Sponsored by TWIST - Tablet Weavers International Studies & Techniques
Hello Fellow Weavers,
Some of you will remember that I travelled throughout S. E.Asia recently and
this is a little update on my textile experiences.
This was my third trip to that part of the world, the first was in 1993. My
son works as a freelance computer animator and lives in Bangkok, so that was
home base.
First, I must tell you that I had hoped that I might see some tablet weaving
in Laos or Cambodia but it was not to be. Linda Hendrikson was right when
she advised me that it would be unlikely unless I travelled to Indonesia or
Burma. Unfortunately there was no time for those two countries on this trip
which focused on Singapore, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.
On the positive side, I am happy to report that hand weaving is very much
alive and thriving in Thailand, thanks in part to an American architect by
the name of Jim Thompson who revived the silk industry some years ago and
became well known for his efforts throughout the land. Unfortunately, he
died in the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia under mysterious circumstances
about 18 years ago. I was priviledged to have the opportunity to visit his
gorgeous house/museum in Bangkok and see some of the best quality silks in
S. E. Asia. The Royal Thai family promote the silk industry by wearing
handwovens and encouraging others to wear clothing made from the beautiful
Thai silk industry.
Part of this trip was a return to the hill country of north-western Thailand
where there is a large population of hilltribe people that have migrated
from Burma, Laos and southern China over the last century. Chiang Mai, is a
popular tourist destination and this may account for the fact that few (as
compared to my previous visit) hilltribe people were wearing their
traditional handwoven/ embroidered costumes.What I did see this time was a
lot of made-for-tourist jackets & head-dresses for sale that were not nearly
as complete or elaborate as tradition would dictate. That is, when turned
over, the backs were mostly plain black cotton. However I did see one women
at the night market wearing a beautifully cross-stitch embroidered jacket,
indigo dyed skirt and headress. I visited a Hmong hilltribe village and
found the villagers wearing mostly western clothes. On my first visit 8
years ago, most of the villagers were in handwoven or hand embroidered
clothing including both men and children. In the Karen village, there were
several women including young girls, weaving on backstrap looms. The back
strap part of the loom was closely sett of handwoven white cotton about 6 "
wide & wrapped all the way around the weavers waist. They sat on the floor,
on colourful cellulose fibre handwoven mats and tensioned their warps to a
wooden bamboo pole that was wall mounted. They wore handwoven skirts and
tops in white with red trim or blue with red trim and red striped skirts.The
two I photographed were weaving 'Karen' style shoulder bags. (Large square
bags with the side pieces folded in half lengthwise & hand joined to the
centre pieces, front and back and extended upwards to form the straps.)
Undanthani in north eastern Thailand, was the starting point of a two hour
trip into the outlying countryside in order to visit a village where Foster
Parent Plan has helped the villagers improve their circumstances. I was
delighted to learn that there was a weaver in the village. I visited her and
was able to talk through an interpreter. She was weaving on a primitive
floor loom located outside her living compound under a bamboo shelter. Her
treadles were two bamboo poles and she wove in her bare feet. The warp was
dyed black, she had two shafts and had previously tie-dyed the silk weft in
a repeating pattern woven in plain weave. Her cotton warp was very long and
was tensioned up over the top of the frame loom and then hung inside a bag
ready to be released and moved forward when needed. I asked her if she was
teaching anyone in the neighbourhood and she said that she was. I was the
lucky recipient of one of her shuttles, it is quite battered but quite
precious to me. It is 19 1/2" long and only 1 1/4" wide where the bobbin is
inserted. The pointed ends are 3/4" wide at the tip and the shuttle is made
from one piece of wood, I forgot to ask what the wood is. (oh dear!) A small
bendable strip of bamboo holds the bobbin in place. If it breaks, a new one
is easily put in place. No hinges. I had brought along some of my tablet
woven bookmarks and she was delighted to receive it. Unfortunatley, I did
not have time to demonstrate to her how it was woven.
The weavers of Laos are reknowned for their exquisite detailed handwovens of
silk and cotton. Luang Pabang has been designated as a World Heritage Site.
It is a small relatively peaceful village nestled between two rivers, one of
which is the Mekong. Most of the shop houses have gorgeous handwovens
hanging from the ceiling and on the walls, just asking to be purchased. The
bargaining is friendly and very fair, astoundingly inexpensive by our North
American standards. The Laos people are Theravaden Buddhist and often weave
a centred diamond shape at one end of their hangings. This represents the
"third eye" a powerful symbol in their religiion.
Cambodia is a poor country struggling to survive. Siem Riep is a town close
to the famous Anghor Wat open to tourism in recent years. I was not able to
travel outside of the vicinity because of the danger of unexploded
landmines. Unfortunately there are many amputees in this part of the world.
The people I met were very gracious, anxious to please. The shops in the
town have handwovens many of which have been imported from Thailand and
Loas. I did not see any weavers in Cambodia although I am sure there are
some.
I hope that this is of interest to some of you. I will be putting some
pictures on my web site in the next week. Sorry but I have to rely on others
to do it for me.
Judy Chapman
Minden, Ontario Canada
Web Site:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/judyc/
Contained Images, OHS Juried Show
http://www.ohs.on.ca/special.html
Tablet Weaving Gallery:
http://w3.thegroup.net/~janis/gallery11.html
Send private reply to "Judy Chapman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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