Dao Tien women meticulously embroider scarves. Photo: Ngoc Anh

The cultural treasure of the Dao Tien people in Son La is extremely diverse and rich. Among them, 3 heritages have been included in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, namely: The Cap Sac ceremony, the bride-welcoming ceremony in traditional weddings and the art of creating patterns on Dao ethnic costumes (Dao Tien group). These are heritages that have been passed down through many generations, preserved, conserved and promoted until today.

The Dao people value traditional customs and etiquette. Therefore, although life in Dao villages has changed a lot, modern elements intertwined with the introduction of many new cultures have not changed much of the traditional cultural concepts and lifestyles that have been passed down for generations. Although the costumes of the Tien Dao are not as colorful as those of the Red Dao, they have impressive highlights with elaborate pattern-making techniques, containing many meanings about the traditional concepts and beliefs of the nation. The Tien Dao girls begin to learn embroidery with their mothers and sisters when they are still little girls. When they become young women, they can dye indigo, weave fabric, embroider shirts, embroider scarves, make skirts, and complete their own costumes to use as dowries when they get married.

Mrs. Ban Thi Tuoi, Chieng Di village, Van Ho commune, Van Ho district is a skilled embroiderer and beeswax painter. Talking about the costumes of the Dao Tien people, Mrs. Tuoi explained: "In the concept of the Dao people, when performing the ethnic religious rituals, the Dao people must wear traditional costumes to participate in the ceremony. Both the skirt and shirt use indigo as the main color to embroider and paint traditional patterns. The patterns on the skirt must follow a common pattern. As for the scarf and shirt, each person can create patterns according to their own ideas, as long as they maintain the traditional beauty. Only skillful and creative women can make beautiful patterns with beautiful colors."

A complete set of men's clothing includes: Shirt, head scarf, pants, mainly indigo with some simple white embroidered patterns on the shirt. Women's clothing is more elaborate with shirts, skirts, headscarves, leggings, belts and some silver jewelry. Each part of the costume takes a lot of time. The scarf and shirt are made from indigo-dyed white fabric, then embroidered with patterns on the front of the fabric, the fabric is joined to create the shape, and beads and tassels are attached with red or pink thread to the scarf. The shirt is embroidered with colored thread on the hem, flap and back of the shirt with layered patterns, the highlight is the stylized square pattern symbolizing the sun embroidered on the back of the shirt with the colors: Red, yellow, white, blue standing out on the elegant black indigo background.

The bride's mother and bridesmaids escort the bride to the door. Photo: Ngoc Anh

The dress is painted with beeswax patterns with many elaborate steps. The patterns on the costumes all represent the concept of life in the beliefs of the Dao people, simulating daily life, mountains, rivers and the desire for a prosperous and good life. The highlight that cannot be ignored is the silver coin details attached to the back of the shirt, on the scarf, the coin image painted on the dress. Along with that are silver jewelry such as: earrings, necklaces, bracelets... In the concept of the people, white silver represents wealth, prosperity, and nobility. Silver coins are also associated with worship, are offerings in weddings and are also objects that keep the soul following the dead back to dust.

In the life cycle rituals, the Coming of Age Ceremony and the Bride Procession are considered the two most important life cycle rituals for the Dao Tien people. The Coming of Age Ceremony is held for boys aged 7-11 to recognize their maturity. The Coming of Age Ceremony is still preserved by the Dao Tien people in Son La with many quite complicated rituals, held for 2 days and 2 nights. This is a ritual that fully converges the unique cultural and religious features of the Dao people, gathering shamans, good singers, and prestigious village elders to participate in the practice in a solemn, respectful manner and no less exciting with bustling bell dancing nights, attracting the whole village to participate.

Meritorious Artisan Ban Van Duc, in Sao Do Sub-area, Van Ho Commune, Van Ho District said: "From birth to death, a Dao Tien man must go through many life-cycle rituals: Ancestor reporting ceremony (held one month after the child is born), Cap sac ceremony, Wedding ceremony, Funeral ceremony. A son must be granted a sac to officially have a proper name in the family tree, be considered an adult man and have the right to preside over all family affairs."

Meanwhile, the traditional wedding ceremony brings many special impressions to those who witness it for the first time. The bride's family always has to organize the wedding before the groom's family, choosing an auspicious time to pick up the bride. On the wedding day, the bride's relatives near and far bring her the most beautiful clothes to wear. The bride steps out of her parents' house with layers of skirts, shirts, and scarves on her body. The bride is helped by her grandmothers and sisters to walk a short distance before removing her outer clothes, wearing only her mother's clothes to go to her husband's house. That is a way to show the love and protection of loved ones for the bride, a way to bless her when she leaves for her husband's house.

The Dao Tien people have their own writing system, a hieroglyphic system called Nom Dao script. Thanks to that, the treasure of folk knowledge and culture of the people is recorded and passed down from generation to generation in the ancient books of the people and is copied and passed down by the elderly in the villages who understand the ethnic writing. The language, writing, along with the art of creating original costumes, traditional rituals and good cultural traits passed down from generation to generation are invaluable heritages, preserved, conserved and promoted by the people with the most effective solutions to keep intact the traditional values ​​and origins of the people for future generations.