The Miao minority group in southwest China pride themselves on their excellent batik, silver jewelry, and silver bracelets. They use a copper knife dipped in beeswax to draw beautiful designs on a piece of white cloth. After the process of dying, boiling, and washing, a perfect design will be left on the cloth permanently. Batik is closely related to Miao life. Their clothes and bed linen are all dyed by this method. Wearing batik clothing and their elaborately handcrafted silver bracelets, Miao women look especially attractive.
A story below explains how the Miao invented the unique batik technique:
Once upon a time, a pretty girl lived in a village with her parents and sister. One day when she went to pick up cotton in the field, she saw a dazzling butterfly flying around her. The girl stared at the butterfly, and said to herself, "What a cute butterfly! Hope I had beautiful clothes like she has! But our Miao women's clothes are just simply black and blue, which looks really boring!"
So the girl talked to the butterfly, " Hi, you are the mother of the Miao people, right? What a great mother! Since you delivered your children, you have never taken care of us. The garment you wear is so beautiful. But look at us! Why don't you make a beautiful clothes for your children? Now I want your colorful wings to adorn myself." The terrified butterfly said, "Please don't do that! I can't survive without a pair of wings. Yes, a butterfly is the Miao's mom. But her children have grown up, you will have to figure out a way to make yourself beautiful."
The girl caught the butterfly in her hand, "OK, if you don't give me your beautiful wings, I will break your wings by myself." The butterfly said, "Don't do that please! OK, I will teach you how to make colorful and beautiful clothes." The butterfly flapped her wings onto the girl's clothes for a while, and some beautiful patterns were left on the clothes. The butterfly told the girl the secret before she flew away, "Just paint these patterns on all your clothes, and you will be more beautiful than me."
After getting home, the girl asked her father to go to pick up some colorful stones along the riverside. Then she hammered the stones into powder and mixed it with rice soup to make color pigments. Using this pigment, the girl started to paint the patterns the butterfly gave her on her clothes. Seven days passed, and she finished painting two new skirts. One was for herself, and another one for her sister. Wearing their beautifully painted clothes and their unique silver bracelets, the two sisters looked gorgeous! Other women in the village all followed the sisters to paint colorful designs on their clothes.
But the painted designs on the clothes faded away soon because it couldn't stand sunshine or water. People felt disappointed and said to the girl, "That butterfly cheated us." The girl comforted them, "Don't worry, I will find a way to preserve the designs forever."
One day, a bee sang and danced around the girl's window, "Our nests are on the cliff and can't survive under austere living conditions. If anyone can save us, I will tell her the secret of batik technique. The dyed designs on the cloth will last forever." The girls was so excited, "Hi, little bee! Please tell me what the batik technique is. I will let Dad craft a beautiful wooden box for you, where you and your family can stay." The bee sang, "We are experts on making honey and beewax. Using beewax, you can draw wonderful patterns on your garments......" Then the bee told the girl in detail the whole process of making batik.
The girl's father made a wooden box for the bees, and fed them at home. With the beewax the bees produced, the girl and her sister dyed all their clothes.
Since then the batik technique has been popular in Miao areas, and has been handed down from generation to generation. Designs on their batik clothing always reflect Miao culture and history. And it also has a big influence on the design of Miao silver bracelets and other jewelry.
A story below explains how the Miao invented the unique batik technique:
Once upon a time, a pretty girl lived in a village with her parents and sister. One day when she went to pick up cotton in the field, she saw a dazzling butterfly flying around her. The girl stared at the butterfly, and said to herself, "What a cute butterfly! Hope I had beautiful clothes like she has! But our Miao women's clothes are just simply black and blue, which looks really boring!"
So the girl talked to the butterfly, " Hi, you are the mother of the Miao people, right? What a great mother! Since you delivered your children, you have never taken care of us. The garment you wear is so beautiful. But look at us! Why don't you make a beautiful clothes for your children? Now I want your colorful wings to adorn myself." The terrified butterfly said, "Please don't do that! I can't survive without a pair of wings. Yes, a butterfly is the Miao's mom. But her children have grown up, you will have to figure out a way to make yourself beautiful."
The girl caught the butterfly in her hand, "OK, if you don't give me your beautiful wings, I will break your wings by myself." The butterfly said, "Don't do that please! OK, I will teach you how to make colorful and beautiful clothes." The butterfly flapped her wings onto the girl's clothes for a while, and some beautiful patterns were left on the clothes. The butterfly told the girl the secret before she flew away, "Just paint these patterns on all your clothes, and you will be more beautiful than me."
After getting home, the girl asked her father to go to pick up some colorful stones along the riverside. Then she hammered the stones into powder and mixed it with rice soup to make color pigments. Using this pigment, the girl started to paint the patterns the butterfly gave her on her clothes. Seven days passed, and she finished painting two new skirts. One was for herself, and another one for her sister. Wearing their beautifully painted clothes and their unique silver bracelets, the two sisters looked gorgeous! Other women in the village all followed the sisters to paint colorful designs on their clothes.
But the painted designs on the clothes faded away soon because it couldn't stand sunshine or water. People felt disappointed and said to the girl, "That butterfly cheated us." The girl comforted them, "Don't worry, I will find a way to preserve the designs forever."
One day, a bee sang and danced around the girl's window, "Our nests are on the cliff and can't survive under austere living conditions. If anyone can save us, I will tell her the secret of batik technique. The dyed designs on the cloth will last forever." The girls was so excited, "Hi, little bee! Please tell me what the batik technique is. I will let Dad craft a beautiful wooden box for you, where you and your family can stay." The bee sang, "We are experts on making honey and beewax. Using beewax, you can draw wonderful patterns on your garments......" Then the bee told the girl in detail the whole process of making batik.
The girl's father made a wooden box for the bees, and fed them at home. With the beewax the bees produced, the girl and her sister dyed all their clothes.
Since then the batik technique has been popular in Miao areas, and has been handed down from generation to generation. Designs on their batik clothing always reflect Miao culture and history. And it also has a big influence on the design of Miao silver bracelets and other jewelry.
About the Author:
Visit jewelry expert Clare Liu's site to see special silver bracelets. Silver jewelry the Miao make can't be found anywhere else. Get your own handmade silver bracelets here.
