Culture of craft villages

When visiting Hang Bac street, most of tourists are actually attracted by its hundreds of display windows covering gold or silver things in front of houses with tubulated shape - the typical old city of Hanoi which is preserved generations to generations.

Vietnam Folk Paintings

Folk paintings are a combination of traditional cultural values with ancient artistic methods that have been created through the labour of past generations. There are two types of Vietnamese folk paintings, Tet (Lunar New Year Festival) paintings and worshipping paintings. The Vietnamese believe in ancestor worship and the deification of natural phenomena, both of which are reflected in the paintings.

Elephant Motif in the textile of Laos people

The elephant motif is one of the favorite motifs of the Lao. Elephant motifs are presented in different styles. They are woven on the bottom part of the skirt and on the tablecloth made for tourists. “It is not as difficult to weave these motifs as it is the dragon or tiger motifs. People can weave elephant motifs without looking at samples.” (Lo Thi Bien, age 26)

Snake Design in textile of Laos people

“Only lucky people can ever see a snake couple wrapped around each other. When that happens, a man takes off his shirt and throws it at them and waits until they leave, and then he brings the shirt home and keeps it in his trunk. When a male member of the family reaches a marriageable age, he wears this shirt and marries his lover and the couple is happy. In addition, this shirt brings luck to people when they do business. Lao people weave the motif of snakes entwined together in order to bring good luck.” (Lo Thi Bien, age 26)

Significance of Red-Necked Dragon Motif of Laos people

The red-necked dragon is the most popular motif of the Lao. This motif appears only on the bottom part of the skirt and the technique of making it has been transferred from generation to generation. “According to legend, a wife wanted to harm her husband’s younger sister. Once when going to fetch water, she picked up a dragon egg.