studies, articles and exhibitions

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Some travel notes from a visit that Donna Lum made to Northern Laos in 2018.

all text & images supplied by Donna Lum top

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Images from a visit to the Karo Batak area on the Karo Plateau in North Sumatra in March 1997 when I saw most of the traditional style Karo houses still standing.

all text & images supplied by Pamela Cross top

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Different minority groups in Southwest China weave headcloths as part of their traditional costume which may be worn by men or by women. They are often beautiful gems of fine weaving and may serve to identify different groups. However, as the minority groups live side-by-side and absorb style influences from each other it can be very difficult to identify which minority group may have woven them. Iain Stephens, with several examples especially of Dong headcloths in his collection, suggested it would be helpful to put together images of them to share and compare. Here are examples of 9 headcloths in his collection.

all text & images supplied by Iain Stephens top

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In August 2010 Chris Buckley made a visit to eastern Flores and Lembata. On his return he sent in textile travel notes and shared some of his stunning photos.  He also posted on the forum photos and comments on a couple of textiles not included here. Chris says: "These notes should be read in conjunction with Donna Lum's notes from 2005. The good news is that despite Flores' development as a tourist destination there is still a great deal of traditional weaving and it is still well worth a visit. We flew to Maumere and worked our way east, missing out the western half of the island (which apparently has much interesting weaving also).

all text & images supplied by Chris Buckley top

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In June 2010 Chris Buckley made a visit to Hainan Island in search of Li weavers and weaving.  On his return he sent in travel notes of weaving Li Minority "Brocade" (supplementary weft textile) of weaver Huang Ji Xiang, a member of the Qi subgroup of the Li people using a backstrap loom, in Shui Mian Qiao village near WuZhiShan on Hainan Island.  On his brief visit to Hainan Chris also managed to find some weavers speaking the Meifu Li dialect in the ChangJiang area of southwestern Hainan who were making and weaving ikat.  His description and photos of that encounter and how he reached them can be found on the forum.

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These personal travel notes, focused on textile shopping, have been made by Donna Lum following a short visit which she made to Cambodia and Laos in May 2010. Before she left she referred to the page on this website on textile related shopping in Laos plus additional information on the forum and promised to give feedback on her return.

all text & images supplied by Donna Lum top

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A group of textiles which were part of theToba Batak family inheritance of Vera Tobing. They include ulos woven by Vera's grandmother, Ernestina br.Hutagalung (born in 1893) and Vera's mother, Tianur br.Hutabarat (born in 1925). The collection also includes ulos woven by professional weavers which were given or worn as part of family adat (ritual celebration) ceremonies. Although Vera did not directly continue the family tradition of weaving, in the 1980s and 1990s, together with the local government, she worked with a local group of weavers to utilise traditional Toba Batak weaving in a modern context. This photogallery and linked information are the initial results of on-going research into the history of this family and its textiles. Also see associated forum thread.

these images are © and may not be reproduced without the express permission of Pamela A Cross and Vera Tobing top

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This article covers both the wedding traditions of the Long Skirt Miao and a description of Tony's own wedding which took place in April 2007. It has has been submitted by Tony Chen Hualong, a Miao from Langde village in Guizhou province.

all text & images © Tony Chen Hualong top

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An on-line exhibition created from photos of the exhibition of Filipino textiles from the collection of Myunghee & Peter Reimann which ran at The Philippine Center, Philippine Consulate General in New York February 4-15, 2008.

all text & images © the Reimann family top

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This article, which outlines the culture of the Long Horned Miao of the 12 villages of Upper Anzhuang, Lower Anzhuang, Longga, Bukong, Xiaobatian, Gaoxing in the Miao and Yi autonomous town of Suoga; Dawanxin, Xinfa in the town of Xinhua; Changdi, Guanzhai, Xiaoxin, Huadong and Yizhongdi in the town of A’gong, has has been submitted by Tony Chen Hualong, a Miao from Langde village in Guizhou province.

all text & images © Tony Chen Hualong top

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This article, which describes attendance at a White Miao Dance Flower Festival, has has been submitted by Tony Chen Hualong, a Miao from Langde village in Guizhou province, China and describes and explains the festival which took place in Dafang, Guizhou in April 2007.

all text & images © Tony Chen Hualong top

A short illustrated report by Nick Fielding following a visit in early 2007 to the Aljamelah Inaul Weaving and Sewing Center in Mindanao, southern Philippines. Set up by H. Bai Aleizzah Albaya B Wampa, the centre concentrates on weaving, currently using synthetic threads. Mindanao is predominantly Moslem, with many of its inhabitants originating further west in Malaysia and Indonesia. Its textiles are not well known, but there is a long tradition of weaving, particularly of the fabrics which are made up into the tubular malong. top

Monique Derwig is strongly affected by the 'textile virus' and this article is her travel diary in Thailand from March 2005. Monique's textile collection has a particular focus on children's clothing, especially hats. The article includes photos of Akha, Yao, Hmong and Karen textiles in and around Mae Sai, Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai.

