"Phaa sabai cloths were used in healing ceremonies as dancing shawls and shoulder cloths and were believed to have the power to assist healing through a dynamic combination of protective motifs and colors... The symbolism of the textile was a pathway, with the powerful box of river dragons, spirit birds and crested river dragons to chase out evil spirits and send them to the other end of the textile, which had decorative bands representing a ladder. It was also a pathway for the souls of sick persons to return to their body, and for the helpers of the shaman to come from the spirit world." (Lao-Thai Textiles: The Textiles of Xam Nuea and Muang Phuan, written by Patricia Cheesman).
Reproductions of the phaa sabai cloth are fairly common and we really like the quality of these textiles that were woven in Muang Sing. One can both enjoy the overall beauty of the textile or it is also extremely fascinating to examine either end, one with the "large lozenge-shape motif called
kaap koam (lantern) or
korng ngueak (box of river dragon heads) with myriad borders of small motifs and the other end with discontinuous supplementary weft motifs arranged in wide and narrow bands of discontinuous supplementary weft on a red ground." (Cheesman)
