Characteristics and legends of Naxi costumes

The biggest feature of Naxi costumes is "Dai Yue wears a star", which is used to express Naxi women's diligence, competence, virtue and kindness. Naxi people mainly live in several counties in Yunnan Province and Sichuan Province. The characteristics of costumes are closely related to the living environment and agricultural activities of Naxi people, and are also an important part of Naxi culture.

Clothing characteristics

Naxi unmarried girls like to tie long braids behind their waists, or wear headscarves and hats. Women also like to wear earrings, rings, silver or jade bracelets and gold and silver necklaces.

Most of the big-breasted women's coats of Naxi nationality in Lijiang are cloth robes, and the basic structure is big sleeves, collarless and sandwich, with short front and long back. When wearing it, the cuffs are rolled to the elbows, the waist is covered with pleats, and the back is covered with a layer of "sheepskin". Because the altitude, temperature, aquatic plants and forests in Lijiang are all suitable for the development of animal husbandry, cattle and sheep fur has become an important part of Naxi costumes.

There is a description in the ancient Dongba Sutra "Meeting the East God": "Heaven and earth move, two brothers and sisters are born and become a family, herding white sheep, making clothes and blankets with wool, and making hats and belts with wool ..." Up to now, the "sheepskin shawl" of Naxi women is still a major symbol of national costumes. Sheepskin is called "yoke" in Pinasi language. Black pure sheepskin is made of mirabilite and glutinous rice flour, and then made according to genre. Sew a black velvet or black sheepskin neck, decorate it with seven round colorful velvet embroidered yokes Miu (sheepskin eyes), then order seven groups of fine white sheep thongs to make the yoke collapse (sheepskin whiskers) and a pair of white cloth yokes (sheepskin straps).

Embroidered with blue butterfly pattern, one end is fixed on the back of sheepskin, the sheepskin is draped on the back, the shoulder straps are crossed on the chest, and then the sheepskin is tied tightly around the back from the lower end, and the tail end naturally hangs down, similar to the "tail" and very similar to Dongba's "sheepskin". The belt of Naxi Mosuo women in Ninglang is made of many wide strips of cloth, which are wrapped around the waist layer by layer, and the width can reach more than 20 cm. Under the belt is a wide pleated dress.

The national costumes of Naxi nationality, represented by Dayan Ancient City in Lijiang County, are generally worn by unmarried women with long hair or long hair. Married women wear a bun on their heads and like to wear a blue hat. In terms of clothing, the long gown with wide waist and big sleeves, reaching to the knees at the front and the shin at the back, is short at the front and long at the back. When wearing it, the cuffs are rolled up to the elbows, and with a vest, the pants are put on. It is a pleated waist sewn with black and white blue cotton cloth. It is like a fan from waist to knee. It is enough to wear boat-shaped embroidered shoes. Lace is embroidered on the collar, sleeves and lapels, which is simple and generous. Because Naxi nationality is deeply influenced by Han nationality, men's clothing is basically the same as that of Han nationality, wearing robes, jackets or double-breasted tops and trousers. Women's wear, except for the custom of wearing skirts in some places, has been changed to wearing pants, but the whole suit. It still has distinctive national characteristics.

The most distinctive feature of Naxi women's dress is the seven-star sheepskin shawl behind her, on which seven embroidered circular cloth circles with a diameter of about two inches are arranged side by side, and each cloth circle has a pair of hanging nails. There are many different versions about the origin of this kind of clothing. More commonly, it stands for Seven Stars, which means "Dai Yue wearing a star". It is said that the circle of cloth is embroidered with fine star maps with silk thread, and the hanging spikes represent the light of stars.

There are other characteristics in the clothing of Mosuo people in Ninglang area. Mosuo women like to make thick wigs with yak tails or threads, wear twisted cloth heads, short shirts and very wide dresses. The waist is wrapped in a long and wide strip of cloth.

Naxi women like to wear bracelets, earrings and other accessories.

Fashion legend

There are many speculations and explanations about the sheepskin shawl of Naxi people in the folk and academic circles, and there are also many myths and legends about it. According to legend, a long time ago, Naxi people lived on the mountain near the lake and lived a quiet life. Unexpectedly, one year, a fierce drought demon appeared. He released eight suns to scorch the earth in turn with Taiyang Yuan. There is no night on the earth, and it is brown everywhere. There is a Naxi girl named Ying Gu who is determined to invite the Dragon King to the East China Sea. She knitted a colorful "coat" with bird hair, carried it on her back and ran east. When Ying Gu arrived in the East China Sea, she happened to meet Prince dragon three, and they fell in love.

The Dragon King sent Prince dragon three to accompany her back to her hometown to alleviate the drought. Shi Ji, the hateful drought demon, threw Wang Zilong III into the deep pool, leaving elephants and lions guarding the pool mouth. Poor Yinggu struggled with the drought demon for nine days in a row, and finally fell to the ground because of exhaustion of qi. Since then, this place has been called "Yinggudun" (Lijiang). Wang Zilong III rushed out of the deep pool in desperation, calling for pouncing on the place where Ying Gu fell and becoming the spring water of Lijiang Bazi. Seeing this, the three gods of Baisha built a snow dragon, swallowed seven suns in a row, and spit the cooled sun on the ground, leaving only one sun and turning it into the moon. The three gods turned seven cold suns into seven shining stars, which were embedded in Ying Gu's coat to show their approval.

In memory of Ying Gu, Naxi girls made exquisite sheepskin shawls based on Ying Gu's coat, symbolizing hard work and courage, which has been passed down from generation to generation and has been passed down to this day. Therefore, the sheepskin shawl means "Dai Yue Dai Xing", which means that Naxi people are hardworking.