Page 256 - Trang Phục Việt Nam

common people in dances in festivals, had many tubular bells attached to them. This reminds
us of the bells worn on wrists and ankles of the ethnic people in the North, Northwest and
CentralHighlands when they dance in festivals, or on ankles of military leaders in the classical
theatrical plays nowadays.
Popular jewelry and apparel styles
For ancient Vietnamese, both men and women had ears pierced and adorned themselves
with jewelry. Popular earrings for men and women were round or turban-coil shape. Some
were simply made from a round loop of cast copper wire, sometimes with hooks. Others were
decorated with incised lines, and twisted into two knots or more. In terms of weight, people at
this time often wore heavy round earrings, which made the earlobe stretch, sometimes as far
as the shoulder. This was connected with the custom of stretching the earlobe. A relic found in
Lãng Ngâm showed that people used to wear different pendants on the two ears in terms of
weight and styles. Particularly, there were pendants with bells, or animal-shaped. Some were
made of stone.

Necklaces were often made of cylindrical, oval, or spherical beads. Bracelets had different
sections with a variety of designs: circles, squares, rectangles, spout-shaped, hogback-
shaped, etc. There were also designs of bird feathers, or rice ears. These were often made of
yellow and blue stones, brass, glass, or occasionally gems.
Rings were often made of copper and had lovely long bells attached.
Although the jewelry was still simple and made with limited techniques, people at that time
possessed high aesthetic abilities and imagination. They showed great care in beautifying
themselves, while demonstrating their skill and hard work. Men often decorated their bodies
with zigzag and hook-shaped patterns, which was a very popular tattooing custom. Historical
records say that the kings admonished their people to tattoo images of sea monsters on their
bodies so that they would be safe from killer fish under the water. Both men and women
blackened their teeth and chewed betel.
Overview of the Ngô - Đinh - Anterior Lê
In the later half of the 3rd century B.C, Thục Phán, a leader of the Âu Việt people from the
highlands, took his troops to invade the country of Văn Lang. This brought about the unification
of the two nations, and then the foundation of the country of Âu Lạc with the capital transferred
from the highlands to the lowland region. This was the period of the Iron Age. The Âu Lạc
people were able to make ploughs and use buffaloes in agriculture. These people still
maintained the customs that existed before the unification of Âu Việt and Văn Lang such as
wearing short haircuts, tattooing, wearing shirts over the head or buttoned on the left (tả
nhiệm). The legend of Mỵ Châu - Trọng Thủy in which there is a coat made from goose feather
evidenced the popularity of raising birds and the development of clothing at that time.

The Âu Lạc nation was later invaded and ruled by Triệu Đà and in addition, there were three
successive periods of rule by the Northern invaders, lasting over one thousand years (207
B.C-939). While unyieldingly struggling to drive out the invaders, our people still put great effort
into developing production methods. There were huge advances in the weaving industry. The