The Language of Miao Embroidery: Exploring the Traditional “Embroidered Rear Skirt Panels” Worn by the Miao Women of the Huawu Village

Abstract

Embroidered rear skirt panels are the decorative embroidered horizontal strips at the centers of the rears of traditional skirts worn by Miao women residing in Huawu Village, located in the Qianxi County of Guizhou, China. The local traditional patchwork patterns on these panels demonstrate the craftsmanship of women’s embroidery. Local single men choose their marriage partners according to the embroidery skills of single women on their panels. Because of the remote geography of Huawu, the techniques and patterns of the traditional embroidery in this village have not been investigated. In this study, a 2-week field survey was conducted in Huawu and Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences to examine the techniques of embroidered rear skirt panels and the meanings implied in these panels. The processes in which local women create the rear skirt panels using patchwork embroidery were photographed and recorded, and residents were interviewed to clarify their interpretations of the patterns on the panels. The results revealed that the panels in Huawu are created using the appliqué and reverse appliqué techniques, which are different from those in other ethnic minorities in China. Huawu Miao women use their unique embroidery techniques to illustrate twin-bird and bird–dragon patterns to convey procreation.