Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Hmong Design - weaving
I'll finish off this series of photos with a "hat" I believe I bought in Kaili, Guizhou. This piece is about 20 cm wide and 2 metres long. Originally, it's meant to be wrapped around the head, but sometimes I use it as a scarf in the winter. It's a silk and cotton mixture.
These photos here are just a sampling of my collection. I would be happy to show more on request.
A final note I'd like to make is about the meaning of this motif, the one in the black and purple flower cloth I posted earlier. I've seen it referred to as many things; usually it's a snail. I was told however, that it's a butterfly, a totemic creature in Hmong legend. I've searched the internet for confirmation of this but I haven't found anything. Maybe the snail, slow, steady, and self sufficient, has powerful resonance with the nomadic Hmong. I prefer the butterfly though, which is so suggestive of the beautiful potential that lies hidden within us. I'll let W. H. Davies explain why.
The Example
Here's an example from
a butterfly;
that on a rough hard rock
happy can lie;
friendless and all alone
on this unsweetened stone.
Now let my bed be hard,
no care take I;
I'll make my joy like this
small butterfly;
whose happy heart has power
to make a stone a flower.
