Storytelling Patterns – The Journey of Preserving the Heritage of Artisan Dat Thi Nam

Mr. Phu Van Ngoi, Director of My Nghiep Cham Brocade Weaving Cooperative, introduced artisan Dat Thi Nam, who is honored by villagers as a typical example of brocade weaving in Phuoc Dan town, Ninh Phuoc district, Ninh Thuan province. She has worked hard to collect and restore many ancient patterns and is dedicated to teaching brocade weaving to ethnic women in the Central Highlands region. Ms. Nam has made many contributions to preserving and developing the traditional weaving craft of the local Cham people.

Artisan Dat Thi Nam (left cover) is dedicated to teaching the ancient pattern weaving craft to women in My Nghiep Cham village.

Returning to My Nghiep craft village in late May 2025, we were enthusiastically introduced by artisan Dat Thi Nam to the traditional Cham brocade weaving process. From simple patterns that only require 2-3 threads, to elaborate, sophisticated patterns that require up to 16-17 threads, each step of the technique requires meticulousness, dexterity and extensive experience of the skilled craftsman.

More than half a century ago, when she reached the age of full moon, she knew how to separate seeds, spin cotton into threads, and wind silk to help her mother, Mrs. Thi Kha, weave brocade. Her daily work at the loom helped her memorize every line and color of many types of Cham brocade patterns. She can weave about 100 traditional Cham brocade patterns of My Nghiep village. Among them, there is a tabletop decoration product that she restored with ancient patterns, which was awarded a Certificate of Outstanding Rural Industrial Product in 2017 by the Chairman of Ninh Thuan Provincial People's Committee.

Artisan Dat Thi Nam is proficient in the entire traditional brocade production process of the Cham people, from the technique of catching and weaving threads to creating patterns on both long and short looms. With her ingenuity, sophistication and in-depth research ability, she has successfully restored many traditional patterns that are at risk of being lost, becoming one of the typical artisans in the work of preserving and promoting the unique artistic value of Cham brocade weaving.

Artisan Dat Thi Nam is dedicated to teaching brocade weaving to Cham ethnic youth.

Passionate about her profession, Ms. Dat Thi Nam has collected and preserved many valuable ancient patterns. Among them, the patterns commonly used by her include: Bingu tamun (diamond shape) as the background for headscarves and shirt fabrics; Bingu manuis (human shape) on men's belts; Bingu Bimong (tower shape) to decorate shirt edges; Bingu ganuer matrindik caguer (image of god Siva riding a pheasant) often woven into wall paintings or shoulder bags. Each pattern not only represents the unique Cham cultural identity, but is also a vivid testament to the talent and endless creativity of the artisan who has devoted his whole life to traditional looms and threads.

Artisan Dat Thi Nam said that the natural dyeing technique she uses not only achieves a high level of sophistication, but also contributes to preserving the traditional weaving identity of the Cham people. She is proficient in using indigenous materials to create colors, such as phun pan plant for red, maow plant for indigo, mun plant for black, hla nalanh plant for dark yellow, and phun jieng root for a characteristic brown color. These natural colors not only bring unique beauty to brocade products, but also increase color fastness, demonstrating the harmonious blend between nature and folk art.

Artisan Dat Thi Nam is a judge in brocade weaving competitions in Phuoc Dan town.

Not only stopping at researching and restoring ancient patterns to diversify products supplied to the market, artisan Dat Thi Nam also devoted much effort to teaching brocade weaving, especially to ethnic minority women in the Central Highlands. In March 2008, she was invited by the People's Committee of Van Canh district (Binh Dinh) to teach the craft to 25 Ba Na ethnic women in Ha Van Tren village, Canh Thuan commune. With her dedication, she not only skillfully instructed Cham brocade weaving techniques but also improved traditional weaving frames to serve the daily life of the Ba Na people. At the end of the course, she was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Chairman of the People's Committee of Van Canh district for her achievements in teaching the craft.

At the end of 2018, artisan Dat Thi Nam was invited by Dak Nong province to Gia Nghia town to teach brocade weaving techniques to 30 women of the Ede, Co Ho, Chu Ru and Gia Rai ethnic groups. At the 1st Vietnam Brocade Culture Festival, held from January 14-16, 2019 in Dak Nong province, she not only participated in weaving demonstrations but also introduced the sophisticated techniques of Cham brocade weaving. With her outstanding contributions, she was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Chairman of Dak Nong Provincial People's Committee for her outstanding achievements in preserving and teaching traditional crafts.

Women of Cham village My Nghiep preserve the traditional brocade weaving profession

Artisan Dat Thi Nam has directly taught brocade weaving techniques to more than 100 local women to improve product quality, meeting the shopping needs of tourists when visiting My Nghiep craft village. With her positive contributions, she has made an important contribution to the implementation of Project 6 on Preserving and promoting the fine traditional cultural values ​​of ethnic minorities associated with tourism development - an important component of the National Target Program 1719 for the period 2021-2030.

Artisan Dat Thi Nam was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Director of the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology for participating in the demonstration of traditional hand-weaving in 2001. In recognition of her tireless contributions to the preservation and promotion of traditional crafts, the local government has completed the dossier to submit to superiors to propose conferring the title of Meritorious Artisan on her in 2025.

“I actively contribute with skilled artisans in My Nghiep village to collect, preserve and popularize about 100 patterns on traditional hand-woven products. Among them are especially sophisticated patterns that are at risk of being lost. I will continue the journey of collecting and restoring ancient patterns, and at the same time devote a lot of effort to passing on the craft to my children and grandchildren, and encourage women to preserve and develop the traditional brocade weaving craft of My Nghiep village,” Ms. Dat Thi Nam shared.

Source: https://baodantoc.vn/hoa-van-ke-chuyen-hanh-trinh-gin-giu-di-san-cua-nghe-nhan-dat-thi-nam-1748836567459.htm