Yao Costume

Yao Costume

In the past, due to their different characteristics of residence and clothing, Yao people used to call themselves "Guoshan Yao", "Hongtou Yao", "Daban Yao", "Pingtou Yao", "Lantian Yao", "shayao" and "Baitou Yao". In terms of customs and habits, it has always maintained the traditional characteristics of the nation, especially in the clothing of men and women. Yao women are good at embroidery, with exquisite patterns embroidered on the lapels, cuffs and trouser legs. Hair knot thin braid around the top of the head, surrounded by five color beads, the neck of the skirt to the chest embroidered with colorful patterns. Men like to keep their hair in a bun, wrap their hair in red or green cloth, wear collarless long sleeves, wear white cloth "cantilevers" and trousers with big trouser legs. When Yao men and women grow up to 15 or 6 years old, they need to change their flowery hats into bandages, which indicates that their bodies have grown up.

On November 11, 2014, Yao costumes were listed in the fourth batch of national intangible cultural heritage list with the approval of the State Council.

Specific features

Bai Ku Yao and Hong Yao

There are many branches of Yao nationality, and their costumes are not the same. Therefore, in the past, Yao people used to be called by various ethnic groups because of their different colors, styles of trousers and headwear. The Yao people in Nandan, Guangxi, are known as "white pants Yao" because they wear cross collar top and white crotch tight leg knee length shorts. The Yao people in Longsheng are known as "red Yao" because they wear red embroidered clothes, which reflects the rich color and style of Yao costumes from one side.

Exquisite indigo printing and dyeing

The printing and dyeing technology of indigo Yao women is still intact. After soaking the Bluegrass they planted, they extracted indigo, added it to liquor, filtered it with plant ash, fermented it to yellow, and then dyed the cloth. In the process of dyeing, the cloth is dipped and dried several times until the cloth is dark blue with dark red. In order to make the cloth strong and durable, the dyed cloth is put into the stewed cow hide solution or pig blood solution for steaming.

Embroidered with multi God costumes

The beauty of Yao's dress is mainly reflected in the composition of cross stitch. To some extent, the pattern of cross stitch and the characteristics of clothing are the reflection of religion. The Yao nationality in Xilin County, Guangxi Province has kept a "Shigong" (religious) dress for hundreds of years, embroidered with many gods of heaven, mountain, thunder, sun, etc., which expresses the psychological characteristics of the Yao people's worship.

Colorful headwear

Yao people's headwear has its own characteristics. They have created colorful headwear, such as "dragon plate", "a" shape, "Crescent" shape, and "Flying Swallow" shape. Some wear bamboo arrows, some erect the roof, some wear pointed caps, and some wear bamboo shells. Yao women in He county, Guangxi Province wear more than ten storeys of tower shaped hats, which are quite spectacular. Women of the Yao nationality in Hunan Province use beeswax to coat their hair with a bun on the top. Whether they are in hot or cold weather, they are wrapped in flower handkerchiefs in a trapezoidal shape and covered with a moth crown shaped cloak. They are beautiful and generous, like "Bachelor's hat" and "imperial concubines embroidering crowns". After marriage, they take off the moth crown to show that they have got married and started a new life.