bark is seen as a Van Kieu costume art. The collection they found is very valuable.

(Source: NLD)