page_title: Hmong textile art
section_title: Batik
hierarchical_section_title: Hmong textile art / Traditional Textiles / Batik
caption_attribution_description: English: Exhibit in the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology - Hanoi, Vietnam. Photography was permitted in the museum without restriction.
context_page_description: Hmong Textile Art consists of traditional and modern textile arts and crafts produced by the Hmong people. Traditional Hmong textile examples include hand-spun hemp cloth production, basket weaving, batik dyeing, and a unique form of embroidery known as flower cloth or Paj Ntaub in the Hmong language RPA. The most widely recognized modern style of Hmong textile art is a form of embroidery derived from Paj Ntaub known as story cloth.
  Traditional Hmong textiles like Paj Ntaub play a significant role in Hmong daily life and are often directly associated with larger cultural concerns such as religion, gender, economics, and ethnic identity. Modern textiles like story cloths provide important historical and cultural context and are often used by scholars and educators within and outside of the Hmong community as a means to understand and engage with Hmong culture.
context_section_description: Batik is a resist-dyeing technique in which hot wax is applied to cloth to create a pattern. The cloth is then dyed, typically using a single color (traditionally indigo), and the wax is removed. The waxed areas of the cloth resist the dye and the desired pattern remains.
  Traditional Hmong batik is created using white hemp fabric and indigo dye. Aesthetically, Hmong batik is similar to other Hmong visual design and often features bold and contrasting geometric designs. This technique is utilized by Blue and Green Hmong to create skirts, baby carriers, and other typical Hmong textiles but is not seen amongst White Hmong.
caption: Batik-dyed cloth
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