At Laos Essential Artistry we believe in and actively support promoting understanding between the people of the United States and Laos and hope that the textiles and handicrafts we offer weave connecting threads of friendship and understanding creating harmonious patterns that will help bring our two countries closer together.”
I’ve isolated this diamond shape piece from a tapestry-style textile woven in Sam Neua because I find the motifs, design and color mesmerizing and feel it honors the Lao textile tradition.
But what do all the motifs mean? Luckily, I had the opportunity to guide Elli Findley, Religious Studies Chair at Trinity College, through northern Laos this last December as she was researching the use of Tai Daeng (Red Tai) textiles in ceremonies, such as weddings and funerals. She will be writing a book and putting together an exhibit in the near future and so I asked her if she would provide insight into the possible meaning of the motifs used in this diamond shape piece.
Elli wrote back that:
“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! I love it. Not only are the textiles exquisite works of art, they’re incredibly rich in meaning. One of the reasons my wife and I have been working on establishing Laos Essential Artistry.
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