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 tells the origin of batik among the Miao:
A long time ago, a beautiful and smart girl lived in a village with her sister and parents. One day when the girl worked on the cotton field, she saw a beautiful butterfly flying around her. The girl stopped working, and said to herself, "How amazing her colorful garments are! Wish I had beautiful clothes like she has! But why are our Miao women's clothes just simply blue and black?"
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 told her father to look for some colorful stones. Then she pounded the stones into powder and mixed it with rice soup to make color pigments. Using the pigment, the girl painted the designs the butterfly gave her on her clothes. In just a few days, she finished painting two new clothes for herself and her sister. Going out with their carefully painted clothes and their glittery silver bracelets, the two sisters did attract lots of envious eyes. Finally other women in the village all learnt to paint 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 flew around the girl's window, singing, "We built our nests on the cliff, which can't survive under harsh circumstances. If anyone can save our lives, I will teach her the batik technique. The dyed patterns on the clothes will never fade away." The girl was surprised and excited, "Hey, little bee! Please tell me what the batik technique is. I will ask Dad to make a wooden box for you, and to give you a warm and comfortable home." The bee sang, "We are good at producing beewax and honey. Using beewax, you can draw beautiful patterns on your clothes......." The bee then told the girl the detailed process of making batik.
The girl's father crafted a wooden box for the bees, and fed them at home. Using the beewax the bees produced, the sisters dyed many of 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.
Author Resource:
Visit jewelry expert Clare Liu's site to see special silver bracelets . The silver jewels made by Miao silversmiths are truly works of art. Don't miss the silver bracelets here .
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