The origin of the Miao headdress, the difference between the Miao and the Yao headdress

As a cultural phenomenon, silver jewelry has been favored by many ethnic groups in history and has become one of the carriers of multicultural exchanges. In this vector, there are ethnic minorities from the South.

of"Ear stalls", originated from the "jumping" of the northern ethnic minorities, and the "step shake" inherited from the ancient ornaments.

"Five Soldiers" and traditional Chinese dragons, phoenixes, scales and so on. Miao silverware.

The artistic characteristics of beauty are self-evident, as evidenced by the fact that the Miao large silver horn is almost half the height of the wearer. The totem worship of the Miao people is an important shape of silver jewelry. Miao totems are several images that are related to the Miao people.

In the ancient songs of the Miao people, it is sung that the maple tree gave birth to a butterfly mother (that is, the sister list and the younger sister), the butterfly mother gave birth to twelve eggs, and the ancestor of the Miao people, Jiang Yang and the twelve brothers, were hatched by the magpie bird. It is self-evident that the artistic characteristics of Miao silver jewelry are beautiful, and the processing of Miao silver jewelry is all completed by manual operation in the family workshop. According to the need, the silversmith first made the smelted ** into thin sheets and silver bars.

or silver wire, using pressing, few, carving, hugging and other processes to make exquisite patterns, and then welded or braided.

Once upon a time, the young men liked to play their unique musical instrument "Three-eyed Flute" under the bright moon, while coming to the door of the girl's house and calling out their lovers. Under the crescent moon, the Italian people enjoy the moon and sing to each other, complaining to each other. And the crooked moon has become the object of their worship because of this.

Therefore, it is said that the shape of the long-horned headdress originated from the crescent moon.

Is that really the case? In order to explore the origin of the long-horned Miao headdress and better protect the long-horned Miao culture, Guizhou Province built an ecological museum in Suojia Township in 1998. The first curator, Xu Meiling, and other experts hope to find clues to the origin of the longhorn headdress from local historical documents.

Longhorn Miao does not have her own writing, nor does she have a record of her own history. Xu Meiling said regretfully.

Inspired by the "moon-shaped origin theory", some believe that the long-horned headdress originated from the local cult of bull horns. The Miao people regard the cow as a sacred object. Until now, the Miao people still use cattle as sacrifices to their ancestors.

The Miao people in Suojia Township will kill cattle and worship their ancestors in the Daga (sacrifice) activities. Therefore, some people say that the long-horned headdress resembles the horns of a cow, perhaps as a manifestation of nostalgia for the ancestors.

During the investigation, someone told Xu Meiling that the long-horned headdress originated from the bow and arrow. In the eyes of the longhorn seedlings, the bow and arrow are a symbol of strength. Combined with its hunting traditions, the shape of the horned headdress is not difficult to reminiscent of the shape of a bow and arrow.

Xu Meiling said: "In the face of different statements, we finally found an old man who knew the history of his ancestors. However, we don't understand the Miao dialect they speak.

Fortunately, there are young people who know a little Chinese, and with the help of the young man's translation, we finally got a legend of the long horn that has been passed down from generation to generation. ”

It is said that Longhorn Miao once had a leader known as the "Miao King". In one battle, the enemy stole King Miao's divine whip, and King Miao lost his mana as a result. At the end of the war, King Miao was dying.

He told his people: "Put branches in your hair, so that the enemy will not dare to pursue us, and they will think that we have made a new artifact." "According to the advice of King Miao, people stuck branches on their heads, and after many tribulations, they finally settled in Suojia Township.

Later, the villagers wore long-horned headdresses to commemorate King Miao.

In the end, Xu Meiling and relevant experts started from the "theory of the origin of branches" told by the old man, combined with the production and living conditions of long-horned seedlings, and sorted out a general context: at first, the ancestors of the Miao people used tree branches to pull up long hair. Since people are accompanied by cattle in the process of farming, over time, the villagers' dependence on cattle has changed to the worship of the horn totem.

Gradually, the branches that the ancestors had planted on their heads were replaced with the shape of ox horns. However, in life, the villagers were often attacked by wild animals such as deer, so they used their hair to wrap the horns of wooden cows and tie them tightly with white twine to confuse the beasts. As a result, the unique headdress of the longhorn seedling was born.

Difference: The Miao people are mainly dressed in silver. Shi Dong's silver crown is a silver horn stuck in a high bun.

The horn is made of thin silver sheets, which are shaped like double horns. The headdress of the Zhuang people is complex, and the color of wearing it varies according to age.

