Discovery The Unique Culture Of The Red Dao In Sapa, Vietnam
Content []
Take part in Red Dao ethnic embroidery class
Tamay, 45, and mother of 3 is one of the many ethnic minority women employed at Ethos Spirit of Community for her traditional textile expertise and local knowledge. The spectacular sunny morning of our day together came after a bitterly cold 3 day snow down with shocking sub zero temperatures. After buying food for lunch from the local market we motorbiked from Sapa down to Ta Phin village before dismounting for a short 30 minute hike up the hills towards Tamay’s home.
Tamay’s house was a simple structure perched on the precipice of the hill over looking the valley and neighboring Red Dao families below. It was made from wooden planks with a huge open plan interior that had a wood stove fire in the middle of the room for cooking. There were out houses providing shelter for small livestock, vegetable and fruit plantations, an outdoor toilet and herbal bath. We decide the best place to enjoy the embroidery lesson would be outside soaking up the much welcomed sun.
Exceptional Ethnic Embroidery
Embroidery skills are extremely important in ethnic minority life. No Red Dao women is seen as fit to marry or even desirable until she has sewn her own clothes. Tamay started learning from her mother at the age of 7 and is now considered one of the most accomplished and respected artisans in her community. Designs representing village life and animist mysticism such as stars, trees, rice terraces and family are meticulously stitched in silk with pin point precision. Every new year it is the wife’s duty to make a new set of clothes for her husband and children in time for Tet holiday at the end of January. Each Red Dao traditional dress includes a intensely embroidered knee length jacket, trousers, belt, necklace and head dress, consuming all their free time after chores for the whole year round.
The Traditional Technique
Don’t even know how to explain how complicated and time consuming Red Dao embroidery is. The process starts by dividing the silk threads into 3s and twisting them together between the skin on your knee and the palm of your hand. Each stitch is sewn in and out of the tightly woven warp and weft threads in a black cotton fabric. Tamay and her peers must have the eye sight of an eagle as not a single stitch is in the wrong place. Ever. The symbolic motifs and patterns are sewn from the reverse side of the fabric and the sequence of the stitches used to create the design is recalled from memory. It is not simply cross stitch. It took over 3 hours for me to sew that one tree. I can’t even begin to contemplate the patience and perseverance required to sew your clothes this way little by little every day.
Textile Tours
It’s one thing to look and admire a piece of textiles for sale in a shop or from a street vendor but it’s another to spend a day with the person that made the product to practice their craftsmanship for yourself. I always appreciated the Red Dao’s exceptional embroidery skills but now I know how long it takes and how undervalued their products and time are sold for. I strongly recommend this textile tour with Tamay for anyone interested in traditional dress and culture in order to gain perspective and truly understand this unique ethnic art form. To book your day with Tamay contact Ethos Spirit of Community direct.
Quick Contact
Reviews from Customers
Please take a look at the following reviews from our customers
Ovad and Angela
Israel | 11/02/2018
Trip to Vietnam and Cambodia
We would like to highly recommend Funny Travel as travel agency to arrange a trip as you desire. We asked Joe to help us arrange a honeymoon trip for 3 weeks in Vietnam and Cambodia. He did everything and sent us a done schedule with every fine details (activities, flights, hotels, guides, drivers, meals etc.). From the moment we arrived, we didn't have to worry about nothing (pick up from and to an airports/hotels, a local sim, money exchange, advises, making sure daily that we are ok and if we need anything). A very big appriciation to Joe, Vicky and their staff, everything they did for us was above and beyond. It was a pleasure. We absolutely sure that whoever will choose Funny Travel, will not regret. Thank you again for a perfect honeymoon, Ovad and Angela
Hawkoinc
Australia | 11/02/2018
Motorcycle city and street food tour
Loved it, loved it, loved it. We organised a tour with Joe at the last minute but our guide and 3 drivers turned up at 9am the following morning. Our guide Chien was very knowledgeable and made it a fantastic day for us. He had a great personality and sense of humour and the street food we tried was beautiful. Joe has gone out of his way to help us with anything we needed. He is a wealth of information and local knowledge. Do yourself a favour and book a tour with Funny Travel. They have a tour to suit everyone. I highly recommend Funny Travel.
