In the ethnic community of Dao Do (the Red Dao) and Mong in the heavily touristed Sapa, the love bracelet is essential for men to be able to court and marry women.

It is a symbolic object made of silver and beautifully carved with traditional designs.

Emerging as one of the most skillful producers of the bracelet, the 42-year-old Phan Giao Vang has become a popular man in Sapa’s ethnic community, although he resides on the top of a mountain in the remote Lu Khau Village, Ta Phin Commune of the northern Lao Cai Province’s Sapa District.

His customers must walk on small paths curving up a steep mountain to reach his house. Some even walk hundreds of kilometers to visit him in order to purchase a pair of love bracelets.

An object for love connection

“I can’t remember how many pairs of bracelets I’ve made. Too many. I learned how to make them when I was 13 years old,” said the craftsman Vang. “I made the first bracelet for one of my cousins 29 years ago. Parents in Sapa whose sons are ripe for marriage come to me to order bracelets.”

A pair of bracelets worn on the wrists of a couple manifests the faithfulness the husband and wife promise to each other until the end of their lives. A pair of bracelets on their wrists is considered their ‘marriage certificate’ or ‘marriage bracelets’ to the ethnic locals in Sapa, Vang said.

An elderly ethnic woman can give her old bracelet to her daughter-in-law to show her trust, love, and confidence in the younger woman.

Mr. Vang and his wife, Mrs. May, showed their silver bracelets that they have been wearing for almost 20 years to demonstrate their love. “They’re not only marriage bracelets, but also objects of love and deep sentiment that bind the hearts of both of us,” they said.

The love bracelet is carved with tiny designs and many images. Each bracelet features a pair of butterflies and dragon eyes to manifest religion, a pair of female eyebrows to manifest beauty, a fish skeleton to represent food, and sprouted seeds and a rice paddy to encourage the growth of crops.

In addition, the names of the couple must be carved on their pair of bracelets, so each bracelet is unique to its wearer, said Vang.

“In the tradition of the ethnic minority people in Sapa, a boy who falls in love with a girl and wishes to marry her will ask his parents to order a pair of bracelets and take the bracelets to the house of the girl,” said Ly Quay Phin, who is also a craftsman but now works as a motorbike taxi driver.

“If the girl does not return the bracelets the following day, it means she agrees to marry the boy. If the girl returns the bracelets three times, it means she is determined to refuse him and will accept no more offers from him,” he added.

Mr. Vang is making a new pair of love bracelets (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

Making marriage bracelets

“It takes me at least three days to complete a pair of love bracelets. It takes a lot of time as it is all done by hand,” said Mr. Vang.

He said he can only carve designs on the bracelet in the morning and the afternoon when the sunlight can clearly light up the tiny details.

A love bracelet is made from a Thai coin that is of quality silver. A small coin is worth VND800,000 (US$38) and a big coin is VND1.3 million ($62.5).

Due to the scarcity of Thai silver coins, some have to accept bracelets made of aluminum.

Mr. Vang added that he only accepts orders to make bracelets in pairs, not to produce a single bracelet because “bracelets go in pairs like people match each other in couples. A pair of bracelets is for both husband and wife.”

He said he had refused an order from a tourist who just wanted a bracelet for her child because his bracelets are ‘marriage bracelets’.