W110xL180mm, China
In China, the idea of tiger is not seen as a threat but a sign of protection. The strength and bravery of a tiger is aspired to; for the Chinese New Year, parents would dress the baby up in tiger gear, both as a protection blessing as well as a wish for their son to have the tiger’s attributes.
Apart from tiger mitten, there are tiger hats, tiger shoes, tiger du dou and of course tiger toys.
W60xL370mm, China
Tomorrow is the Duan Wu festival, the 5th day of lunar May, before Qu Yuan and the dragon boats came along it was a day for casting away the deadly famine. In ancient times when science and hygiene was poor, it is believed that lunar May is the month of toxin and the 5th is the day of evil and on this combination the day of death. To avoid ailment one is to be purified by bathing and resisted on meat, alcohol and sexual activities. A fragrant sachet would be worn by people all ages, the contents of the bag changes through time as hygiene improves and the taboo of the day of death becomes more remote, from the evil busting copper coins to the pesticide realgar powder, to the antiperspirant clam powder to medicinal fragrant herbs. From patchwork, the sachet was later decorated with embroidery; this particular on has on it a lotus and a lizard, lotus symbolizes togetherness with the lizard (one of the 5 poisonous creatures) offering it protection.
DIA170xH100mm, China
This is a butterfly embroidery hat for a new born baby, before a child is born the grannies will prepare a hat for the new comer. A tiger hat for the boy and a butterfly hat for the girl (there was no ultrasound then, so I suppose they will have to make one of each, just in case). Butterfly symbolizes beauty, a wish for the family for the young baby girl.
W300xL250mm, China
When I saw this bag, I felt the tribal craft has really adapted to the new material and function. Carrying on the bold embroidery tradition, it has also made use of fluorescent beads and pom-poms, compartments for wallets and travelling pass.
DIA180mm, China
Today we have something more traditional, part of the Dong tribe consume, a triple ring silver neckwear. Together with the silver head wear, they are the most important part of their costume, passing down from generations. There are many style for the neck ring, we found this particular one to be very modern and bold.
L250xW70mm, China
This is a pair of embroidery shoes of the Miao tribe (for more about Miao tribe shoes, see our earlier post, Embroidery Shoes). Today I would like to concentrate on the cloth sole of the shoes which is entirely handmade. Before rubber and leather sole became popular in China, most of the soles are made with cloth, it is a common household practice, even mother remembers making shoes for herself in her childhood. Here is mom’s instruction:
W720xH450mm, China
Something old,
something new,
something borrowed,
something blue,
and a sixpence in her shoe
Now how can we have Something Old Something New and not an item about wedding. This is part of a wedding gown for rural China, this would be the shawl for the bride. For the common folks, the bride would have wear her hair in a bun and covered with a red cloth, the clothing would be in red with similar pattern as the shawl, on the bottom she would wear a pair of simple red pants. The shawl is embroidered with patterns of blessing, quite different from the blessing of the west but a blessing nonetheless.
DIA130xH70mm, China
Like the tiger shoes, this is a tiger headband for the baby’s hundred day celebration. They normally comes as a form of a hat, this headband is a relatively rare item.
In the old days when natural disaster and disease cannot be explained, they are often taken as an evil spell. Helplessly people projected their hope onto a powerful animal and the tiger being the king of all animals (as there are not native lion in China) it has been an object of worship.
W65xL3200mm, China
Like the colourful band in the previous post, this black and white woven band is also a band of blessing. The Miao tribe reside on the hillside where they are constantly harassed by the snakes; once upon a time, a snake attacked a girl by wrapping its body on her, a young lad came to her rescue. The two soon fell in love, the girl woven a band for the young man as a sign of their love. One day as they were travelling together they came across another snake who was ready to attack, the lad used the band, wiggle it to imitate the snake and led the snake back into the woods. Since then, it was believed that the band would protect them from snake and all evils and the woven band became popular for the Miao.
Embroidery DIA200mm, China
This embroidery is from a silk du dou, a more elaborated version than the one shown in the previous post – du dou. The du dou is the traditional undergarment for the Chinese; it was invented by Nu Wa and Fu Xi, the Chinese version of Adam and Eve and this is their version of the fig leave. The embroidery has a symbolic meaning of fertility; in the center is a baby with a long life locket, under him is is a pomegranate (a fruit of many seeds), over him is a bat (which has the same pronunciation as “blessing”)
