This funeral banner or 'phaa koei' is woven in supplementary-weft (horizontal) bands in green, white and yellow on a red silk ground. Motifs on this type of banner typically include the mythical long-nosed 'sang-hong' or half elephant - half bird, 'ngueak' (sacred dragon or serpent), anthropomorphic figures, and birds. Tall, narrow textiles like this example, are hung vertically outside the house of a deceased person during a funeral ceremony in the Tai areas of northern Laos and Vietnam.The Tai Daeng are one of the largest Lao-Tai groups in the northeast of Laos who have migrated from Vietnam in the 19th century.