The silver jewelry of the Miao nationality mainly includes silver crowns, silver horns, silver combs, silver earrings, ear posts, earrings, collars, necklaces, collars, bracelets, rings, etc. Most of these silver ornaments are handmade by Miao silversmiths. The structure has symmetrical, balanced, connected and radial.

The process methods include casting, hammering, braiding, carving, carving, etc. The pattern is mostly dragon and phoenix, flowers and birds and other animal and plant patterns, and its shape is vivid and exquisite. The patterns of these ornaments imply beauty and happiness.

When a girl is married, all the silver ornaments are in her possession for life, and her husband has no right to dispose of them.

The headdresses of Zhuang women are very complex, including those wearing hats, wrapping heads, buns, buns, tops, silver hairpins, and so on. Women of different ages wear hats of different colors. Older women wear cyan tricorne hats.

It means that the four seasons are evergreen and the life is 100 years old; Middle-aged women wear blue triangular hats, which symbolize good weather and prosperity.

The young girl wears a triangular hat covered with floral cloth, implying that the mountains are full of flowers and the future is bright. The hat can be embroidered with a variety of patterns as you like, such as flowers, birds, fish and insects, mountains and trees, lions, dragons, unicorns, golden chickens and phoenixes, etc., but only the tiger and leopard can not be embroidered, because the legend is that the three-cornered hat was originally used to expel tigers and leopards.

The Miao headdresses are all silver, and the types are very rich. Including silver horns, silver fans, silver hats, silver bandanas, silver floating head rows, silver hair answers, silver pins, silver top flowers, silver net chains, silver flower combs, silver earrings, silver children's hats, etc.

Silver horn The two corners of the silver horn are forked, the main pattern is usually the image of two dragons playing with pearls, the dragon body and the bead body are embossed, about one centimeter higher than the bottom surface. When the girls wear it, they also insert white chicken feathers at both ends of the silver horn, and the chicken feathers sway with the wind, making the silver horn appear more towering, and there is both light and elegant fierce shirt beauty in the majestic and magnificent.

Silver hat The silver hat is the headdress of the Miao people, which is composed of numerous silver flowers and various shapes of birds, butterflies, animal people, and silver bells, giving people the impression of being full of pearls and emeralds, grace and luxury.

Silver Wai Pa Miao people decorate five pieces of silver hats on the red and green vertical strips of the headband, the middle silver ornament is slightly larger, embellished on the forehead, the remaining four pieces are slightly smaller, symmetrically embellished in the front and back of the two ears, all are hollow silver flowers. The headbands are shining with silver light, and the cloth colors are gorgeous, complementing each other and quite distinctive.

There are many styles of silver-haired answers of the Miao people, and the themes are mainly flowers, birds, and butterflies. Although it is the same flower, it has a single petal, a double petal, or a bunch or a cluster, which is simple and dense, and the shape is very different. In terms of style, some hair buns are delicate and delicate, delicate and vivid; Some are ancient and simple, thick and dignified, and have their own characteristics.

Silver pins The wearing of Miao pins varies from one to the other. Longli Miao silver plug pin for three silver bubbles, each silver bubble hangs three silver bells, inserted in the back of the bun. The size of the Shidong Miao dragon head pin varies, the large one is used for festivals, and the small one is worn in daily life.

Its insertion method is to run horizontally through the top bun, and the bun has a section of the replacement rod obliquely out of the top of the bun, which is particularly eye-catching.

Silver net chain ornament Silver net chain ornament belongs to the hair replacement class, typical of the five-strand net chain ornament of the falling fish, fixed by the pin through the ring, the five-strand silver chain such as the net open, covered behind the bun.

Silver comb Silver comb can be used to comb hair, press hair branch cavity, and is an ornament, usually wooden, outer silver skin, only the teeth of the comb are exposed, and various images of silver on the back of the comb are used as decoration. Its shape is complex and simple.

Silver flower comb, comb back full of flowers, birds, dragons, deer and other images, is the best work in the flower comb. Silver earrings Silver earrings are the most popular styles in the Miao silver jewelry family, and only the incomplete collection of the Guizhou Provincial Museum has nearly 100 kinds. Earrings are divided into four types: suspension type, ring type, hook type, and round wheel type, and there are more suspension types and ring types.

In addition to the common flowers, birds, butterflies, dragons and other jujube materials, other images also appear.

Silver Hats Because the Miao people regard silver as a thing to ward off evil spirits, the Miao people living in the Qingshui River basin have the custom of decorating children with silver. Silver ornaments are usually nailed to children's hats. The traditional children's hat ornament is more than the image of a lion, a fish, a butterfly, etc., and there are also Fu Lu Shouxi, longevity and wealth influenced by the Han culture, etc., with ingenious ideas and unique shapes.