Dai Costume
01 · Historical Records
The name "Huayao Dai" (Flowery-Waist Dai) comes from the five-colored sash worn at the waist. Daiya women wind colored cloth sashes layer upon layer around the waist, holding down the waistband of the Dai brocade tubular skirt; when working, the sash also catches the drape of the cloth. A single sash is both an ornament and the handiest thing to have while working. In the upper Red River valley of Xinping and Yuanjiang counties, the villages mostly live close to water, with rice growing and cotton spinning side by side; the materials for the dress are thus supplied by the products of this valley: spinning wheels and looms come from the villages themselves, and the juices of black-heart tree bark, indigo-root bark, and golden-phoenix leaf dye the homespun cloth. The description of the clothing of the "Baiyi" recorded in the "Records of Peoples and Illustrations of Peoples" (juan 8) of the Kangxi-era Xinping County Gazetteer of the Qing dynasty can still be matched with the dress of Huayao Dai women today, showing that from the change of name and customs to the establishment of the sash-wearing practice, this branch has never altered its foundation of self-sufficiency in rice and cotton.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Huayao Dai dress refers to the clothing of the Dai people living in the upper Red River valley in Xinping and Yuanjiang counties of Yuxi City, Yunnan Province, who call themselves "Daiya," "Daisa," and "Daika"; the women's dress is the most representative. Because Daiya women wear five-colored sashes around the waist, they are called "Huayao Dai" (Flowery-Waist Dai). Their dress matches the "Baiyi" dress recorded in the "Records of Peoples and Illustrations of Peoples" (juan 8) of the Kangxi-era Xinping County Gazetteer of the Qing dynasty. Huayao Dai women's dress is made entirely of homespun cloth that is self-spun, self-woven, and self-dyed, using black-heart tree bark, indigo-root bark, golden-phoenix leaves, and other materials for dyeing, and further decorated with silver bubbles, satin, five-colored silk thread, brocade, and embroidery; it consists of headdress, bamboo hat, upper garment, tubular skirt, floral sash, foot cloth, silver ornaments, yangluo (rice-seedling basket), and other elements. The main tools for making the dress include the cotton-seed separating frame, cotton fluffer, thread-drawing frame, thread-winding frame, spinning wheel, and loom. Beyond the basic functions of clothing, Huayao Dai dress accompanies the life-cycle rites of the Dai people and permeates folk customs such as the worship of the clothing tree, the choosing of the garment head, the sacrifice to the rice soul, the coming-of-age ceremony, comparing clothes at marriage, and competing in dress at festivals. It has also given rise to folk songs such as "Ganhuajie" (Flower Street), the "Spinning-Thread Tune," the "Weaving Tune," and the "Cross-Stitch Tune," whose main contents are competing in the beauty of dress and eating yangluo rice, as well as numerous folk stories, further enriching the cultural content of Huayao Dai dress. The brilliant, gorgeous dress, together with the distinctively shaped bamboo hat and yangluo basket, is the distinctive mark of Dai women in the high mountain and river valley regions; the "Ganhuajie" (Flower Street) custom, which displays the beauty of the dress, is the most influential festival activity and the one with the strongest ethnic character. Huayao Dai dress uses color boldly and brilliantly, with color, form, and technique coordinated in combination, expressing a distinctive ethnic aesthetic. It has varied forms, an elegant style, deeply symbolic patterns, and rich content; it combines many handcrafts — spinning, weaving, dyeing, and embroidery — in one, reflecting the ethnic group's natural-ecological outlook of reverence for nature and gratitude to heaven and earth. It emphasizes overall coordination: bamboo hat and yangluo basket, silver chains and silver bells, embroidery and homespun cloth are at once harmoniously unified and lively and exquisite, giving an impression of splendor, solemnity, and strong orderliness, and perfectly presenting the beauty of women's form. The project is transmitted mainly by women in family and master-apprentice modes; there are now more than seventy folk production groups, and the traditional weaving, dyeing, and embroidery crafts are still being transmitted. It has strong social participation, a broad audience, and great influence. Huayao Dai dress combines many handcrafts in one; it is a bright feature of ordinary people's daily life, the historical memory of the local ethnic group's dress culture, and a vehicle for the transmission of ethnic culture. It has a broad popular base, and tourism products related to the dress have played an important role in rural revitalization.
Home-spun and home-woven cloth
Cloth is spun and woven in the village on seed frames, cotton gin, spinning wheels and looms, producing a coarse but durable everyday fabric.
Dyeing with tree bark and indigo root
Bark of the heartwood tree, indigo root and golden-flower leaves give the blue and brown colours, fixed by repeated drying in the sun.
Five coloured bands at the waist
Layered coloured bands tighten the brocade tube skirt, giving the group its name while also catching cloth during work.
Silver bosses, brocade and embroidery
Silver bosses, silk, coloured thread, brocade and embroidery are layered over the cloth, requiring a dozen matching pieces for one complete outfit.
Comparing dress at the Flower Street fair
At the Flower Street fair women display their finest weaving and embroidery, judged alongside singing contests and storytelling.
Rituals for the clothing tree and choosing a headdress
Clothing marks stages of life through tree rites, headdress choice, the coming-of-age ceremony, wedding comparisons and festival contests.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Huayao Dai dress has a markedly regional character.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Dai Folk Transmission Hall also broadens the channels of dissemination and promotes the preservation and transmission of Huayao Dai dress through methods such as holding irregular training courses. Protecting this cultural heritage has a positive effect on the study of Dai history and culture and on the promotion of ethnic cultural identity and inclusive economic development.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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