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The Maonan ethnic group is mainly distributed in the northwestern region of Guangxi, China. Their main settlement is in Huanjiang Maonan Autonomous County, commonly known as Maonan Mountain Township. The Maonan people are one of the smaller ethnic groups among the 56 recognized ethnic minorities in China. They are a small population indigenous ethnic group living in mountainous areas. My hometown, Huanjiang, is the birthplace of the Maonan ethnic group and also a world karst landform site.
We speak the Maonan language and have our own Maonan ethnic costumes, traditional festivals (such as the Dragon Festival), and 36 original mountain folk songs with distinct melodies. We also have intangible cultural heritage with ethnic characteristics, such as Nuo opera, Nuo masks, and flower bamboo hats. As Maonan people, we have been living in the mountains for generations, and we are known for our simplicity, hospitality, and warm-heartedness. We welcome everyone to visit our Maonan community, and we believe you will be captivated by the charm of "liu lang lie" (a Maonan folk song).
The hat featured in the video is called a flower bamboo hat, known as "ding ka hua" in the Maonan language, which means "weaving patterns on the bottom of the hat." It is a beautiful rain gear and ornament made by the Maonan people using locally abundant golden and ink bamboo strips. It is also a symbol of happiness and auspiciousness, serving as a token of love and commitment between young men and women. The flower bamboo hat is exquisite, elegant in shape, and durable. It gained fame as early as the mid-Qing Dynasty, and the "Guangxi Tongzhi," compiled during the Jiaqing period, praised the flower bamboo hat as "fine and dense, worn by young men and women." In 2011, the Maonan flower bamboo hat was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage.
The art of weaving flower bamboo hats has been passed down through generations of Maonan folk artists, and the craftsmanship has become mature and distinctive. The hat's design is a clever combination of a round cake and a cone: the top is flat, serving as a support, while the cone shape adds a three-dimensional aspect. The two layers are tightly integrated using fasteners, hat hoops, and decorative edges. The structure consists of a double-layered arrangement, with the outer layer forming the hat cover and the inner layer forming the hat bottom. Thin gauze paper is placed in between, and the hat cone is lined with black silk fabric, making it lightweight and sturdy. The bamboo strips are woven in a pattern radiating from a pentagram at the center, with hexagonal rings intersecting and surrounding it. The motifs consist of three layers of diamond-shaped patterns surrounding a variant lotus flower pattern at the center of both the upper and lower layers. The color scheme primarily features a golden-yellow cone slope, with black diamond-shaped patterns encircling the base of the slope, and a golden-colored decorative edge, creating a simple yet distinct color contrast.
The flower bamboo hat, with its delicate and graceful appearance, intricate patterns, meticulous weaving, harmonious structure, and contrasting colors, offers a visually pleasing and aesthetically satisfying experience. It holds significant aesthetic value for appreciation. The touching love story of a young Han man named Jin who weaves a flower bamboo hat for a Maonan girl named Aying has made the flower bamboo hat a symbol of love and happiness for Maonan youth. This story reflects the Maonan women's pursuit of love freedom and their preference for diligent and skillful suitors, carrying profound historical and cultural connotations. It illuminates the glory of labor and the ideals of true love and happiness. The design, structure, patterns, and colors of the flower bamboo hat also reflect the harmonious philosophy of companionship, the unity of opposites, and the interdependence of yin and yang, as well as ancient belief concepts, providing enlightenment to those who contemplate upon them.