What is the connection between ornaments and myths and legends?

China’s national costumes are known for their bright colors, exquisite craftsmanship and rich decorations. The emphasis on costume details is often related to the history of their ethnic origin. Those patterns, patterns and ornaments passed down from generation to generation are not only finely crafted crafts, but also the continuation of a national cultural tradition. People can taste the rich social connotation and discover the customs and taboos behind them.

The ancient De'ang people live in the southwest border of China. The most eye-catching dress of the De'ang people is the several or dozens of rattan hoops worn around women's waists. Legend has it that the ancestors of the De'ang people came out of the gourd. The men all had the same appearance. The women flew all over the sky when they came out of the gourd. The gods distinguished the men's faces and helped the men catch the women and trap them with rattan rings. The women He could no longer fly, so he lived with men and reproduced for generations.

The waist hoop is made of rattan strips. Some have rattan strips in the front half and spiral silver wire in the back half. The waist hoops vary in width and thickness, and are usually painted in red, yellow, black, green and other colors with paint, and are engraved with various patterns or covered with silver leather. The more waistbands you wear, the more exquisite the workmanship, and the more glorious you will be. Those elaborate waistbands during love can show the lover's ingenuity and sincere love for the girl; the more waistbands worn by an adult woman and the higher-grade materials used, it means that her husband's financial strength is strong and that she is at home. of high status.

The waist ornaments of Yi women are very unique. Instead of being beautiful and soft, they are even very rough. Yi women traditionally wear large black waist rings, usually made of elm bark. There is a legend here that when the ancient Yi people encountered enemy battles, women also rushed to the battlefield with their men. They were brave and good at fighting, and often wore iron waistbands to protect themselves during the battle. Later, Yi women no longer participated in the war, but they still insisted on using black waist rings as decorations as amulets and mascots.

Girls of the Wa ethnic group also pay attention to wearing waistbands. In the past, they were mostly made of bamboo and rattan. Only women from wealthy families wore them with some beads or black lacquered bamboo rings. The more sophisticated ones used silver waistbands. Hoop with pattern on it. They are decorated with silver bracelets on their upper arms and wrists, and several bamboo or rattan rings on their thighs and calves.

The silver belts worn by Dai girls are very precious, and some are passed down from mother to daughter and passed down from generation to generation. However, in daily life, silver belts are often used as love tokens. If a girl gives the silver belt to a young man, it means that she has fallen in love with him.

The Mongols in the north also have unique waist ornaments. Whenever there are large grassland gatherings and horse racing and wrestling competitions with the most ethnic characteristics, young men have to wear special wide belts or silk belts around their waists. In daily attire, belts are also indispensable. Some are made of leather, and more often are made of cotton and satin, about three or four meters long. Because the Mongols are a horse-riding people who mainly engage in animal husbandry and are located in severe cold areas with strong wind and sand, wearing a belt can not only prevent wind and cold, but also maintain the stability of the waist and spine when riding a horse and holding the reins. When men tie their belts, they lift up multiple robes for easier riding, and hang Mongolian knives, fire sickles and cigarette purses on their belts. When women wear a belt, they always like to pull the robe down so that it can be worn flat and the waist can be highlighted to show the tall and handsome figure.

The belt outside the robe of the Ewenki herdsmen also has its own cultural connotation. If a man does not wear a belt, it will be considered impolite to others. Women do not need to wear a belt at ordinary times, but they must wear it when working. . The Yugu people who are also engaged in animal husbandry are also very particular about wearing belts. Men mostly wear red and blue belts, and hang knives, fire sickles, flints, small wine bottles, snuff bottles or dry tobacco bags on their belts. Women mostly wear red belts. , green, and purple belts, with several brightly colored handkerchiefs often tied on them. The Russians in northwest China like thin belts. Some of these belts are made of leather, some are made of cloth, and most of them are ribbons woven with silk threads tied into a beautiful knot on the right side of the waist. The tassels hang naturally. The Qiang people are good at embroidery. In addition to directly using brocade belts, they also like to embroider various colorful patterns on cloth belts.

Various waist ornaments attract modern anthropologists and fashion designers with their rich cultural content and unique decorative effects. Tracing back to its origins, waist ornaments have a primitive meaning of life worship; and in the eyes of modern people who pursue changes and pay attention to the aesthetics of clothing matching, waist ornaments have become an indispensable popular element.

If you have been to Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangxi and other places in China, if you see the local She girls, you will definitely be attracted by their unique headdress-"Phoenix Crown". It is a red round headdress that curves from the back of the head to the forehead. Because the red headband is connected to the braided hair, it can be called a hairstyle. Married women's hairstyle is different from this. They comb their hair into a long bun from the back, put a cockscomb-shaped hat on the back of the head, and have red velvet loops in the hair. Others put a small bamboo tube of 5 cm or smaller on the top of the head, and wrap the hair around the bamboo tube to comb it into a spiral shape. When combing your hair, you not only use tea oil and water, but also mix it with wigs, so it looks tall, fluffy, shiny and pleasing to the eye.

