We’ve isolated this diamond shape piece from tapestry style textile woven in Sam Neua because we find
the motifs, design and color especially mesmerizing in this textile.
We included in the introduction to the Sam Neua Silk Tapestry Wall-hangings as is written the catalog Weaving Tradition: Carol Cassidy and Woven
Silks of Laos in the section Patterns
and Motifs that “The motifs in Lao textiles
reflect and record the complex history of the region. Some are drawn from the
unique Lao Tai culture and are said to represent characters in traditional Lao
epics. Others are derived from outside influences both ancient and recent. The
imported motifs have been adopted and adapted by each weaver and translated
into designs that express personal experiences, hopes and dreams…"
But what do all the motifs in the diamond shape mean? Luckily, we’ve had the good fortune to guide a friend of ours who is doing research on a book about Lao textiles from primarily the Sam Neua region and we asked her what she thought about the motifs in the above textile and she wrote back:
“This brightly colored diamond shape is called a
"lantern" and is often found on such Lao-Tai textiles as shoulder
cloths (phaa biang) and door curtains (phaa kang). Here it may come from a
funeral panel. The central design is a saang hong (or siho) that represents a
mythical being that is half elephant (see the trunk) and half bird (see the
legs). In the center, the siho appears in a mirror-reversed design, and again
on each side in two smaller versions.
The siho is pregnant with double-headed serpent
or ngueak (naga) in its belly, and on its back is a candle house with a figure
inside -- representing a boat taking someone to the other world. The figure is
either a recently deceased member of the community or the shaman accompanying
him as guide into the after life. Notice the five-fingered hands of the figure
and the naga heads on either side of him.
Rainbow patterns occur in the candles on top of the houseboat, in the “S”
designs representing baby nagas, and in the hooks of the sihos’ hair. There is
one story that says that such a design can occur on coffin covers of fathers
who die before their children are grown and that the double headed naga in the
siho’s belly represents the youths who must mature before the mourning process
helped by this textile can be completed."
Thank you Elli! We love it. Not only are the textiles exquisite works of art,
they’re incredibly rich in meaning. One of the reasons we’ve opened Laos
Essential Artistry.
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