Beeswax Painting - The Special Imprints on Hmong's Traditional Cloth

In the highland villages of Vietnam, such as Lao Cai, Son La, Ha Giang, Yen Bai, you can easily see hand-painted motifs existing on the outfits of the Hmong women. According to the batik technique, those are beeswax paintings - elaborately and meticulously decorated on indigo fabric. This pattern is the unique imprint on the clothes of ethnic women in mountainous areas.

ABOUT BATIK ART

Batik is a popular decorative art on the fabric of many ethnic groups. In Vietnam, it is a unique mark for the Hmong people in the Northern. This technique uses molten beeswax painted on the fabric. After that, the cloth will be dyed in indigo, dried, and boiled with water. The beeswax melted in boiling water will reveal vibrant, and sophisticated patterns.

Hmong women are proud of this unique technique, they possess skillful hands, and the Batik pattern system passed down from ancient times. We can see the highland artisans attentively moving each pen stroke on the hand-woven cloth. They draw the quintessence - the tribal spirit. Each stroke contains both indigenous cultural values ​​that have been accumulated over the generations.

To create batik beeswax, we need:

Fabric: cotton or linen fabric is most suitable. The Hmong often prefer linen. The material should be washed and flattened, usually spread on a board and smoothed with wild boar fangs.

Drawing: beeswax pen is unique with a handle made of bamboo. The top is two small copper plates with rounded edges facing each other, containing a small amount of hot beeswax inside.

Beeswax bowl: a metal bow used to store and melt beeswax on fire.

Beeswax: a natural wax people get from the forest.

Fire stove: smoldering during the painting process, helping the beeswax not solidify.

Beeswax can only be used for drawing when it is in a molten state. Therefore, the artist must always be next to the coal stove to boil wax when drawing. They use pens, dot beeswax, and slowly draw beautiful patterns on the fabric.

The H'Mong are especially good at arranging circles, squares, straight lines, curves, and spirals to create motifs with very vivid lines. Particularly, the Black Hmong people mainly use large text patterns. They also draw animals, plants, flowers, leaves, and work tools.

SPECIAL TEXTURE MAKES CULTURAL IDENTITY

After the beeswax painting is finished, people will dye indigo and boil the textile so that the beeswax comes off, leaving a white pattern on the dark fabric. The artisans add embroideries to highlight their artwork, then assemble it on the skirt, back, shoulders, and sleeves to complete a traditional costume.

It can be said that beeswax painting is a unique cultural feature of the Hmong people, and that is the outstanding highlight of their traditional outfits.

APPLICATION OF BEESWAX PAINTING ON MODERN DESIGNS

There is something quite interesting about beeswax fabric that not everyone knows. Usually, batik patterns drawn a long time ago, experiencing the coloration of time, have a higher value than new drawings. A traditional costume of Hmong women costs from a few to tens of millions, depending on the texture and meticulousness.

At Chie Dupudupa, we always appreciate beeswax motifs and their applicability in modern designs. Chie's products are often designed simply and be accented with brocade motifs, in which beeswax always brings its own unique beauty.

In addition to products designed and processed with new beeswax materials, Chie also prioritizes the reuse and recycling of used Hmong costumes. We select beautiful beeswax painting fabrics for inclusion in new designs. This is how we make fashion more eco-friendly while reducing emissions in the production process.

For Chie, each product must have its own imprint and cultural story. Therefore, we always want to convey the spirit of artisans in each design, which is not simply a handmade item but also the breath of the mountains, a tool to spread the cultural values of ethnic minorities in Vietnam.