Mong women in Nam Nghep, Ngoc Chien commune, embroider traditional costumes.

Ngoc Chien commune currently has 15 villages, of which 7 are inhabited by Mong people, with many cultural features preserved and developed. Coming to Mong villages, it is not difficult to see women sitting on the porch, meticulously embroidering and sewing clothes for themselves and their family members. With skillful hands and rich imagination, the patterns on Mong people's costumes are created from many different materials, but the most unique is painting with beeswax on traditional linen. This is a unique cultural feature that has been associated with the people for generations.

Mong women in Ngoc Chien commune boil beeswax to make ink.

Giang Thi So, Nam Nghep village, shared: Beeswax painting on fabric has existed for a long time, passed down from generation to generation. When I was 6 years old, my grandmother and mother taught me how to embroider, sew and paint beeswax on linen. All the Mong women in the village know how to paint beeswax, now I am passing it on to my daughter.

There are two types of beeswax used for drawing ink: yellow and black. Making ink from beeswax is very elaborate. The beeswax commonly used is beeswax. After extracting all the honey, the wax is heated on a small fire. The melted beeswax will mix the two types of yellow and black, corresponding to the darkness and lightness. During the drawing process, the wax is heated regularly on a small and even fire. If the fire is too big, the wax will burn, and if the fire is too small, the wax will dry and harden.

During the drawing process the ink is made from beeswax which is continuously heated.

When starting to draw beeswax, Mong women do not use a pen but a special tool, designed with 2 copper sheets, a small bamboo stick about 10 - 15cm long, with a small hole in the middle of the two copper sheets to create a place to hold the beeswax. The pen tip is a pointed triangular copper sheet, clamped to the bamboo stick.

Beeswax drawing pen.

There are 3 types of drawing pens, one type for sketching, drawing straight lines uses a large nib, the other type for drawing patterns uses a small nib, the thinner the nib, the more beautiful and easier it is to draw patterns. The lines are very simple motifs and patterns: the outline is a square, cross combined with diamond, triangle, circle, sawtooth... When drawing, continuously dip the pen into the hot beeswax pan, move the pen quickly so that the wax melts evenly, without streaks until it is all gone, then dip the pen into the wax to continue drawing.

Beeswax painting on fabric has been passed down through generations.

According to experience, beeswax dries quickly, so you should wrap the fabric as you draw, so it won't get dirty. After drawing the pattern, put the fabric in a pot of boiling water, stir well to remove all the wax, then the pattern will have natural color on the fabric, durable color. After boiling, the fabric is dyed indigo and dried in the sun. From these pieces of fabric will be sewn into traditional costumes of the Mong people.

Meticulous drawing with many motifs combined together.

Carefully drawing patterns on linen fabric to make new clothes for her children and husband in time for Tet, Ms. Sung Thi Phenh, from Cham Pong village, said: Ever since I was little, I loved watching my grandmothers and mothers draw patterns on dresses, and as I grew up, my mother also taught me how to draw and embroider a complete outfit. When I got married, I also personally drew decorative patterns with beeswax on traditional costumes for the whole family to celebrate Tet.

The pattern is painted with beeswax on linen.

The art of beeswax painting of Mong women is gradually fading due to the integration trend, the products for sewing costumes are produced in a variety of ways, at low prices. To preserve this unique cultural feature, in addition to promoting Mong women to preserve traditional crafts, every year, Ngoc Chien commune has included the content of beeswax painting contests in festivals and cultural activities of the commune; orienting Mong women to create diverse brocade items decorated with beeswax, hand embroidery, creating tourism products to introduce to visitors.

Mong women of Ngoc Chien commune compete in beeswax painting at the 2023 New Rice Festival.

Lam Giang