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Beeswax Painting on fabric is a traditional craft that contains highly artistic and sentimental values in the Mong community in Vietnam. With skillful hands and a rich imagination, indigenous women have used beeswax to create unique patterns to enhance the beauty of traditional products. Those special patterns illustrate the Mong people’s historical pages, stories about the worldview, and the vivid nature of the mountainous region.
Meticulous and sophisticated beeswax paintings (Source: Vivu.net)
The art of Beeswax Painting on fabric has been around for a long time and has been passed down through generations among the Mong community. Because of their self-sufficient lifestyle, the Mong people have learned to use beeswax to paint on fabric, making their clothes more colorful and beautiful.
Beeswax patterns make the dress more colorful (Source: Bao anh Dan toc va Mien nui)
Living in nestled villages in mountainous areas, Mong people are getting used to utilizing natural ingredients in daily activities. Beeswax is a common ingredient they can easily get from surrounding lush forests.
Another reason is that after drawing patterns with beeswax, the entire fabric will be dyed with indigo. The areas without beeswax will be dyed black indigo while the areas with beeswax will not be. After that, the beeswax is melted away, and the patterns drawn on the fabric will turn blue-white, highlighting the costume.
Featured blue-white patterns (Source: Bao Anh Viet Nam)
The Mong people believe that patterns on their costumes and household items will help them communicate with the gods, inviting them to their homes to give out good luck and ward off evil.
All stages are done by hand, each piece of fabric will also have a pattern according to the creativity and personal preferences of the painter. Therefore, it is unique and has high artistic value. This valuable folk art reflects the mark of the times and the cultural identity of the Mong people.
Mong people still conserve the traditional craft (Source: Bao anh Dan toc va Mien nui)
Making beeswax painting on fabric requires meticulousness, dexterity, and special patience of Mong women. They do not use ready-made images but draw by their memory. Embroidered on the reverse side, the pattern will appear on the right side of the fabric with rich motifs containing beautiful values. This technique reflects the Mong people’s personality and aspirations throughout the history of development.
Artisans draw patterns from their memory (Source: Avana Retreat)
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First, the flax is cut, dried, pounded until soft, and then joined together. Before weaving, the flax fibers are soaked in wood ash. The wood ash must be white, and made from firewood. The whiter the wood ash is, the whiter the flax will be when soaked.
Flax fibers (Source: Elambo)
To get a pure white color that helps the dye stick better, the fabric must be washed and dried carefully, then its surface will be polished to a smooth shine.
Beeswax will be divided into 2 types: fresh yellow wax and old black one. Artisans take all the honey and cook each type in a different pot until melted, then pour it into separate bowls.
Beeswax used for paintings is well-mixed between a sufficient amount of black wax and yellow wax. This mixture will be cooked on the stove until melted when starting to draw wax on the skirt. Artisans have to always keep the heat at a constant temperature of 70 - 80 degrees, otherwise, the wax will dry out.
Beeswax is melted on the heat (Source: Vivu.net)
This step requires a special tool. It is called a pen, but in fact, it is a small bamboo stick about 7cm long, the pen tip is a tiny triangular copper sheet clamped to the stick. The thinner the pen tip, the more beautiful and easy the drawing pattern is.
A special drawing pen to draw beeswax lines (Source: dangcongsan.vn)
During this process, craftsmen dip the pen into the hot beeswax bowl placed on the hot coals and draw straight lines on the fabric. They control the wax to flow evenly without streaks until it is finished. After finishing a line, they dip the pen into the wax to continue drawing.
The artist may use a Lu Co (bamboo backpack), with a piece of wood in its mouth. The wood is a flat and smooth board, one end is for the finished drawing, and the other end is a roll of fabric to continue drawing. Roll it up as they draw to avoid getting dirty.
Mong women draw on fabric put on a Lu Co (Source: Bao anh Dan toc va Mien nui)
After finishing painting, artisans will put the fabric in a pot of boiling water, and stir constantly to remove all the wax, leaving beautiful patterns on the surface. The fabric is then indigo-dyed and dried in the sun.
Making beeswax paintings on fabric may sound simple, but to create a perfect product, craftsmen need a lot of skills and years of experience. This special technique is passed down from generation to generation, from mother to child, forming professional artisans who are proficient in shaping and decorating patterns, and weaving techniques.
The traditional technique is handed down through generations (Source: dulichvn.org.vn)
If you want to help conserve the Beeswax Painting Technique, introduce this unique art to your friends. Besides, if you ever have a chance to visit Mong villages or enter a shop selling ethnic products, buy one to support.
Tourists try making beeswax paintings (Source: Tap chi Lang nghe Viet Nam)
For example, the Mong women in Cong Troi village, Sa Long commune, Muong Cha district (Dien Bien) still maintain the traditional technique of drawing beeswax patterns and many tourists come to visit and buy this product as a souvenir. This helps their families maintain working and develop the products during the off-season.
The technique of drawing beeswax patterns on the fabric of the Mong people contains unique historical, cultural, and artistic values. Despite facing modern life, they still work together to protect and promote the heritage value with strong aesthetics, talent, sophistication, and dexterity. Do you want to know more about this unique art? Contact now and let Asia King Travel guide you through the cultural journey!
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