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Laos Essential Artistry Posting Page
Saturday, September 20, 2008
We subscribe to the Vientiane Times online website and read last week that an essay about wearing Lao sins won the SEA write Award.
In the article it was stated that: "The association's Secretary-General, Mr Soubanh Luangrath, said the story highlighted the need for Lao people to preserve their traditional dress because it was an essential part of their long-standing cultural heritage. The association was particularly impressed by Mr. Othong's statement “more important are the design and pattern which show the gracefulness of the arts and crafts created by generations of Lao weavers. The skirt is an example of our valuable national heritage.” What Mr. Othong writes is so true and we're glad to help the world recognize this weaving excellence and there's no one with an online site that carries more Lao sins than Laos Essential Artistry, referred to in the article as a "skirt." The entire article is below. Traditional dress essay wins SEA Write award An essay by Mr Othong Khaminsou, titled Mother's Skirt, which encourages Lao people to preserve and wear traditional dress, has won a SEA ( South East Asia ) Write award this year. The SEA Write award ceremony will take place in Bangkok , Thailand , from September 25 to October 1 when Mr Othong will join other Asean writers nominated by their countries to receive the award. Mr Othong. Seven stories were submitted by Lao writers to the annual contest, but Mr Othong's story was voted the most outstanding in content, language and style by the Lao Writers' Association. The association's Secretary-General, Mr Soubanh Luangrath, said the story highlighted the need for Lao people to preserve their traditional dress because it was an essential part of their long-standing cultural heritage. The association was particularly impressed by Mr Othong's statement “more important are the design and pattern which show the gracefulness of the arts and crafts created by generations of Lao weavers. The skirt is an example of our valuable national heritage.” Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday at the Ministry of Information and Culture, Mr Soubanh said the Lao Writers' Association was fair in its judgement and could not change the content of any of the stories submitted. After reading Mr Othong's script, they agreed to nominate Mother's Skirt for an award. “I didn't expect to win the award because the last four articles I submitted to the contest only got second place. This time I wasn't very hopeful because I was sort of getting used to coming in second. But I persevered because it is our duty as writers to publish,” said Mr Othong, who is Director and Editor-in-Chief of Vannasin magazine. Mr Othong's story was based on fact and events that happened in 1990 when he first wrote about this topic. He was inspired by a colleague who bought an old silk skirt in a market for the very low price of 15,000 kip. She liked the skirt for its traditional design and fine lines. As Mr Othong was considering this, he arrived home and was told by his brother about people who were coming to their village to buy old silk textiles. His brother was amazed because the sinh they were buying were old and torn, but most were fetching prices ranging from 3,000 to 4,000 kip. “Those who were buying sinh for about 15,000 kip were happy because they felt they were getting a good price, but the people who lived and made the garments in the countryside were proud to get just 4,000 to 5,000 kip,” Mr Othong said Comparing these prices, one sees that some people appreciated the value of these garments and their worth for the nation, but those who didn't realise value of the sinh they owned were prepared to let them disappear, he said. “The purpose behind my story was to convince people to preserve traditional dress to reflect our culture. In particular I wanted to reach out to those who don't understand the importance of preserving this tradition. Even though we might not wear sinh as often as in the past, we should keep alive the method of making them so that we can show them to the world.” Since 1998 eleven Lao writers have received SEA Write awards. By Phonesavanh Sangsomboun (Latest Update September 18, 2008) by: Laos Essential Artistry 
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