nomadsally: Promising Hands in a SW China Village

PROMISING HANDS IN A SOUTHWEST CHINA VILLAGE

Three Year Old Weaver, Yu-Ying-Han

It thrilled me to watch Yu-Ying-Han, a three year old Dai girl, push the yarn boat through the warp opening of her grandmother's loom with her tiny fingers. It was amazing to see her stand to change heddles with her feet and then stretch to push the shuttle through the warp with the correct choice of color for the pattern. From time to time she would stop to refill the empty boats by herself.

For almost an hour Yu-Ying-Han skillfully managed the loom with a very determined attitude. Her grandmother, Yu-Jing-Hai, sat some distance away quietly encouraging her. The tiny girl's efforts seemed to provide reassurance that the weaving traditions of the Dai people in southern Yunnan are still alive.

Weaving on Her Grandmother's Loom

Weaving with intricate motifs in brilliant colors has traditionally played an integral role in Dai village life. Yu-Ying-Han's mother and grandmother explain that formerly every household had a loom. The women would weave bed and pillow covers, wall hangings, table coverings, and other decorative items for the home as well as special wall hangings for their village Buddhist temple.

A Traditional Village Pattern

A Dai folk tale illustrates the importance of fiber traditions to their culture. It is said that in times pasty every village girl l

earned how to spin yarn. At the appropriate time, as young woman, single and available, would choose to do her spinning out in the open, bringing her wheel and two stools, one for her and one for any young man who might have interested in her. He would sit beside her as she spins. If her spinning is steady and rhythmic, this would indicate that the she is trying to make a good impression, he would stay. If the spinning is discordant and jerky, the girl is hinting at her lack of interest, and the boy leaves, his place then taken by another.*

Today, though, much has changed. There is little evidence of Dai weaving in the women's daily clothing. They wear purchased sarongs and blouses. Young women's lives are changing rapidly as they leave the village culture to integrate into computer-age city life style. Examples of Dai textile pieces are difficult to find in villages and local towns. And the quality of the few pieces available has deteriorated considerably.

Traditional Dai Village Home

Yu-Jing-Hai and her daughter explained that there are now less than twenty looms in the entire village of Manruandian, 15% of the households. She said this is a common story in most villages these days. They both felt very fortunate to each have her own loom.

After sharing some bananas and tea, they invited me to visit another home nearby. They explained it was a relatively new weaving workshop. What a delight to see five looms dressed with colorful village patterns. It turned out to be a village weaving workshop, organized by an expert Dai weaver with a passion to keep her village textile art alive. She manages the project, part of Banna Technical College, providing looms in her home, weaving patterns, and an exhibition room to promote students' projects. The weaving workshop is available to anyone in the village area who has interest in working the loom.

Leaving Manruadian Village I felt a sense of joy after having seen little Yu-Ying-Han at her grandmother's loom and a weaving workshop with renewed interest to carry on the village's beautiful textile traditions. Fortunately, there are still hands and eyes that can communicate the beautiful language of weaving so the world will not lose the Dais' gift.