From the Village House to the Urban Markets:
The Evolution of Silk Production in Laos
By Linda S. McIntosh
This paper examines the development of silk textile
production in Laos (Lao People's Democratic
Republic). Silk textiles have had
important socio-cultural roles in Lao society, as markers of identity and
wealth, for example, and continue to have these roles in contemporary Lao
society. The various Tai ethnic groups,
including the Lao, who have been the political majority of Laos since the 14th
century CE, are the producers of silk textiles. Women historically wove silk textiles for domestic
consumption. Silk textiles signified
special occasions such as weddings, religious events, and funerals and also
represented wealth. The importance of
silk went beyond the village level to the realm of the royal court. Village women produced silk textiles to be
paid to the court as tax. Slaves wove textiles for primary use by members of
the royal family and as tributary items given to other courts such as the Chinese. The Lao courts also conspicuously displayed
silk from China, Cambodia, Siam, and India on their bodies and throughout their
palaces. The production of silk continues in contemporary Laos, but has evolved
to become a commercial enterprise.
Village women still weave silk textiles for domestic use but also for
sale at the local market. High-ranking government officials and foreigners who
come to Laos either as tourists or diplomats have become the new patrons of
elaborate silk textiles since the abolition of the monarchy. As long as the demand for Lao silk exists,
the production of silk will continue even as Laos slowly modernizes.
Linda McIntosh received her Master’s degree in Southeast Asian Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While at Madison, she researched the textiles of Tai ethnic groups living in Thailand and Laos. Continuing her research in the field, she has lived in Thailand for several years, making frequent trips to Laos, Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. As a Lao-American, Linda grew up around weaving as her mother (a Red Tai) continued to weave, as she did her native country, in the United States. Forthcoming publications on the subject of textiles include “Textiles and Dress of Cambodia,” “Textiles and Dress of Thailand,” and “Lao Ikat Dyeing,” in the next edition of the Encyclopedia of Asia (Scribner’s). She is a regular guest lecturer in the course on Southeast Asian textiles at the University of Washington-Seattle, and has made presentations on Thai textiles in the past.