Laos, page 4.
| On our second full day in Luang Prabang, we rented
motorcycles and rode up a gravel road to the tiny village of Ban Phenom,
which was known for its silk weavers. We found a collection of huts
and concrete buildings, and nearly every house had a loom sitting under a
rattan lean-to. In a couple of cases, we recognized patterns on
looms which matched silks which Sam and Doug had bought in the market, so
we were able to meet the artist.
Silk weavings vary in complexity and detail, and a very intricate design progresses at the rate of about 2 inches per day. The warp is the array of long silk strings which run lengthwise. The weft is woven crosswise, and provides the pattern. Each time a color changes in the pattern, the weft must be pulled down, another weft color pulled up through, and frequently the ends must be tied off on the back. This can happen many times in just one crossing of the weft. |
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| Commonly, the most complex designs are done by younger
women in their mid-twenties. As the eyes begin to fail, the women do
less complex designs, and take over the setting up of the loom. The
older women spin the silk into thread, and act as mentors for others.
The weavings are far more than just tourist trade. The majority of the women we saw wore woven cotton sarongs, even those working in the river. Silk sarongs were worn by some women in shops and offices and were no doubt used on special occasions. |
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Making mulberry paper. |
The heavy paper drying. |
| We continued our ride past the village another few
kilometers to a stretch of the Nam Khan River where the body of Henri
Mouhot lies under a modest monument in a clearing hacked out of the
jungle. It was Henri Mouhot, a French explorer, who discovered
the Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia in 1860, and put substance to
what until then was an outrageous myth. Mr. Mouhot died of malaria
at the age of 35, and was buried in this picturesque spot by the
river.
Here too, there was activity on the river, with mostly women gathering water cress which drifted downstream. Here and there bamboo poles protruded from the water, marking the location of fish traps. |
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A silk Sam bought off the loom. |
Kaizen and a tribal weaver. |
Don Webster: websterdr@yahoo.com
