Touched by Indigo - Royal Ontario Museum

of the coiled centipede-dragon on the
back may be grass dragons.18 No
matter how the dragons are represented,
they are perceived to have
powers to bestow good fortune and
dispel evil influences.
Butterflies and birds play an important
role in folklore relating to the origin
of the Miao people. In this folklore a maple was
transformed into a butterfly, which fell in love with
a bubble and laid twelve eggs. A wagtail happened
upon the eggs and helped to hatch them. The eggs
then gave forth to all living things in the world. One
of them produced Jiangyang, the ancestor of the
Miao people.19 Butterflies and birds, therefore,
have very special significance to the Miao.
THIS ENSEMBLE consists of blouse, skirt,
waistband, and pair of puttees. The blouse is
a straight-cut of hemp, with straight sleeves
decorated with geometric patterns woven in red
and black wools. The wide collar extends over the shoulders
and down the back, resembling a cape. Its decorated upper
layer is woven separately and attached to an under layer of
hemp. The geometric pattern of this upper layer includes
connecting lozenges of cotton applique of small wax-resist-dyed
rosettes in their centres. It has also a small extra hanging collar in
blue and white trimmed with figured silk ribbons attached to the
vertical opening on the back.
The skirt is also made of hemp. It is tightly pleated along the
upper edge and fulled to a wide waistband also made of plain hemp.
A line of angled chevrons runs across the lower edge above a solid
guard. A few widely spaced rows of small interlinking lozenges
18
the front.
spread horizontally in the field. These
are accentuated at intervals by short
bands of red and dark brown cotton
applique. The decoration is completed
with additional motifs of a row
of connecting double-outlined crosses
and several unrecognizable marks on
Although this decoration looks simple, it is not
very easy to achieve. Since the white background needs
to remain as white as possible, large areas have to be
resisted by wax. The thin layer of wax protecting the
cloth from the dye cracks while the cloth is being
handled during the dyeing process. This of course
leads to the dye seeping through the cracks to
affect the cloth. It ends up having an uneven
crackle pattern of thin blue lines. While many
people find this kind of accidental effect of
great visual appeal, the women who wear this
style of costume, nicknamed Dahua Miao (Miao
people who wear large patterned costume), would judge
the quality of the dyed work by the amount of crackle lines. To
them, it is the fewer the better. They prefer to see very fine blue
lines defining the decorative elements against a background as
white as possible.20
The Miao people who wear this style of costume live in mountainous
areas in western Guizhou. The construction of the cape-like
collar and the use of wool in their clothing are for giving the body
extra protection against the chill.21
18. LITTLE GIRL'S ENSEMBLE, Hemp, wool, cotton, silk ribbons, 1930s, Miao
ethnic group, Weining county, Guizhou province, Gift of Dr. L.C. Walmsley,
969.766.1a,b,d,e. Blouse L 35 cm x W. 75 cm, Skirt L. 42 cm x W. 303 cm