DES142A Lecture 12 PDF

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China Guizhou Province ○ Subtropical, home of 18 minority groups ○ Helped preserve a lot of traditions (textile and agricultural techniques), cultural revolution passed (didn’t infiltrate into this remote region) ○ The Miao and the Dong are the most popular groups ■ Common creation men Miao ○ Made up of a bunch of sub-groups ○ Have a lot of different costume traditions ■ Silver crowns and metal disks on head ○ Hair is usual ■ They add extra hair, sometimes it possibly could be the ancestors hair ■ They add yarn, wrap around a piece of wood that the hair is wrapped around ○ Complex embroidery shows patience, shows that you can do hard work, shows artistic sense ■ Values in community ■ Helps finding a good husband ○ If a girl is interested in a boy, she’ll put a ribbon around his neck and if he’s interested too, he’ll bring it back to her at the end of the night. ■ Some of these traditions are being lost because young people are going to school/college ○ Indigo dyed hemp fabric & commercially produced cotton, a little bit a silk ○ Calendaring ■ Creates the sheen on the fabric ■ Antiseptic that helps skin diseases but creates sheen yellow fabric ○ Decorations cover up calendar ○ Grandmother passes knowledge to daughter whose expected to pass it down to her daughters ○ Each group has its own identifiable embellishments ■ Miao Couched Braid Embroidery - instead of sewing through fabric, they apply these braids and add stitches through braids to attach to fabric ■ 8-14 strands of silk and braid on basket (bobbins - holding a different color of silk) ● Girls start learning when they’re 7-8 ■ Flat braids is usually for shoulders, dimensional braids are used to create patterns ○ Motifs of insects, butterflies, flowers ■ Some are made of felted silk (butterfly) ○ Colors are meant to be auspicious (lucky) -- provides good luck ○ Made from tin/heavy silver paper (aluminum foil) to detract spirits ○ Festive attire included hats decorated with silver pieces on it ■ All silver was made by men and women did the embroidery

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They put all of their money into the silver because there are no banks Pieces are passed down by generation to generation

Dong ○ Sun and ancestor worship, animism (keep the gods placated) ■ Believe in different spirits and many gods, usually have shaman ■ Images like snakes, moon, dragon as symbols of protection ■ You can identify dong because of their needle work (cultural identity and social status) ○ They wear indigo dyed cotton, embroider it, neck pieces ○ Known for the architecture ■ Homes are built of fur, elaborate homes ■ Families live in upper two stories, animals and storage on ground level ■ Live near rivers and streams ■ Wind/rain bridges -- covered walkway that connects two sides of the river ● Benches inside for gatherings Buyi girls making laran (wax resist) ○...