A Lao Weaving Demonstration: Celebrating 60 Years of Philippine-Lao Bilateral Relations

- January 8, 2015, Thursday.

- To kick-start the new year, the National Museum, in cooperation with Senator Loren Legarda (senator, advocate of Philippine indigenous cultures, and patron of the Hibla ng Lahi Gallery of the National Museum,) decided to deviate from the usual demonstration of Philippine textiles, and invited weavers from Lao PDR. I felt very fortunate to have seen the poster from the National Museum Facebook page (click here,) so I was able to make myself free for today's event. Apart from the usual afternoon demonstration, a special lecture was also held to formally open the event. They decided to organize this primarily because of the ASEAN integration this 2015, and coincidentally, to celebrate 60 years of diplomatic ties between Lao PDR and the Philippines.

Event poster.

- This is my second time to attend a weaving demonstration at the Hibla ng Lahi Gallery in the National Museum; the first time I attended was last November, when the Tausug women from Mindanao were asked to show how the pis syabit fabric is woven (click here.) However, I was pleasantly surprised that the staff of the gallery still remembered me, especially the lady guard. Later on, the guard even started calling my by name. I think I made such an impression on them when I volunteered to put on some of the Tausug woven products on myself, and even danced the Tausug's pangalay dance for them.

- This morning, I wore my traditional Lao sash that I got during the PICC International Bazaar two years ago, and probably I carried it too well, or because my face looked "different," I was mistaken as a Lao person, or a representative from the Lao Embassy by the Lao weavers, some museum staff, and even Senator Legarda and her staff members.

Mme. Chansamone preparing some items for sale before the lecture.

- The lecture started very late, with Mme. Keobunma Phetmalayvanh starting off with a brief introduction about the National Museum of Lao PDR, where she serves as the director-general. Apart from this, she also mentioned the significance of Lao traditional weaving - that this art highly embodies many aspects of Lao culture, from stories, proverbs, mythologies, or values.

Mme. Phetmalayvanh's lecture on the museum.

Mme. Phetmalayvanh and Mme. Chansamone.

- Mme. Keomoungkhoun Chansamone and Mme. Nanthavongdouangsy Kongthong, both weavers, gave more detailed explanations about the designs, styles, and stories surrounding the weaving art. Mme. Kongthong gave a longer lecture, since she has been weaving for a longer time, and is currently a "master weaver" in Lao PDR, and is also granted the status of "national living treasure" of the Lao government. Mme. Kongthong is also the owner of Phaeng Mai Gallery, a textile gallery and store located in Vientiane, Lao PDR. Mme. Chansamone on the other hand was originally a woodcut artist, and has just started weaving a few years ago.

Mme. Chansamone.

Mme. Kongthong.

Three things Lao women need to learn.

Some patterns of horses, snakes (nagas,) flowers, and buffaloes.

- After the lecture, the ambasadress of Lao PDR, H.E. Malayvieng Sakohninhom, gave her short message, as well as Senator Loren Legarda herself. Both expressed how all ASEAN countries must be more aware of the cultural similarities among all countries.

H.E. Malayvieng Sakohninhom.

Senator Legarda wearing a Lao sash.

Presenting the certificates.

With H.E. Sakohninhom.

Senator Legarda surrounded by Lao women.

And yours truly with the senator. See, our sashes match.

- Just before everyone headed out for lunch, we all took a look at some of the woven products for sale. As all of them are "museum price," all the products had heart-wrecking prices. The big malongs that can be turned into skirts were worth 500 USD each. (Even Senator Legarda was shocked with the price.) However, those silk malongs were done with extremely-detailed embroidery, with an almost embossed feel, so no wonder they all cost a lot. The more "wallet-friendly" items for sale included small handkerchiefs, wallets, or coin purses, but those small items already cost somewhere between 300-600php. As for me, I was able to spot three scarves that cost merely 450php, the cheapest among all the scarves, so I grabbed one in no time and bought it.

The sash alone was worth 2500 USD.

Her Excellency checking out the products.

Such awesome detail.

The patterns look like they're embossed.

With master weaver, Mme. Kongthong.

With the Lao VIPs.

- I went out for lunch, and came back early, so I was able to enjoy a few cups of blue Lao tea. The tea, brought by the Lao visitors, was made from flowers traditionally used to give blue dye to the silk (all the silk they made, had, and sold were naturally-dyed.) Too bad I was not able to catch the name of the flower, but it had a light fragrant scent, unlike hibiscus tea.

Blue tea. It's delicious, trust me.

- Senator Loren dropped by once more after lunch for the weaving demonstration. While the loom was being set up, the examined the items for sale once more. She also did a small interview with the weavers.

Senator Legarda chitchatting with the Lao guests.

Just putting it on, no plans of buying. $500 is a wallet-killer after all. Haha.

- When the weaving loom was set, the loom being one of the antique Philippine looms exhibited in the gallery, Mme. Kongthong did a small show-and-tell of some textiles before actually going on the loom and to start weaving. Since Mme. Kongthong is also a weaving teacher, she gladly asked for volunteers to try weaving. Of course I was one of the volunteers. The only thing we were taught to do was to pass a wooden stick through the threads, the stage before the flying the shuttle. It may seem easy, but the threads were hair-thin, and tightly packed beside each other, so for beginners, it would have taken forever. The worse part? When we would ask Mme. Kongthong to check and apparently we had make a mistake in one of the earlier threads. It was a tedious job, but definitely an interesting experience. Mme. Kongthong kept encouraging us, and told us to not be afraid of making mistakes, because it is through making mistakes that we all learn.

Double weft weaving. It represents the waves and nagas.

About to start to weave.

The senator looks intently.

This is a really tricky step. Putting the bamboo through the threads.

Finger dexterity is a must.

She said that the loom is quite shaky. (Probably because it's antique.)

"Combing" the threads.

MY TURN!!!!

I look like a pro but no it's not that simple.

The "master weaver" while the real master weaver is being interviewed.

- The session ended around 4 something, and after the Lao visitors invited everyone for the second day of the demonstration the day after. Tomorrow's special treat? A traditional Lao dance lesson. I would gladly want to visit again, if it only wasn't for the Feast of the Black Nazarene, which meant chaotic Manila roads. Even though I feel devastated about not attending tomorrow, I was able to learn a lot during my day at the National Museum - oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I was able to have my entrance fee waived because I was attending the event - and I was also fortunate to meet and interact with many important people within one day.