Silver Jewelery "treasures" of Dao people

For the past few centuries, the products of "tapping, silver casting" have existed with the lives of Dao Tien people (Thai Hoc commune, Nguyen Binh district, Cao Bang) thanks to the technical methods and the most sophisticated art. Each young Dao Dao girl is married to her parents for a set of silver jewelry including necklace, sarong, ear ring, bracelet, silver ring ...

The elderly artisans claimed that the silver carving was maintained through training and fostering, which was handed over by experience, and passed on to the children. "family lineage, community. Unlike many traditional handicrafts of other ethnic groups, silver carpentry often uses simple tools such as: blowing pan, scissors, pliers, pincers, hammer, knife, scissors, anvil wood, antlers, cookers. Previously, to heat work in the process of touching, people often use oil impregnated with rags and then into the pipe, tube structure, then fire, using the mouth blowing. At present, the process of heating is often the artisan burn oven, pulling the chaff. In order to have a sophisticated product, silver engraving must follow a process of over 60 years of work, each time touching silver is a once for inspirational instrument to create, strictly starting from the selection stage raw. material, fuel. Raw materials are made from silver (white silver), silver ingot is purchased from the place or silver of the initiative to bring jewelry. Thermal coal must also choose good wood charcoal such as grits or groves in the forest. The process of silver engraving starts by manipulating silver into the pot, bring it to the boiler, then pour into a small chute of about 30cm long, 4cm wide, wait for the silver to cool, then proceed to touch. Depending on the type of product that uses different techniques to touch, such as touching the neck, touching the bracelet, earrings, silver flowers, silver buttons. According to folk researchers, the silver-engraved pattern of Dao Tien people is different and more prominent than the silver jewelry of other ethnic groups in the strange type of shape, product appearance. , in ways to decorate the tissue pattern is sophisticated, balanced, in the light-dark treatment by taking advantage of the reflective nature of silver material. For products with small size, many textures, subtle patterns, sophisticated shapes, requiring the ingenuity, meticulous and patient of the workers. Pattern on the products are mainly the shape: sunflower, leaf, sun, star 8 wings ... In the material life, the spirit of Dao Tien people, the silver jewelry is not only the deceased woman's body to beautify it but also human values, beliefs.