Following a recent enquiry which I received to help identify a Yao 'celestial crown' I thought that I would share with the forum some of the research that I have since done. I am first posting a photo which Ann Goodman sent to me, to be posted on another thread, to show the striking similarity with designs on minority drums. See thread
http://www.tribaltextiles.info/communit ... 7&start=45 with the Yao celestial crown being the (current) last post on page 4. I was very attracted to the photo at the time and, as I said in the post, had never seen one before. When the enquiry came to me a few days ago the photo rang a bell with me and I also had a sense of seeing photos of the item being worn. Further head scratching - oh my poor memory(!) - brought to my mind the book that I was recently given by Siriol,
'The Yao Nationality' and yes, there were several photos. That then sent me to look at Jess G Pourret's excellent book already mentioned several times on this forum
'The Yao: The Mien and Mun Yao in China, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand'. Now I knew what I was looking for, I found a considerable amount in text and photos in various sections of the book. There is so much packed in that it is easy to pass over things not of immediate interest. So far we don't have permission from Jess Pourret to post images from his book so I am not, at this time, going to do so but I have typed out various, very informative, sections of text much of which forms part of the long descriptions which accompany photos. I would most definitely commend the book to anyone with any interest in the Yao.
I am going to post images from 'The Yao Nationality' because I have not been able to find any copies on the web. It was first published in May 1990 by People's Publishing House, edited by The Nationalities Affairs Commission of Guangxi Autonomous Region, ISBN 7-01-000761-6/D. The text is Chinese and English with bi-lingual captions for the photos.
I don't have one of these 'crowns' in my own collection but am attracted to them. This forum contribution is by way of a 'research' item to share with forum members current and future and as a way of pulling together my own research to date. Oh, and as Nicolas (yuanzhumin) is also keen to learn about the Yao, this is also for him.
As an excellent summary of the Yao/Mien see the second post by Susan Stem on the thread started by Nicolas
http://www.tribaltextiles.info/communit ... php?t=1257
Jess Pourret identifies the Yao who wear these 'celestial crowns' as the Kim Mun Lantien which are split into two groups, the Sha and the Shanzi. He shows photos of the Kim Mun Lantien in Laos. They may also be found in Yunnan, Guangxi, Hainan Island which have about half the Kim Mun Lantien with a further 100,000 in Vietnam and 80,000-100,000 in Laos. On page 92 re figure 194, he says
Quote:
"The Chinese name Landian or Lantien derives from the indigo dye used for their dress, the dark blue-black being even more distinctive than the Mien because of its less colourful decoration. "..."Mun Lantien women wear their hair fairly long, with a short parting above the forehead, with the rest of the hair pulled back in a bun. Such a hairstyle is necessary for wearing their heavy traditional silver crown, which need a strong base."
On page 93 in information on fig 199 (a black and white photo of 'Mun, Kim Mun, Lantien Sha Yao, Ha Gian area, north Vietnam, early 1920s' he says:
Quote:
"...The main piece, however, is the large silver crown (20cm) worn slanted back with more silver pendants and streamers. ...The Lantien Sha women generally wear their silver celestial crown daily, minus its pendants."
The photos which were sent to me to identify included a textile - a central rectangle of embroidery in a geometric design in indigo with some red on a natural woven base. The central rectangle was sewn to natural, long strands of un woven cotton. On page 93 of the Pourret book there is a photo, fig 200, of woman's clothing from Kim Mun, Lantien Sha, Luang Nam Tha, North Laos. Of these clothing it says
Quote:
"Head-kerchiefs vary among the sub-groups......The four white/blue headkerchiefs are for different sub-groups." On Page 119 in the caption to Fig 265 it says: "Kim Mun Lantien. Traditional cotton headscarves with white fringes. The very dense and incredibly detailed embroidery is always dark blue on white cotton. Used by Lantien Sha women when not wearing their silver crown. Similar headscarves are worn in Yunnan, Laos and Vietnam. The central part is about 20 x 12 cm."
Although it says that the scarves are always of dark blue on white cotton in fig 200 one of the scarves has some accents of red within the dark blue.
On page 128 of the Pourret book there are three black and white photos of Kim Mun Lantien Sha women taken in the 1920s. The caption for Fig 301 says:
Quote:
"Kim Mun Lantien Sha from Motiang in southern Yunnan, photographed in Northern Vietnam in the early 1920s. The Mun Lantien Yao women, like all Yao, have their own headdress. After initiation at puberty a Kim Mun woman may wear a silver crown, the umbrella of 'Fam Tsing', the Three Pure Ones. Its form is always a large domed disc with an eight- or 10-pointed star surrounded by two rows of over 200 silver pins."
The text for Fig 303 says:
Quote:
"Kim Mun Lantien Sha. Photographed in north Vietnam in the 1920s. This woman belongs to the same sub-group as 301 and 302 but her different attire is for attending an important religious ceremony. The crown is covered by a special white cotton kerchief topped by a densely embroidered rectangle in dark blue. Very long streamers hold the headgear in place. She also wears a religious white scarf whose dark blue embroidered ends hang down her back."
Chapter 4 of Pourret's book 'The Meaning of Silver: Tribal and Social Statement' has much more to offer on the 'celestial crowns. On p144 fig 355 the caption gives considerable detail on the crowns:
Quote:
"A Kim Mun Lantien Sha silver celestial crown from Mengla, Yunnan and Luang Nam Tha areas, North Laos. About 100 years old and weighing around 270 gm, it is identical in every aspect to the crowns made today. When a Lantien girl reaches puberty and undergoes her initiation rites, she is entitled to make and wear a celestial crown. The traditional and very ancient custom is common to all groups of Kim Mun Lantien.
The girl spends over two days to assemble the crown once the silver has been obtained. The centre part consists of a slightly domed silver disc around 11 cm in diameter, hammered in low relief to produce a highly chiselled design. A large pin is then fixed underneath for securing to the base of a tightly woven human hair strands made into a thick pad. The central disc is then surrounded by about 240 flat silver pins, each overlapping its neighbour by half. The diameter of the whole is then about 20 cm. Two long slender round pins help in fastening the headdress to her bun. Variations exist among various sub-groups as to the height of the pin vis-a-vis the central star.
Most Lantien Sha women wear the crown daily generally covered by a small indigo cotton kerchief. Rolls of false hair may be used by some sub-groups to add volume to the complete headdress. Kim Mun Lantien Shanzi only wear the crown for ceremonial wear."
Page 164 has a collection of 4 different celestial crowns figs 421-424. There is considerable detail about them. Two are silver and two are aluminium. Three have dates - one silver one given as circa 1900-1920 the other silver one at circa 1920 and one of the aluminium ones estimated at circa 1975.
Now for the fun bit, the photos!
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