Dalielihan Habidixi

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Dalielihan Habidixi, Male, Kazakh, from Tachengdi, Xinjiang, is a third-batch national representative bearer of Kazakh Zhanfang Building Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-183). The tradition is documented in Tachengdi, Xinjiang. Within the regional tradition and school record of Kazakh Zhanfang Building Craftsmanship in Tachengdi, Xinjiang: The yurt-building method is transmitted most concentratedly around Emin County in the Tacheng region, directly related to the local climate of cold winters, hot summers, and strong winds, and to the pastoral practice of following water and grass. The dwelling itself has only two parts, frame and felt; the components can be dismantled and assembled, migrating as a whole with the herds, so a single yurt is both a residence and a means of production that moves along with the livestock. Transmission relies on oral craft: Daliehan Habidixi studied with folk artisans from 1976, mastering ironwork, carpentry, and saddle-making, so his yurts can solve both the iron-hoop and the wooden-frame ends himself; to this day he has made over a hundred yurts and is widely praised across the Tacheng region. The requirements for timber also vary by place: the yurt's materials are particular about where the wood grew, its thickness and thinness, and its straightness or curvature, and observe the seasons—prepare materials in autumn and make them in winter, letting the wood air-dry naturally to the state of best flexibility and support. The Kazakh art of building felt dwellings (yurts) is an ancient craft with a history of more than two thousand years. The Kazakh yurt is composed mainly of a frame and felt; the overall structure is delicate and flexible, being mobile—easy to erect, easy to dismantle, easy to carry—and shock-resistant, able to migrate continuously with the pastoral life.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, of Kazakh ethnicity, born in October 1955, a native of Emin County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. He is a national representative bearer of Kazakh yurt construction technique, a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He is a Kazakh yurt construction technician. In 1976 he began learning yurt making from folk artisans, and he is skilled in ironwork, carpentry and saddle making. The yurts he makes are durable and finely crafted; he attends to their practical function while decorating them according to traditional principles, and he is especially particular about the raw materials, imposing strict requirements on the growing site, thickness and straightness or curvature of the timber. In the making process he observes seasonal requirements, preparing materials in autumn and building in winter so that the materials dry naturally in the open air and the timber reaches its best state of flexibility and load-bearing strength. The yurts he makes are widely praised and sell well in the Tacheng region; to date he has made more than a hundred, and he has received awards from the autonomous region and from the Tacheng region. Within the documented technical tradition of Kazakh Zhanfang Building Craftsmanship in Tachengdi, Xinjiang: The Kazakh felt dwelling is closely bound to the nomadic mode of production and way of life; it is both a means of subsistence and a tool of production. It adopts a wooden structural frame assembly, standing out uniquely among folk dwellings. The Kazakh craft of building felt dwellings encompasses many techniques—carving, engraving, chiseling, weaving, tying, and dyeing—and the process is fairly complex. The yurt builder makes his own dyes and dyes colored wool, with which he weaves grass mats and rolls patterned felt, using no drawings or patterns but embroidering as he makes. In recent years, the appearance of cheap, fine industrial products—floormats, embroidered carpets, and lightweight steel-tube houses—has dealt a huge blow to the traditional Kazakh craft of building felt dwellings. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Iron hoops and the wooden frame": A timber frame clad in felt needs both ironwork and carpentry; Dalielihan mastered ironwork, joinery and saddle-making alike. "Home-made dyes and coloured wool": Dyes are made at home and the coloured wool used for door curtains and patterned felt, with colours chosen to hold up under sun and rain. "Weaving curtains and rolling felt": Coloured wool is woven into curtains and rolled into patterned felt; even weaving and even rolling are what keep wind and shape in order. "Carving, cutting, chiselling, weaving, tying and dyeing": Six distinct processes - carving, cutting, chiselling, weaving, tying and dyeing - each must succeed for the finished dwelling to hang together.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2009, Dalielihan Habidixi was announced in the third batch of national representative bearers for Kazakh Zhanfang Building Craftsmanship, with Tachengdi, Xinjiang as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Kazakh Zhanfang Building Craftsmanship in Tachengdi, Xinjiang: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Tachengdi, Xinjiang as its declared area, and Yilihasake Tachengdi Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection and Research Center as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Dalielihan Habidixi · National Representative Bearer Archive