Mongolian Embroidery
01 · Historical Records
The origins of Mongolian embroidery can be traced back to the nomadic society before the Yuan Dynasty; in Mongolian it is called "Hatagomala." During the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, the Torghut tribe returned east from the Volga River basin and was settled to graze around Bohu at the lower reaches of the Kaidu River; the embroidery, appliqué, and couching techniques at which the tribe's women excelled took root in the area along with the tribe's settlement.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Xinjiang Mongolian embroidery, called "Hatagomala" in Mongolian, is a Mongolian folk embroidery art popular in Bohu County and the surrounding areas of Heshuo, Hejing, and Yanqi counties in Bayingolin Prefecture (Bazhou), Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Before the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols already valued the art of embroidery, and embroidery was very widely applied in their social life. Xinjiang Mongolian embroidery has several main technical methods—embroidery, appliqué, and couching—and is used mostly on everyday articles, especially as decoration for clothing. Embroidery is found on the collars, cuffs, and edges of everyday robes, wrestling costumes, and horse-racing costumes, as well as on boots, hats, and saddlebags; the embroidery threads mostly stand proud of the cloth or leather, so that the patterns have a relief-like three-dimensional quality, forming a pronounced tactile texture and visual effect on the embroidered surface. Mongolian embroidery is not distinguished by delicacy and prettiness but wins through dignified plainness: bold, even stitches, concise and generalized images, strongly contrasting colors, and full, substantial compositions fully convey the honest spirit and free, open aesthetic sentiment of the Mongolian people.
Hatagamal
The Mongolian name of the embroidery practised around Bohu county and the neighbouring Mongolian districts of Xinjiang.
Embroidering, appliqué and couching
Its three main techniques — embroidering, appliqué and couching — leave the threads standing proud of cloth or leather like relief carving.
Wrestling and horse-racing costumes
Wrestling and racehorse costumes worn at the Naadam are embroidered at collar, cuff and hem, marking the wearer's tribe and standing.
Weighty and plain style
The embroidery wins by weight and plainness rather than fineness, with bold even stitches and strong contrasts.
Mi Dai's thousand pieces
The inheritor Mi Dai, born in Bohu in 1948, has made over a thousand embroidered garments and objects and trained more than a hundred pupils.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Xinjiang Mongolian embroidery is centered on Bohu County and links up with the Mongolian settlements of the surrounding counties of Heshuo, Hejing, and Yanqi into a single area; this region was formerly the pastureland of the various banners of the Torghut Mongols. The embroidered pieces are most commonly used on the collars, cuffs, and edges of robes, wrestling costumes, and horse-racing costumes, as well as on boots, hats, saddlebags, and other personal belongings.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Mongolian Embroidery · Mongolian Embroidery.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Mi Dai (according to the official file of the associated inheritor): female, Mongolian, born April 1948, from Bohu County, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Third-generation inheritor of Mongolian embroidery technique. From childhood she learned embroidery skills from her mother, Alima. She has mastered many embroidery methods and has produced more than a thousand embroidered garments, embroidered everyday articles, and craftworks rich in grassland culture, enjoying considerable influence among the people. Devoted to the transmission and development of Mongolian embroidery, she has trained more than a hundred apprentices in succession. She is a representative inheritor of Mongolian Embroidery, a national-level intangible cultural heritage project from the fourth national-level batch. Her embroidered works have taken part in many competitions held in Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, and elsewhere, and have won awards.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Midai 04-1812
- Menggenqiqige 05-2696
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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