THE SUN AND THE SPIRITS.
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Date:
From 6 November 2007 to 3 February 2008.
Place: Textile Museum and Documentation Centre.
Description: In south-west China there live scores of ethnic minorities, which are distinguished from the majority Chinese population – the Han – by their culture, language, and physical features. Their presence was documented for millennia in northern China, especially in the YellowRiver basin. But as the Han grew more and more powerful, many of these minorities were driven out.
The new lands they settled were far from welcoming. The climate, semi-tropical, warm and humid, favoured epidemics. The land is rugged and mountainous and the soil on the mountain slopes is unproductive; farming is extremely hard. But because of these extreme physical conditions the areas have remained impenetrable to intruders, and especially the Chinese government, and the inhabitants have been able to preserve their cultures and traditions until today.
Most of these ethnic groups do not have writing systems. This means that clothing and costumes have taken on a highly important social and cultural dimension: each tribe, each village and even each family distinguishes itself by the original range of colours, motifs, styles and techniques used in the decoration of their clothes.
Dong, the indigo people
The Dong came from the southern part of the Yangtze. As the conquests of the southern Han forced successive generations of the ancient Yuen to migrate, they mixed with the tribes of the lands they settled and broke up into a hundred tribes. The members of one of these tribes are regarded as the ancestors of the Dong.
The motifs embroidered on the Dong’s clothes seem to have been transmitted from generation to generation for more than two thousand years; geometrical shapes to which they attribute mysterious power: reverse swastikas, spirals, plants, wells, birds, insects... The slings the tribe use to carry their babies on their backs are embroidered with these motifs for protection.
Miao and Yao, the flower of the tribes
Most of the Miao, who used to grow rice in the low lands, had to seek refuge in the mountains because of the continuous rebellions against the Ming and Qin dynasties.
Each clan has a particular style of dressing. When there is no work in the fields, women spin, weave, dye, and embroider. Among the most frequent designs are the dragon, which brings plentiful harvests, the bird, an object of faith, and the butterfly, considered as an ancestor.
Yao: Like the Miao, the Yao are considered to be descendants of the savage Wuling tribe. Also like the Miao, they decorate their indigo-dyed clothes with embroidery, though their designs are plainer and more geometrical.
Zhuang: the Zhuang are the most numerous of the fifty-five ethnic minorities in China. They were influenced by the Han culture, and its imprint is observed in their embroidery designs. The Zhuang have used embroidery since the Tang and Zhou eras.
Bouyei: the Bouyei are considered to be part of the Zhuang; they share the same language and present certain similarities in their everyday culture. Han influences can also be seen in their designs. They are known for their spiralled batiks.
Lao, worshippers of the spirit
Lao is the generic name of the ethnic group that use the Thai languages and cultures. They live throughout the south of China, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and the Assam region in India, and are divided into different tribes.
They believe in Pi, the spirit of nature. They attribute illnesses and disasters to this spirit, which their sorcerers try to combat. This religious aspect of the Thai, which predates Buddhism, is also preserved in their designs, where we find nature, a human figure personifying God, an animal with the head of an elephant and the body of a lion, and diamonds, which have the power to call the spirit. The Lao have developed textile techniques and work with supplementary wefts and warps or with tapestry techniques, sometimes combined with ikat.
The Lao ethnic group includes the Thai Deang, Lue, Thai Dam, Thai Phuan, Thai Yuan, Thai Moy and Lao Song.
The expansion of ethnic beauty
Bai: In the thirteenth century the Bai lived under Mongol rule and with the Ming dynasty were strongly influenced by the Han culture. This history is reflected in the figure, colour and design of their traditional clothes. They are skilled embroiderers.
Yi: The Yi have a writing system based on pictograms, and their traditional costumes show distinct features in each region.
Li: The Li have been known since ancient times due to their magnificent dyeing techniques and their weaving skills. In spite of the differences between clans, the most traditional style seems to be the poncho and a tubular skirt with animal motifs, in which the colour red predominates.
Hani: The Hani appreciate the beauty of indigo, and are skilled at working with silver and embroidery. They wear pleated skirts and leggings, and the form or decoration of the women’s hats indicate their age and social status.
Karen: The dress traditionally worn by married women of the Karen tribe; unmarried women wear white dresses.
Organization and production: Kuniko Takizawa Collection. En colaboración con el Circuit de Nuseus Tèxtils i de la Moda de Catalunya.