She ethnic group ribbon weaving technique

Zhejiang
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The ribbon weaving technique of the She ethnic group is an intangible cultural heritage of Zhejiang Province. The ribbon is a traditional handicraft of the She ethnic group. It is not only a decoration to beautify clothes, but also a practical item for life such as belts and braces. It is also a token of love for young men and women of the She ethnic group, a return gift for engagement, and a mascot for exorcism and blessing. When getting engaged, no matter what gift the man gives, the girl must return a ribbon she has woven herself. The She ethnic group's flower belt, also known as the "Sanha belt", "flower belt" and "word belt", is a mascot of the She ethnic group and one of the traditional handicrafts of the She ethnic group. The hardworking and intelligent She ethnic women have been learning weaving from their mothers and sisters since they were eight or nine years old. In the house, they tie one end of the silk thread to the pillar of the house, the table or the stool, and the other end to their waists, and lift and press the buckle and shuttle with their hands. In the wild, when they take a break from work, they find a tree stump or firewood at the corner of the field and tie the silk thread to it, and then sit or kneel to weave. There are two types of flower belts: thread-woven and silk-woven. The belts are woven with multiple or single patterns, with clear patterns, bright colors, fine weaving, and the unique artistic style of the She people. The patterns include geometric shapes, animal and plant shapes, and text, such as "butterfly", "dragonfly", "plum blossom", "field", "well", "sun", etc. The patterns are interwoven with red, black, white, green and other colors, fully demonstrating the craftsmanship of She women. Flower belts have a wide range of uses. They are generally used as decorations and tied around the waist. They are also gifts for men and women to seal their love and engagement. They can also be used to tie clothes or make bundles, and are regarded as mascots. Nowadays, She women still inherit the excellent tradition of their own weaving art. They like to wear flower belts woven by themselves and are proud of it. When a She girl grows up to six or seven years old, her mother teaches her to weave ribbons. The ribbons are mainly woven with silk threads, and some are woven with cotton yarn or ramie. There is no special weaving machine for weaving ribbons. They can be woven inside and outside the house or even in the mountains. If you are weaving indoors, tie one end of the silk thread to the foot of a stool, table or house pillar, tie the other end to your waist, and sit on the stool to weave. If you are weaving in the mountains, tie one end of the silk thread to a small tree trunk or stump, and still tie the other end to your waist, and sit on the ground or kneel on the ground to weave. There are no patterns on both sides of the She ethnic group's ribbons. The threads are red, green, yellow, purple and other colors and white threads alternately. The number of roots depends on the width. There are three pairs, five pairs, thirteen, sixteen, twenty-two, thirty-two, fifty-five and double-follow (i.e. double-row patterns), etc. Generally, five pairs and thirteen are more common. The more warp threads, the wider, and the fewer warp threads, the narrower. The widest is more than two inches, and the narrowest is less than half an inch. The weft thread is basically white thread. Regardless of the width of the belt, the shuttle weaving pattern is on the seven threads in the middle, and the rest are woven flat lace. The intangible cultural heritage of the She ethnic group, the ribbon weaving technique, has been passed down among the She ethnic group for a long time and is applied to every aspect of the She ethnic group's life. The ribbons woven by the She girls have rich and colorful patterns. The main patterns include "Thirteen Lines", "Water-Strike Flowers", "Five-Character Belts", "Coin Gang", "Wanzi Flowers", "Twelve Zodiac Signs", "Butterfly Flowers", "Dragonfly Patterns", "Bats", etc. Weaving wide ribbons with complex patterns (such as "Shuang Sui" patterns) requires careful design and is labor-intensive. They are generally used as ornaments for viewing. If it is used as a belt for a waist apron, seven warps are often used; thirteen warps can be used to tie clothes or as a bundle. Most of the ribbons given by girls to their lovers are also woven with thirteen warps. On the day of the girl's engagement, when the man sends the "engagement gift", the girl's return gift, in addition to gifts such as white sugar and tangerine cakes, is also two ribbons woven by the girl herself (sometimes one), called "engagement belts" (or "engagement belts"). The Sanha belt is tied around the waist and is called a "protective belt" and hidden by the side. When it is used to be engaged for descendants, it is called an "engagement belt"; when it is given as a gift, it is called a "wishful belt".

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