Text and photographs by Yang Yibo
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Repeated washing and airing resists fading.
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In the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, in the westerly province of Guizhou, live about 4 million people of the Dong ethnic group. They are famous for their lustrous traditional cloth, the fabric of which is interwoven with the color, characteristics and culture of this unique and special people.
A common sight in the Dong villages of Congjiang County are the deep indigo blue cloths, woven and dyed by Dong women, now hanging to dry. The women have long been renowned for their skills in weaving and dyeing. Not too long ago, the Dong wore only clothes and accessories made of Dong cloth. According to historical records, Dong cloth dates back to the reign of Emperor Hongzhi (1486-1505) of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and their style of brocade became well-known during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Poems of that period reference the cloth, praising it for its delicacy, and the finished material was often carried to the royal palace as tribute.
The process of creating the cloth is painstaking and exacting. The raw cotton is harvested from Dong farmland, cleaned, and woven into cloth. The Dong women mix indigo plants with lime water to make dyestuff. The cloth is dyed, then washed. After the cloth dries, it is again dyed and washed. This process may be repeated three or four times before the color is deemed to be perfect. Then persimmon peels and chestnut shells are pounded into liquid and Ardisia crenata is added to the juice, again the cloth is dyed, and a deep blue with radiant rosy accents is achieved. After again drying, the cloth will be folded, coated with egg white and intermittently beaten with a mallet over the course of two weeks until the cloth shines. The final step is to starch the cloth with glue made from cattle skin so that the fabric is made durable and the color made fade-resistant. The brightness of the cloth will vary, depending upon the duration of crafting and beating. The more it shines, the more precious the cloth is deemed to be.
Weaving is a serious process for Dong women. They have restrictions on speech during the weaving. For instance, they cannot use terms such as ‘broken' and ‘disorder', which they believe may cause the weaving to fail. Dong people respect the dyeing barrel, and never place any impure materials inside, otherwise, they believe, the cloth will not be successfully dyed. In this region, the 19th day of the seventh month on the lunar calendar is considered to be the anniversary of the Queen Mother of the West's death. On that day, the Dong hold, the Queen Mother of the West will come down to Earth and carry out evil deeds. To prevent the Queen Mother of the West from tampering with their dyeing barrels, pumpkin vines are tied about the vessels. Later, they choose a good day to begin their dyeing work, and that work will continue until the last lunar month of the year.
Dong women tailor the cloth in particular ways. Crafting a Dong girl's skirt, with its accordion pleats, is especially time consuming. From the weaving of the cloth to completing the dress requires almost six months and dozens of procedures. Today, due to the complicated and arduous process, Dong girls are not so inclined to make their own clothes. Many girls have completely dropped the practice, and wear casual clothes purchased downtown. Only at grand festivals will they dress up in Dong ethnic clothes made by their female elders. It is also a common practice to boil the dress in pots with sweet potato chips to make the clothes softer and of a brighter red.
Dong women work the farmland in the daytime and do their housework at night. In the farming off season, they will spin, weave and fashion clothing. It takes them about six months and dozens of procedures to transform cotton into finished garments. So Dong clothing is considered to be very precious; to be worn on special occasions, and to be given to honored guests as gifts.