The "Phoenix Crown" worn by the bride is a small and pointed hat made of bamboo tube, wrapped in yellow cloth, decorated with silver medals, silver bells and red cloth strips, with four red stripes on the back. The strip of cloth hangs down to the waist, and there is a row of silver figures in front, hanging from the forehead to cover the face, adding mystery to the bride's beauty. On festive days, the She people wear "phoenix costumes" to commemorate their ancestors and to feel the protection of their ancestors. This is the ancestor worship that exists in clothing. The cultural concept of primitive worship is reflected in various forms in the clothing of China and even all mankind. Some are the overall clothing image, and some are just a detail.

Legend has it that the ancestor of the She people was named King Panhu. Because of his meritorious service in the war against foreign enemies, he was recruited by the tribal leader as his consort and married the leader's third princess. On the day of King Panhu's wedding, the bride's mother gave her daughter a very precious phoenix crown and a phoenix garment inlaid with jewels as a blessing to her daughter. After the third princess got married, she gave birth to three boys and one girl, and lived a happy life. When her daughter got married, the beautiful and noble phoenix magically flew out of the mountain (the mountain is called Phoenix Mountain, located in today's Guangdong Province). There is a colorful phoenix costume in her mouth. Since then, women of the She ethnic group have considered wearing the phoenix costume as the most beautiful dress, which has a sacred meaning and prays for all the best.

Today's phoenix costumes are embroidered with bright red, peach or yellow patterns on the clothes, and then embroidered with gold and silver threads to represent the gorgeous feathers of the phoenix. The phoenix crown on the head represents the noble phoenix head. Because according to legend, Phoenix knows music and is a musician in the divine world. Therefore, this phoenix costume also has jingling silver ornaments hanging all over the body, as if it is the song of the phoenix.

The Yi people living in the Liangshan Mountains of Sichuan and Yunnan have a long history and unique costumes. The Yi people admire leather armor because they believe it can protect their family and personal safety. Legend has it that the ancients used rhinoceros and elephant skins to make armors. Nowadays, it seems that the armors handed down are all made of yellow cowhide. It uses raw cowhide as the body, and is painted with lacquer patterns. Its animal pattern is a dragon and python. It is surrounded by arrows and is bordered by clouds. The implication is: the dragon python is sent by God to come to the world to help the owner of the Miao costume in armor defeat the enemy. It can prevent spears and swords, protect the armor-piercing person safely and win victory. Folks of the Yi ethnic group divide armor into two types: male and female. The color of male armor is mainly red, and the color of female armor is mainly black. The Yi people also like to use black, red and yellow in other artworks. Black represents nobility and solemnity, red symbolizes bravery and enthusiasm, and yellow represents beauty and brightness. The Yi people value black, fire and martial arts, which is perfectly reflected in their leather armor.

Dai women like to embroider peacocks on their clothing. In addition to expressing their memory of their ancestors, they believe that peacocks can bring good luck to the Dai people. A long poem by the Dai people describes a beautiful and kind-hearted peacock princess. One day, she flew to the lake to bathe, and the prince who loved her deeply stole her peacock clothes. The prince hoped to keep the peacock princess. They fell in love, got married, and lived a happy life. When the Mauryan King learned about it, he refused and sent troops to conquer. The prince led his troops to fight. But the prince's father believed the slander and wanted to kill the Peacock Princess. The princess asked to dance in a peacock costume before she died, but she took the opportunity to fly away. The prince prayed to the dragon for help and crossed the mountains, rivers and oceans to reunite with the princess. In order to commemorate this happy couple, the Dai people wear peacock clothes every festival, or embroider peacock patterns on their clothes. Everyone dances together to express their wishes for beauty and happiness.

The men of the Yao people living in Guangxi all wear white trousers, but they are not plain white. Instead, they are decorated with five or seven vertical strips of red cloth sewn on the knees, and some are embroidered with red thread. Decorated with small patterns of various shapes. This practice of sewing red cloth decoration on white pants also comes from a touching story of ancestor worship.

A long time ago, their ancestors lived and worked in peace and contentment. Suddenly a devil came and asked people to dedicate food and girls to him, and asked everyone to obey his orders. There was a handsome and brave young man in the tribe who led men, women and children to fight and took the lead in the pursuit into the mountains. When people arrived, they found that the young man had died with the devil. He was still holding the devil's hair in his hand, and his clothes were stained with blood stained red by the devil's giant claws. In order to commemorate this hero who exorcised evil spirits for the people, people embroidered or sewed red vertical patterns on their white trousers, symbolizing the blood marks of scratches, to commemorate their ancestors and encourage themselves.