Moniqueavelaine
United Kingdom | 11/02/2018
Funny Travel made our trip amazing!
WOW, where to start. We had the most amazing experience in Vietnam with Vicky and the Funny Travel staff and there is no way we would have had such an incredible experience without their expertise. From the moment we booked Vicky communicated with us about what we hoped for in our 8 day trip in North Vietnam and now at the conclusion of our trip we are so happy because of the incredible experience they arranged. Everything was thoughtful and we'll orchestrated - we had great accommodations everywhere (including a homestay in an ethnic village near Sa Pa), we had AMAZING GUIDES!!! (thank you Thuc, Ben, and Hieu) and they were so knowledgeable of the communities and places we were visiting, Vicky set us up with a Sim card which made communication easy, she checked in and helped us easily get things done to make our trip more comfortable (arranging laundry, mail, etc), showed us amazing food and answered every question, and all around was so warm and welcoming. It was an incredible trip because of Funny Travel. We 100% recommend and plan to use Funny Travel again when we are back in Asia!
Samsee
Switzerland | 11/02/2018
Tour Halong Bay e Sapa
Dopo aver visto le varie recensioni positive, ci siamo rivolti pure noi a questa agenzia. All'ultimo minuto Vicky è riuscita ad organizzarci due giorni e una notte in crociera alla baia di Halong e tre giorni e due notti alle risaie terrazzate di Sapa. Tutto organizzato al meglio: trasporti comodissimi, hotel al top, guide simpaticissime e sempre disponibili, escursioni e attività molto piacevoli, abbiamo trascorso anche una notte in una homestay a sapa ed è stato davvero tutto perfetto. Un paese molto interessante abitato da persone gentilissime. Se volete andare sul sicuro rivolgetevi anche voi a questa agenzia!! Super raccomandata!!
Rebecca
Australia | 11/02/2018
Perfect Travel Agency
It's not just a funny travel agency - it's a perfect agency! We've never aspected to get such a good trip to sapa and halong bay! Everything was organised very well. They took care about us the whole trip, they were always very frindly, kind and funny :p was a pleasure to meet them in Hanoi! thank you Vicky!!!
Colyn D
Poland | 11/02/2018
Wonderfully warm, friendly and excellent service!
I would like to thank Funny Travel for their absolute fabulous service. We had a great time doing the bicycle and food tour and highly recommendit to anyone in the Hanoi area! A definite must-have experience!!
Relinda G
Philippines | 11/02/2018
Hanoi Vacation
Funny Travel, you made our vacation memorable, great experience. We had fun in our day tour, friendly staff. They even have an incredible food trip to top it all with. The whole trip was exceptional! A must do when you head over to Hanoi. Thank you to all our guide and to the staff. Keep up the great work
Danielle O
Australia | 11/02/2018
Craig & Danielle Overend
We were lucky enough to come across Joe and he offered a street food tour to us. He and his colleague Ken took us on a tour trying all different types of food in the old quarter. He was also full of information about his country, we had a fantastic day and highly recommend Joe and his team. Great value for money.
Fager1898
Spain | 11/02/2018
Buen hacer y excelente trato
Si quieres evitar agencias sospechosamente baratas y no te importa pagar un poco más, esta es una excelente opcion. Muy atentos en el trato, tanto a la hora de la contratación como durante el tour. Hicimos un tour de un día sin prisas, a nuestro ritmo, con un guía muy agradable y seguimos exactamente el recorrido que queríamos dedicando el tiempo que considerábamos necesario. ¿Hay otras agencias más baratas? Sí, las hay, pero a veces por unos pocos dólares no merece la pena arriesgarte con sorpresas que puedan estropear tus ilusiones. Con esta agencia te quedará un muy buen recuerdo de un día irrepetible, en nuestro caso en Mua Cave y Tam Cốc.
Funny Travel Vietnam
Head Office Only At: 35 Gia Ngu Street, Hoan Kiem District, Ha Noi city, Viet Nam
Payment Methods
