Indigo Process of Yao Ethnic Minority in Qiubei County, Wenshan

Origin

The indigo(靛) produced by Yao minority(瑶族) in Qiubei county(丘北县) has a long history, who is mainly distributed in Chongge village of Jinping town and Duck Pond village of Wenliu town. It is said that in the past, the Yao people usually wore handmade white linen clothes. Due to the primitive slash-and-burn farming methods of their ancestors, the white clothes were easily stained by firewood. The  intelligent Yao women picked the wild indigo plants and made the juice and dyed their white clothes black. As a result, when people go to work in the mountains, it is not so obvious when their clothes are dirty. As time passes, the Yao people has formed the habit of dyeing and weaving indigo clothing and a set of complete process of making indigo.

The Yao people in Chongge call themselves "Houmen" (吼门), because they are good at planting blue indigo and love to wear clothes dyed by it,  so other ethnic groups call them " Blue Indigo Yao" (蓝靛瑶).

Tools and Methods of Making

Traditional tools for making indigo include wooden rake(木钉耙), indigo filter(滤靛箩), stirring rod(搅棒), kiln(靛窑) and so on. The production process of indigo is very elaborate. Indigo of Yao people is usually planted in May and June when the rainfall is abundant, and harvested in August and September.The specific method of making indigo juice is to pick and cut the indigo plants and soak them in a special "indigo cellar" for five days and nights. Wait for the water in the cellar to turn blue and emit the smell of indigo. Use a wooden rake and an indigo basket to remove the branches and leaves of indigo.Sprinkle appropriate amount of fine lime powder into the indigo cellar and stir it vigorously with a stirring rod. After about an hour's operation, a large number of green bubbles float on the water and then stop. Traditional dyeing and printing can be divided into cold dyeing and hot dyeing. The colors are generally black, dark blue (commonly known as navy blue) and magenta. The dyeing methods are general dyeing, batik, tie-dye and so on.

Status Quo

Making indigo is the traditional technology of Yao minority. With the development of time and the change of people's ideology, this traditional technology will be endangered and lost. There are fewer and fewer people wearing indigo dyed clothes. Young yao people under the age of 30 know little about the process of making indigo, and none of them even know how to make it.In 2009, Yao indigo production process was rated as provincial intangible cultural heritage by Yunnan Provincial People's Government and Provincial Department of Culture. At present, the Intangible Heritage Protection Center of Qiubei County is taking measures to encourage folk artists to make indigo , and do a good job in the inheritance and protection of  indigo production technology of Yao minority.

Chinese Version: http://www.wenming.cn/syjj/dfcz/yn/201503/t20150318_2508382.shtml

Translated by Bella Ren/任新月

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