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October 2015

TAEC has developed close relationships with ethnic artisans across Laos and we are in constant contact with them, by phone, text message, and in person! In August, Khoun Soutthivilay, Co-Director of TAEC, and Tou Xaikongpheng, our Stock Manager, traveled south to visit our friends and artisan partners in Champassak, Salavan, and Savannakhet provinces.

This month we share with you highlights from their handicraft trip, introduce the guest curator for our next exhibition, and invite you to join us to create boats of light for Boun Lai Heua Fai on 28 October.

Read more below:

TAEC Visits Ethnic Artisan Villages in the South
Indigo Ikat from the Phou Tai in Savannakhet Province
The Living Tradition of Ta Oy Wood Carving
Meet Dr. Yukino Ochiai, Guest Curator and Researcher of Seed Beads
Join Us to Create Boats of Light for Awk Phansaa

TAEC Visits Ethnic Artisan Villages in the South

Over seven days, Khoun and Tou visited several villages and met with Ta Oy, Katu, and Phou Tai artisans. Did you know that TAEC represents more than 600 independent artisans who sell their products at TAEC shops?

Joy, pictured above with Tou and Khoun, has worked with TAEC since 2009. Like most of the women in her village in Savannakhet Province, she learned to weave and use natural indigo dyes as a young girl. The Phou Tai weave for their families including cotton shawls, scarves, and material to make into skirts. At 23 years of age, Joy turned her skills and her network into a business. She now leads a group of 10 women whose products and fabrics are sold in Luang Prabang. In the tradition of handing down the methods of Phou Tai indigo ikat, she has taught both of her daughters to weave and dye themselves.

Indigo Ikat from the Phou Tai of Savannakhet

Well-known throughout Laos for their skill creating indigo ikat, the Phou Tai create elaborate patterns in blue and white using the natural materials of cotton and indigo. In Ban Lahanam, you will find weaving looms under each home, and pots filled with indigo dye nearby.

Skilled Phou Tai artisans know how to make the dye from the indigo plant, and how to tie it to create zig-zag patterns known as ikat or “matmee” in Lao. With much concentration, the artisan will tie the threads to block the indigo dye. More intricate designs may take up to 5 days to tie, before the process of dyeing can begin. Next the artisan will dip the thread into the pots of blue color and squeeze the threads. Repeating this action over several days, she will create shades of deep blue. After preparing the thread, she will set up and use a four pedal loom to weave 30 metres of indigo ikat cloth. She needs to ensure she keeps the spools of dyed thread in order to ensure the ikat pattern emerges.

Behind the Scenes Video: Indigo Ikat Pots in Laos

The Living Tradition of the Ta Oy People

While Lao textiles gain the spotlight internationally, lesser known craft traditions, such as the woodcarving of the Ta Oy, continue to be practiced locally. In Laos, Ta Oy people live in the south in Attapeu, Champassak, and Sekong Provinces. Starting with the trunk of a tree, Ta Oy men and women create carvings of figures and masks, like the ones above from Ban Nong Beung in Champassak Province. To achieve the black coloring, they scorch the carved wood. Using coconut shell they clean away any loose charcoal to leave a shiny black surface.

Traditionally, life-size carved wooden figures served as the posts holding up the community meeting house. In the past, Ta Oy would carve wooden masks for ceremonial purposes only. Today, they create smaller statues and wooden masks to sell as a livelihood. TAEC has been working with this Ta Oy village since 2010, supporting their livelihoods based on traditional skills.

Video: Do you know the Ta Oy People?

Meet Dr. Yukino Ochiai, Guest Curator

We are honored to work with Dr. Yukino Ochiai, ethnobotanist and professor at Ryukoku University in Kyoto, who will serve as a guest curator for our next exhibition, Seeds of Culture: From Living Plants to Handicrafts, opening in September 2016.

Dr. Ochiai says, “In this exhibit, I focus on the grass plant known as Job's Tears (Coix) or Mak Dueay to think about people-plant interaction in mainland Southeast Asia. My field research in Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar shows that the wild and domesticated plants of Job's Tears are used as food, medicine, and beads by many ethnic groups. The seed beads play a unique role in material culture and have been used as decoration in beautiful and striking combinations. By displaying the whole process from living plants to seeds to items in this exhibit, I hope to share an idea with TAEC visitors; how material culture is based on plant diversity and the environment.”

Join Us to Create Boats of Light for Awk Phansaa

Free activity with Museum Entry

Wednesday, 28 October

10 AM – 4 PM

In Luang Prabang locals mark the end of phansaa, the three-month retreat for monks, by creating boats of light (Heua Fai) and releasing them in the Mekong River. Join us at TAEC on this special day to make your own Boat of Light. Under the guidance of TAEC staff you can create your Heua Fai using banana leaves, fresh flowers, and candles. Lai Heua Fai means “floating boats of light downstream”. The festival (Boun) honors the river and is a time to send away bad luck and make wishes for the future.

Using bamboo and coloured paper, temples and villages will also build boats of light, several metres long. One boat, called Heua Fai Khowk, will stay on the temple gound and another Heua Fai will be released in the river. In the evening, a parade of these larger boats proceed down the main street to Wat Xieng Thong for judging. Later that night the villagers and novice monks will send the big Heua Fai down the river.

Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre

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