Embroidery of the Dong ethnic people

The embroidery of the Dong ethnic group, which primarily depicts flowers and geometric patterns, is widely employed across headscarves, shoes, bags, pouches and ornamental garments. Its techniques include a rich variety of stitching types, such as flat, crossed and knotted stitches.

Dong embroidery is characterized by a neat and structured style and mostly uses binary colors. The embroidery patterns are usually designed in small-sized pieces, symbolizing the Dong people's gentle and refined characters. The sun motifs represent the Sun God, and it's believed that these can protect children as well as dispel diseases. Moon flowers will also take care of children, thus they are a favorite motif to be used on back slings, in which a mother carries her infant child while doing daily chores or farm work. Dragons stand for kindness, deftness and loveliness. Wells, horses and calabashes stand for the worship of water, deities and fertility. In essence, the embroidery expresses the Dong people's respect for nature - and their imaginative way of looking at it.