With only around 4000 people the Lu ethnic minority group of Vietnam is one of the lesser known groups in Vietnam.  I've always loved their gorgeous outfits which are totally different to those of the Hmong and other groups like the Dao. 

The Lu live mainly around the Phong Tho and Sin Ho district of Lai Chau province in Northern Vietnam and migrated to Vietnam with the Thai minority groups over a long period of time sometime between the 9th and 14th century.

Apart from their vibrant and tailored outfits one of the curious customs that sets the Lu apart from other ethnic groups in Vietnam is that the Lu women prefer to have their teeth black! Although not practiced by many Lu women under the age of 30 these days the Lu believe that only wild animals and demons have white teeth, so they apply a special black paste every day to their teeth to avoid being associated with evil. Apparently the dying technique not only has aesthetic meaning, but also works as a sealant and prevents tooth decay! The paste applied every night is made by mixing black-honey shrub with a plant extract called Gum Benzoin Siam for 1 to 2 hours then heating the mixture and apply it to the teeth.

The outfits of the Lu women are stunning pieces of clothing, comprising of a tailored jacket with intricate braiding and brocade teamed with a colourful skirt featuring a detailed band of brocade weaving and colourful braiding. This is topped with a black turban featuring a black and white strip and colorful tassels and on the ends.

The turban headdress of the women is made from indigo dyed cotton and measures around 4 mtrs in length. The middle section is around 30 cm wide and tapers off to a narrow strip at either end.  The women like most of the ethnic groups keep their hair very long and in the case of the Lu they wear their hair in a bun to the left wrapping the turban around it.

Lu women wear black indigo cross over tailored jackets which are pieced together using 6 sections which are curved at the hem line.   The jacket is decorated from the collar to hem using pieces of hand woven brocade edged with a bright floral braids. Around the waist there is a long patterned cloth of brocade and braid, which is called “meandering stream”. Under this there are many small colorful embroidered triangles. The wrap style jacket is tied at the side using a floral tie. The sleeves of the jacket are long and narrow and are attached with bands on fine embroidered flower motifs and trimmed with a narrow floral braid.

The traditional skirts of the Lu women comprise of 3 different sections, which are sewn together to form a tube skirt. It consists of a plain waistband, the main part of the skirt and the bottom.

The waistband is woven from brown or maroon cotton with no decoration. The skirt’s body is woven from silk and cotton  using a complicated very fine tapestry weave techniques - the most common patterns found are of  diamonds - this part of the skirt take up to 6 months to weave.  The bottom of the skirt is made of indigo dyed cotton with a panel of 8 stripes of bight floral fabric with a centre piece of brocade.  The hem in of the skirt has a series of brocade and other braids with a piece of floral cloth acting as a hemline.

If you've ever experienced the vibrant nightly craft markets of Luang Prabang in recent years you will no doubt have seen lots of examples of Lao 'story cloths'. 

(I remember on my first visit to Luang Prabang back in 2000 there were only a handful of Hmong women who sat on the footpath outside the royal palace selling story cloths and other embroidery.  Then in December 2002 there was an official market site set up with a few dozen stalls of different minority groups selling their crafts - this market was only supposed to go for a couple of weeks! However 13 years later the market goes for several blocks and while there are still Hmong ladies selling their embroideries you can now find all manner of tourist souvenirs from t-shirts to Lao coffee and snake wine!)

I recently came across a few story cloths that I collected on my first visit to Laos and decided to find out more about them. In those days they were just selling the pieces of cloth - but over the years they've incorporated them into quilts, bags and cushion covers to cater for the tourist market.

The Hmong who fled the conflict in Laos during the 1970's, streamed into refugee camps in Thailand and began making embroidered pictures or images which became known as 'Story Cloths'.  

There are a couple of the theories as to why the story cloths were created.  One theory was that as the Hmong in the camps became increasingly in touch with books, including illustrated English language, the aid agencies used these books as a way of encouraging literacy through sewing (The embroidering of English words on some cloths backs this up).  

Its also said that the aid agencies then encouraged the women (and men) to create the story cloths as a product which they could sell. Ive also read some accounts of the men being taught by missionaries in the 1960's how to draw daily life which they in turn gave to the women to embroider but when they settled in the refugee camps the men also started to embroider their drawings as a way to make an income.

Another way of looking at it is that it really was history repeating itself in that when the Hmong were fleeing the Chinese hundreds of years previously and began using embroidery to hide their script and symbols - these story cloths were a new way of expressing and recording the Hmong history and culture.

As opposed to the decorative style of other Hmong embroidery, using cross stitch and long stitch to create stylized motifs and symbols, story cloths use a large amount of surface embroidery to depict characters and landscapes.  Some story cloths depict stories of war and conflict but many also depict traditional village life and cultural celebrations like New years.  On my search I've found thousands of examples of the story cloths - from simple pieces depicting child like characters involved in daily life to highly elaborate works with thousands of figures and words telling several stories in one cloth. 

I've started a board on Pinterest which I will continue to add any unique pieces I find. https://www.pinterest.com/textiletours/hmong-story-cloths/