images © Monique Derwig top

Mosquito net and bed curtain borders of various Tai groups - including Black Thai (Tai Dam), Red Thai (Tai Daeng) or White Thai (Tai Khao) - may be found by collectors. This illustrated discussion aims to show their construction, how they are used and to put them in the context of the domestic and ceremonial life of the Tai peoples of Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. (See also Black Thai minority Vietnam and Southern White Thai Weaving Village photogalleries).

all text and images © Pamela A Cross top text and images © Pamela Cross, Susan Stem, Patricial Cheesman

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This article was submitted by Donna Lum and comprises a short compilation of comments about major places in Flores which she has visited, found interesting and recommends. They have a strong textile flavour although Donna stresses that she does not pretend to be an expert on the local traditions or textiles.

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This article, which includes some atmospheric photos, describes the Miao Fertility Festival which takes place every thirteen years. It has been submitted by Tony Chen Hualong, a Miao from Langde village in Guizhou province, China and describes and explains the festival which took place in his village of Langde in February/March 2004.

all text & images © Tony Chen Hualong top

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A small photogallery of Kachin (Jingpho, Jinghphaw, Singpo) woven bags created around the photos posted on a fascinating thread 'a puzzling bag' on the www.tribatltextiles.info/community forum which attracted contributions from forum members around the world culminating in an identification of the bag as Kachin, probably Jingpho (Jinghphaw, Singpo) and further photos of similar, beautifully woven bags. This small photogallery is an attempt to bring the photographic gems together for comparison and study. top

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This article giving an outline of the cotton textiles of the northern Luzon highlands in the Philippines has been written by Eric Anderson. Eric, an engineer and economist, worked in the Philippines for seven years. While he was there he developed a fascination with the complex and intriguing cultures of the Cordillera mountains of Northern Luzon.

all text & images supplied by Eric Anderson top

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This fascinating article about a ceremony carried out by Miao shaman was submitted in February 2004 by Tony Chen Hualong, a Miao from Langde village in Guizhou province, China. Tony is an educated young man who spent the first 18 years of his life in his Miao village before leaving to go to university. He both believes in science and technology and yet is imbuded with the spriritual traditions of the background in which he grew up. Tony works for the tour operator, China Youth Travel Service (CYTS) Guizhou, in Guiyang.

all text & images © Tony Chen Hualong top

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An article submitted in December 2003 by artist and photojournalist Suzi Garner on the effects of tourism on the White Thai community in the Mai Chau valley, Hoa Binh province, northern Viet Nam where satisfying the tourist demand for weavings has lead to many of the old methods of weaving being abandoned.  The article focuses on the effect of tourism on textile production and a recent experiment to revive old methods of weaving, using hand-spun thread and natural dyes.

all text & images © Suzi Garner top

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This exhibition of 15 of Pamela's photos of Miao taken in 2000 and 2001 in Guizhou and Guangxi was hung by Shanghai Tang in conjunction with the launch of their 2003/04 autumn/winter ready-to-wear collection 'Miao Hinterland' which had been inspired by the www.tribaltextiles.info website

all text and images © Pamela A Cross  top

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Photos of some textiles from some southern Chin groups from the Myanmar (Burma) and Bangladesh border area which have been shared via the tribaltextiles.info forum as members have sought to assemble hard-to-find information.

all text and images © Pamela A Cross  top

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An illustrated study of Silver Palaung clothing based on a visit to Shan State, Myanmar in 1998 and stimulated by the book by Michael C Howard and Wattana Wattanapun, published in 2001 - “The Palaung in Northern Thailand”. (See also photogalleries of Silver Palaung - Kalaw market and Pein Ne Bin village compiled from photos from the 1998 trip.)

all text and images © Pamela A Cross  top

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An illustrated study of Pa'O clothing based on a visit to Shan State, Myanmar in 1998 with reference to the currently available (March 2003) literature. (See also photogalleries of Pa'O - Kalaw market and Lake Inle compiled from photos from the 1998 trip.)

all text and images © Pamela A Cross  top

In early October 2002 Olivier Tallec posed his question on the tribaltextiles.info forum seeking information on Li textiles (from Hainan Island, southern China) and I posted some details of a couple of the books now quoted in 'Li references'. I subsequently found some photos of Li textiles which I posted to the forum. Olivier emailed me with the photos of the textiles in this small photogallery which appear to be from two further and different Li sub-groups.  Also see Ba-Sa-Dung Li photogallery.

images © Olivier Tallec top

Rusty and Crista Hippchen visited Laos and China in February 2003. They bought this collection of Hani textiles direct from Hani traders in Menghai county, Xishuangbanna Prefecture, the southern-most prefecture in Yunnan Province, southwest China. Most of the clothing items were being worn at the time of purchase and so represent current Hani (Akha) clothing fashions in the area. See Hani (Akha) references.

images © Rusty & Crista Hippchen top