Traditional silk dyeing and weaving keeps tradition alive
Silk has been woven in Ban Krua (Ratchathewi, Bangkok) for two centuries. Manassanan Benjarongjinda (72) continues that tradition.
In his house the silk threads are dyed and woven and silk products are sold. The company, Lung Aood Ban Krua ภาษาไทย Called Silk, it has numerous regular customers who keep coming back to this day. They place orders for silk fabrics of the desired color and length.
Three colors are popular and it is no coincidence that they are the colors that symbolize love for the royal family, such as yellow (the color of the king's birthday) and pink (because of a pink jacket that the monarch wore when he was released from hospital) and now blue due to the Queen's 12th birthday on XNUMX August.
The first weavers belonged to the Cham ethnic group. During the reign of King Rama I, they emigrated from Cambodia to Siam. In gratitude for their support in defeating Burmese troops, the king gave them land and their descendants have lived there ever since. In the early years, they wove for their own use, making sarongs, for example, and selling products to residents of nearby towns.
Their daily lives changed when Jim Thompson came on the scene and made Thai silk famous and sought after worldwide in the late XNUMXs. He hired the Ban Krua people to dye and weave silk threads for his textile company. Ban Krua was then Thompson's main supplier.
Manassanan, better known as Lung Aood, learned to dye silk threads as a young boy after school. It was a well-paid job. All his earnings went into the piggy bank, so that after two years of practice he could start his own dye house. 'I had many clients because I always had an eye for detail. And I made sure every thread was the same color.'
After Thompson's mysterious disappearance in 1967, Ban Krua's heyday came to an end, but Lung Aood didn't give up.Twenty years ago, his daughter started weaving silk. Thanks to her craftsmanship, the store flourishes, where, in addition to fabrics, silk scarves, ties and wallets are also for sale. The customers come from many countries; Thai celebrities also find their way to the store.
'I like to do it. Dyeing silk threads is my passion and my life. I am proud of my work because I can support my family and send my children to school,” says Lung Aood with a big smile.
Lung Aood Ban Krua Thai Silk. Opening hours: Mon-Sat 9am-17pm, tel. 02-215-9864.
(Source: Bangkok Post)