Vietnamese Co-Tu, Vietnam Quang Nam (province) Thua Thien-Hue (province)

Traditional forms often incorporate new materials. The fringes on the ends of this loincloth from the Co Tu people of the Vietnamese central highlands are made from acrylic yarns, a fiber not available in the region until the late 1960s or 70s. The beads, here of white glass, would originally have been handmade locally of lead or wood. Today the Co Tu use plastic beads imported from China to ornament their ceremonial textiles.