The Tai Dam or Tai people originated from Northwest Vietnam in an area so beautiful it’s called Muang Then, the Land of God. The legend goes that God created people in a gourd in this valley, and the first people...
The Tai Dam or Tai people originated from Northwest Vietnam in an area so beautiful it’s called Muang Then, the Land of God. The legend goes that God created people in a gourd in this valley, and the first people to emerge from the gourd were the Xa, followed by the Tai, the Lao, the Lu, the Mong and finally the Kinh (the Vietnamese ethnic majority). The gourd then became a mountain, which stands today in the middle of the Muang Then Valley. Master weavers, the Tai tell stories of the spiritual world, through their beautiful textile designs.
In one story,, the ancient King Koumphan fell so madly in love with the 7 seven daughters of a merchant that he married them all. One day one of his wives gave birth to a creature with the head of an elephant and the body of a lion, the Siho. Furious the other wives banished the Siho and his mother from the kingdom. A symbol of great strength and pride in Tai culture, the Siho protects those around it from illness and injury.
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