(5.4.1)--5.3TheLegendsofToteminCostumes.pdf

III.Totem Legend Represented by the Motifs of the ClothesMany Chinese ethnic minority history and culture are handed down byoral literature and motifs of clothes.The rich connotation of motifs of Miao ethnic groups clothes makes itearns the name of wordless history records.Miao ethnic groups clotheshave themed motifs to depict how their ancestors migrated cross the Yellowriver,the Yangtze river,the plain,the cities and the Dongting lake.Theyconstitute a cultural history of the society and history of the ancestors ofMiao people,depict the historical facts of the ancestors of Miao peoplefighting wars,making an arduous journey and being left behind in a strangeland.1.EmbroideryofMiaoethnicgroup of the Butterfly MotherMost of the motifs of embroidery of Miaoethnic group are sewed on the sleeves or loincloth of womens dress.Legend has it that theButterfly Mother is transformed from the pithof maple tree as she used to live there.Themotif is regarded as a god to Miao people asthe Butterfly Mother give birth to and raise thefirst ancestor of them,Jangx Vangb.Su Taixi et al.Painted Embroidery of the Miao Ethnic Group of Guizhou Province of China,Jiangsu Fine Arts Press,1998.2.Embroidery of Miao ethnic group of AMarriage Facilitated by a Stone MillAccording to the Song of the Deluge of Ancient Songs of MiaoEthnic Group,in ancient times people almost became extinctbecause of the deluge and only Jangx Vangb and his sister survivedthe disaster by hiding in a gourd.The bamboo,white gourd andpumpkin suggested them to get married and repopulate the earth.But they refused to do so and later confirmed it is the will ofHeaven as they rolled down two parts of a stone mill from amountain and the two parts joined together at the mountain foot.A Marriage Facilitated by a Stone MillEmbroidery of the loin cloth of Miao ethnic groupSu Taixi et al.Painted Embroidery of the Miao Ethnic Group of Guizhou Province of China,Jiangsu Fine Arts Press,1998.Zhong Tao,folk paper cut of Miao ethnic group,Guizhou Fine Arts Publishing House,1987.Two Parts of a Mill Rejoined togetherPaper cut,Guizhou provinceJangx Vangb Turns into the MoonPaper cut,Guizhou province3.EmbroideryappliquofQiangethnic group,Four Goats Safeguard aFlowerAncient Qiang people make a living on goat herding andcall themselves“erma”.Goat is closely related to their lifeas material wealth and moral support.They regard goat astheir totem as the mark of the ethnic group.The mostoutstanding pattern of Qiang peoples clothes is patternedgoat head pattern.The goat head pattern is outstanding onthe clothes with two coiled horns and a pair of big andgentle eyes,showing the noble quality and kindness of goatwith a clear image and in a simple and summary manner.Goat head patternGoatheadpatternareusuallyembroidered on the lambskin vest ofQiang peoples clothes.This pattern issimple,elegant,obvious in black andwhite with outstanding subject.Goat head pattern,Aba prefecture of Sichuan provinceZhong Maolan et al.,The Clothes and Embroidery of Qiang Ethnic Group,Chine Textile&Apparel Press,20125.Waist band of the clothes ofDeang ethnic groupThe waist band is the most distinguished part ofthe clothes of Deang ethnic group.It is made byrattan and tied to Deang girls and womens waistsin hoops as decoration.The more the hoops,themore beautiful the girl or woman who wears it.The waist band of Deang people is originatedfrom the epic poem of genesis mythology of Deangethnic group,Dagu Daleng Gelaibiao.The clothes of Deang Ethnic GroupSantaishan of Luxi county of Yunnan province When Pan Gu,creator of the universe in Chinese mythology,created theuniverse,a tea tree of the Heaven wanted to go the mortal world because itsaw nothing but desolation there.Hunsiga,the omnipotent god of Deangethnic group,ordered a gust of wind blowing away its 102 leaves to test itsdetermination.The leaves flied in the wind and later the leaves dropped inthe odd number turned into 51 competent young men,and leaves droppedin the even number turned into 51 beautiful girls.They overcame 10,001obstacles and became 51 couples.Later 50 girls were called back to theHeaven,and the youngest man kept his wife with waist band.The couplebecame the first ancestor of Deang ethnic group,Daleng and Yaleng.Waist band is a typical decoration for womens clothes of Deang ethnic group.The clothes of Deang Ethnic GroupSantaishan of Luxi county of Yunnan province