Saturday, September 11, 2004
Hmong Design - flower cloths
The above are examples of Hmong "flower cloths" or paj ntaub. They are representative of the many I saw in the northern Lao town of Muang Sing near the Chinese border. The colours tend to be vivid and dark an their size is around 50 cm square. They are sold to tourists for around $5 and I bought quite a few as they were well made, unique, and light-weight. They were also the most striking items I could find in town. What more could I want in a souvenir? Strangely, I had never seen flower cloths in China though I had delved rather deeply into Hmongdom in at least 3 prefectures of Yunnan as well as parts of Guizhou.
Comments:
the design on the blue cloth is REALLY similar to Keith Haring's work (www.haring.com), if you've ever heard of the late New York artist. the resemblance is uncanny. interesting considering his major influence was graffiti. cool post -- i have also been to yunnan; i backpacked there for 10 days in may 2002.
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