Wa Brocade Weaving Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
Among the stripes, cross patterns are the most numerous, while the geometric patterns are mostly lozenge patterns, reflecting the Wa people's concept that all things have spirits: for example, the wave pattern derives from the worship of fire, the cross pattern represents the Wa people's worship of the sun and the stars, and the ox-head pattern represents the Wa people's worship of cattle.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Wa brocade-weaving technique is a traditional textile craft passed down from generation to generation among the Wa people; in China it is distributed mainly in Ximeng Wa Autonomous County, Pu'er City, Yunnan Province, with Wenggake Town, Xinchang Town, and Yuesong Township being the most representative areas. The Wa are one of the earliest peoples in China to cultivate cotton; they "tilled the hills and worked hard at farming, and knew a good deal about spinning and weaving," which created favorable conditions for the gestation and development of the brocade-weaving technique. Wa brocade is called "dai" in the Wa language, and the spinning yarns used are mainly cotton and hemp. The cotton is grass cotton, white cotton, black cotton, and red cotton; the hemp is mainly ramie and wild fire hemp. Wa brocade is rich in color, and the dyes used are made by boiling water with natural plants or minerals. The tool used in the Wa brocade-weaving technique is a set of bamboo-and-wood back-strap loom, one of the oldest and most simply constructed looms in the world. When weaving, the weaver sits on the ground, controlling the tension of the warp threads by the position of both feet and the lower back and spine. Wa brocade generally passes through process steps such as twisting thread, rolling thread, winding thread, arranging threads, picking out patterns, and weaving cloth to complete the whole process of brocade making. Weaving a bolt of cloth takes about 20 days to a month; if it is double-sided brocade, it takes even longer. The cloth woven is sturdy and durable and is used mainly for daily items such as clothing, shoulder bags, quilt covers, bed sheets, ornaments, and curtains. The patterns of Wa brocade can be divided into two broad categories: stripes, and alternating stripes and geometric patterns. Wa brocade is fairly particular about the use of color, taking black and red as the basic tones, alternating with yellow, green, white, and blue, and using pink, pale purple, and brown as auxiliary colors, with mutual variation of light and dark shades. Wa brocade has a long history, and it is recorded in the Jin-dynasty Huayang Guozhi (Records of the States South of Mount Hua) and in the Xin Tang Ji. Through its patterns, the Wa brocade-weaving technique records the history, culture, beliefs, and folk customs of the Wa people, carries the cultural memory of the Wa, and vividly reflects the spiritual outlook of the Wa people and the characteristics of their regional culture. With the development of tourism in Ximeng, the Wa brocade-weaving technique plays a positive role in creating employment and raising incomes and in forming a cultural brand effect, and has important historical, cultural, and economic value.
Archival Records of Process Steps
Wa brocade generally passes through process steps such as twisting thread, rolling thread, winding thread, arranging threads, picking out patterns, and weaving cloth to complete the whole process of brocade making.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Apart from Ximeng, it is also distributed in Cangyuan, Menglian, Gengma, Lancang, Shuangjiang, Zhenkang, Yongde, and other places in Yunnan.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
This technique has always been passed down from generation to generation in villages and hamlets through family and master-apprentice transmission. At present, the project has a clearly documented transmission lineage of three generations, each of which has been engaged in brocade transmission work for more than 30 years.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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