COSTUMES OF THE TA-OI PEOPLE IN A LUOI DISTRICT: ETHNIC IDENTITY AND SELF-EXPRESSION IN A CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT

Abstract

The traditional clothing of the Ta-oi people is not simply a material handicraft product, it also embodies symbolic cultural categories, clearly depicting the worldview and collective memory of the ethnic group. This study analyzes how the Ta-oi people practice traditional clothing in daily life, festivals, and official settings, while also assessing the potential for transforming cultural symbols into enocomic products. Through fieldwork and a quantitative survey of 112 samples in A Luoi district, the study found that women and the elderly play a central role in preserving and expressing cultural identity. Traditional clothing is being modernized to suit the contemporary environment, contributing to the economic development of households and community tourism. However, this process also faces challenges such as changing aesthetics among the younger generation and the risk of cultural assimilation. The study affirms that clothing is a vibrant cultural practice that needs to be preserved within the relationship between culture, economy, and policy.