Yao Costume
01 · Historical Records
The Yao of Longsheng comprise three branches: the Pan Yao (Plate Yao), the Red Yao (Hong Yao) and the Flowery Yao (Hua Yao). The Red Yao take their name from the red brocade garments (also called "ornamental shirts") worn by their women, and mainly live in Yao villages in the Heping, Mati, Sishui and Jiangdi areas of the county. Recognition within the ethnicity depends on two marks, one on the head and one on the back: the four corners and center of the headscarf are embroidered with the Yao king's seal, and when wrapping the head one corner must be left exposed at the forehead to show the seal; the back of the flowered garment is embroidered with a pair of tiger-claw prints. The manner of dress at weddings and funerals is fixed accordingly: at weddings, women of all ages wear full festival dress with silver ornaments, among which a silver breastplate is indispensable; at funerals, both men and women wear plain-colored clothes, with no red or floral patterns on garments or skirts. Once a girl reaches fourteen or fifteen, she begins learning garment-making from her mother; this order of transmission from mother to daughter carries needle, thread and patterns on from generation to generation, and lets the embroidered motifs, after the sedimentation of years, become symbols recording the history of the people.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Yao of Longsheng comprise three branches: the Pan Yao, the Red Yao and the Flowery Yao. The Red Yao mainly live in Yao villages such as Heping Township, Mati Township, Sishui Township and Jiangdi Township in Longsheng Various Nationalities Autonomous County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region; the branch takes its name from its women's fondness for wearing red brocade garments (also called "ornamental shirts"). Longsheng Red Yao dress refers chiefly to the attire of Red Yao women; it is rich in categories, covering blue (plain) garments, brocade (ornamental) shirts, flowered garments, flowered skirts, blue (plain) skirts, flowered shoes, headscarves, belly wraps, waistbands, aprons, apron bands, eastern pendants (dongbai), skirt hems, leg wrappings, leg-binding bands and silver ornaments. Red Yao dress distinguishes the status of unmarried girls, married women and elderly women through different combinations of garments and skirts. Among these, brocade shirts and flowered skirts are the common dress of unmarried girls, mainly rose-red with white patterns, fully displaying the girls' beauty and youthful vitality; flowered garments, flowered skirts and plain skirts are the choices of married women, the flowered garments embroidered with patterns of flowers, birds, insects, fish and beasts, and especially a pair of tiger-claw prints on the back of the garment — patterns that carry the people's memories of life and are of important significance for transmitting ethnic culture; plain garments and plain skirts are the main dress of elderly women, embodying the simplicity of life's twilight years. The use of the headscarf has special significance in Red Yao culture. The four corners and center of the headscarf are embroidered with the Yao king's seal; when Red Yao women wrap their heads, they must leave one corner of the Yao king's seal exposed at the forehead. Unmarried girls must wrap their hair completely in the headscarf, with no hair showing; married women may expose their forehead bun when wrapping their heads; elderly women may ordinarily go without a headscarf. The Yao king's seal and the tiger-claw prints on the back of the flowered garment are the marks of Red Yao dress, with a distinct identifying function. In addition, Red Yao dress has specific wearing customs in different folk activities. At weddings, all women, young or old, must wear full festival dress and silver ornaments, among which the silver breastplate is indispensable; at funerals, both men and women must wear plain-colored clothes, with no red or floral patterns on garments or skirts. When Red Yao girls reach the age of fourteen or fifteen, they begin learning the craft of making Red Yao dress from their mothers, carrying Red Yao dress culture on from generation to generation. With needle and thread, Red Yao women embroider production experience and life knowledge accumulated over generations onto their garments and skirts; after years of sedimentation, these embroidered motifs gradually become symbols recording Red Yao history. Therefore Red Yao dress, with its strong ethnic flavor and regional style, possesses not only aesthetic value but also important cultural value in recording the people's history of life.
Three festive sets by age
Distinct sets for unmarried, married and elderly women.
Leaving the royal seal visible
A corner is left showing the seal; unmarried women cover the hair, married women show the bun.
The tiger-paw print on the back
A pair of tiger-paw prints on the back, paired with the seal on the headcloth.
The full list of garments
The wardrobe runs to some sixteen named items, plus silver ornaments.
Plain dress for mourning
Mourning dress is plain, with no red or floral pattern, in contrast to weddings.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The mountains of Longsheng Various Nationalities Autonomous County separate the three branches; the Red Yao are concentrated in villages around Heping, Mati, Sishui and Jiangdi, and recognition of kin depends on the two marks on the dress. Weddings and funerals are the dividing line: at weddings everyone, young or old, wears full festival dress with silver ornaments, while at funerals men and women alike wear plain garments and skirts without red or flowers, so the nature of the occasion can be told at a glance. From the age of fourteen or fifteen, girls learn the craft from their mothers, item by item: spinning, weaving, gathering dyestuffs, dipping blue cloth, pleated skirts, flowered skirts, headscarves, aprons, eastern pendants, leg-binding bands and the like; the embroidery of the Yao king's seal and tiger-claw prints is usually taught personally by the paternal aunt. The categories are many and the division of labor fine; a finished garment often requires the cooperation of several people, so craft in the village is transmitted through mutual help.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Yao Costume · Yao Costume.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The transmission of Red Yao dress relies mainly on passing from mother to daughter. Pan Jifeng (from the official file of the associated inheritor): female, Yao, born in November 1965, from Longsheng Various Nationalities Autonomous County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. At 14 she learned Red Yao dress-making skills such as spinning, weaving, the gathering and preparation of dyestuffs, and the dipping of blue cloth from her grandmother. At 15 she learned from her mother Pan Fengxuan how to make Yao pleated skirts, flowered skirts, waistbands, headscarves, aprons, eastern pendants, leg-binding bands and the like. In the same year she learned embroidery techniques such as the Yao king's seal and tiger claws from her paternal aunt. The skills she has mastered in making ornamental shirts and flowered garments are consummate and exquisite; the Yao dress she produces is fine and well fitted, and enjoys a high reputation in the Red Yao settlements. For many years she has guided local young Yao women in making dress and, in cooperation with the local intangible cultural heritage protection unit, run dress-craft training classes, nurturing a new generation of minority dress-craft inheritors through the "pass on, help and lead" approach. She is a representative inheritor of Yao Dress, a national-level intangible cultural heritage item of the fifth batch.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- He Jinxiu 05-3002
- Pan Jifeng 05-3003
- Li Sufang
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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