Weaving deng is a closely kept secret among ethnic minority people in the mountainous commune of A Luoi in Thua Thien Hue Province. Deng is a traditional cloth with special designs and decorations. Parents present it to their daughters as dowry when they marry. For a bride, a great amount of deng indicates love and respect.

Many A Luoi girls dream of one day mastering the art of deng weaving, a difficult form that some ethnic women spend 20 to 30 years practising. The process requires not only know-how and talent but also aesthetic taste. Rendering the colours and patterns of A Luoi is the most difficult step.

When Bui Thi Hoa, a girl from the northern province of Ninh Binh, married Nguyen Trung Y, a young man from A Luoi, she knew nothing of deng. However, after three years observing friends and neighbours weaving the cloth, Hoa managed to learn the technique on her own.

When her husband saw Hoa's deng, he stood in disbelief. It was beautifully done, superior to the work of many other women in the village. The news of a Kinh ethnic woman capable of weaving deng swept through the small village.

Secrets of the deng weaver — Viet Nam News