Straw Weaving
01 · Historical Records
Jiji grass weaving is called "qitohu" in the Kazakh language, and its products have long been part of the building of Kazakh yurts and of daily life. In the Western Han period, the ancestors of the Kazakh people already used jiji grass products to decorate their yurts; at the Kongque River site at Ruoqiang, which predates the common era, a woven grass basket with a straight mouth, bulging belly, ring-shaped base, and neck woven with wavy and string-line patterns was also unearthed, showing that this craft has circulated in the Xinjiang region for a very long time.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The jiji grass weaving technique is called "qitohu" in the Kazakh language. The handmade jiji grass weaving technique circulating within Tuoli County in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is a handicraft passed down from generation to generation by Kazakh women across the region. The jiji grass weaving technique has a long history. Among the artifacts unearthed at the Kongque River site at Ruoqiang from the 18th century BCE, woven grass baskets made of jiji grass were found, with a straight mouth, bulging belly, ring-shaped base, and neck woven with wavy and string-line patterns. According to Kazakh historical documents and records, the ancestors of the Kazakh people in the Western Han period already used jiji grass woven products to decorate their yurts. Today, handmade jiji grass woven products are widely used in the social life of the Kazakh people and remain an important component of Kazakh yurts. The main stem of jiji grass is straight and smooth; Kazakh women weave it into wall panels resembling straw mats, called "qionmuqi" in the Kazakh language. The "qionmuqi" is spread along the round wall of the yurt, both shielding the yurt from wind and preventing animals from entering, while also strengthening the resilience of the yurt's walls. Jiji grass woven "qionmuqi" can also be used to decorate rooms. Daily-use items such as grass baskets and containers woven from jiji grass bring convenience to people's lives. In making Kazakh handmade jiji grass weaving, the jiji grass is first bundled into sheaves and dried in the sun; the sheared wool is dyed various colors and spun into the colored yarn needed; the colored yarn is then wound around the jiji grass according to the requirements of the pattern; after weaving, the two ends are trimmed level with tools such as an axe. The patterns are rich and colorful, handsome and dignified, reflecting the life attitudes and aesthetic values of the Kazakh people.
Qiongmuqi
Qiongmuqi is a mat-like screen of awn-grass stems spread around the yurt wall to block wind, keep animals out and stiffen the frame.
Drying grass, spinning yarn and wrapping
The grass is bundled and sun-dried, wool is dyed and spun, then wrapped around the stems to the pattern and the ends trimmed with an axe.
Sailiekhan and pattern design
The inheritor Sailiekhan, born in 1957, leads local women in preparing wool and designing new awn-grass patterns, and teaches in schools.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Jiji grass weaving is centered on Tuoli County in the Tacheng region of Xinjiang and is a handicraft passed down from generation to generation by Kazakh women across the region, often carried out intensively during the sheep-shearing season. The women first bundle the jiji grass into sheaves and dry them in the sun; they wash, dye, and spin the selected top-quality wool into colored yarn, then wind the yarn around the jiji grass according to the requirements of the pattern, weaving "qionmuqi" as wind barriers for the yurts, and also weaving grass baskets, containers, and other daily-use items.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Straw Weaving · Straw Weaving · Straw Weaving · Straw Weaving · Straw Weaving.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Sailhan Kakmukhazi (recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Female, of Kazakh ethnicity, born in August 1957, from Tuoli County in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. A representative inheritor of straw weaving (Kazakh jiji grass weaving technique), a national-level intangible cultural heritage item of the fifth national-level batch. Her weaving skills are comprehensive, her works are exquisitely made, her achievements are outstanding, and her capacity for transmission is strong; she enjoys considerable renown in the local area. Every year in the sheep-shearing season, she leads her children and the women of neighboring households in selecting the finest wool, washing, dyeing, and spinning it into yarn, completing the preparatory work before weaving. At the same time, she leads the women in drawing jiji grass weaving patterns that combine contemporary aesthetic tastes. She has also taken the initiative to contact local primary and secondary schools, teaching the Kazakh jiji grass weaving technique to students during their spare time.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Yu Fangze 03-1271
- Wang Qunying 05-2652
- Chen Huanbin 05-2653
- Saileihankakemuhazi 05-2654
- Yang Yuxing
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript; it mirrors the bilingual dossier. 阅读中文版，或返回 英文名录。