Bai Ethnic Group
The Bai ethnic group live in Southen West China, where most of them live in Yunnan.
The hats that the girls wear are called "baw-tou" (包頭), It is very different fashion from what they will wear today. Many of the hats are more properly called turbans - made from a long length of textile wound around the head. We cannot see the colours in these postcards but the modern ones are very colourful. Sadly, they are made using a lot of modern, synthetic materials and plastics so the traditional way of making hats may be lost forever. They are also simple hats rather than turbans.
Nevertheless, here are some the classical ones from the early 19th century in Yunnan.
Please click the link below to see examples of modern Bai Ethnic headwear (from google search). You will see how big the difference is between the 19th century and and nowadays.
https://www.google.com/search?num=10&hl=zh-TW&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1093&bih=514&q=%E7%99%BD%E6%97%8F&oq=%E7%99%BD%E6%97%8F&gs_l=img.3..0l3j0i24l6j0i5.1863.2549.0.3443.6.5.0.1.0.0.147.607.1j4.5.0...0.0...1ac.1j4.cfWRGzssg-M
The symbolic meaning of the form and decoration of Bai girls hats is linked to the landscape and environment in Yunnan. (風花雪月) Their headwear and costume reflect the following Bai symbols:
the wind of Shang-Guan(上關風) - often depicted as a long white tassel
the flower of Sha-Guan(下關花) - represented by artificial flowers on the headband
the snow of Cang Mountain(滄山雪) - represented by a white crest on the top of the hat
the moon of Erhai Lake (洱海月) - the shape of the had reflects the moon reflected in Erhai lake*
* Yunnan is far from the sea but the Bai refer to the large lake as ErHai where hai = sea/ocean.
The hats that the girls wear are called "baw-tou" (包頭), It is very different fashion from what they will wear today. Many of the hats are more properly called turbans - made from a long length of textile wound around the head. We cannot see the colours in these postcards but the modern ones are very colourful. Sadly, they are made using a lot of modern, synthetic materials and plastics so the traditional way of making hats may be lost forever. They are also simple hats rather than turbans.
Nevertheless, here are some the classical ones from the early 19th century in Yunnan.
Please click the link below to see examples of modern Bai Ethnic headwear (from google search). You will see how big the difference is between the 19th century and and nowadays.
https://www.google.com/search?num=10&hl=zh-TW&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1093&bih=514&q=%E7%99%BD%E6%97%8F&oq=%E7%99%BD%E6%97%8F&gs_l=img.3..0l3j0i24l6j0i5.1863.2549.0.3443.6.5.0.1.0.0.147.607.1j4.5.0...0.0...1ac.1j4.cfWRGzssg-M
The symbolic meaning of the form and decoration of Bai girls hats is linked to the landscape and environment in Yunnan. (風花雪月) Their headwear and costume reflect the following Bai symbols:
the wind of Shang-Guan(上關風) - often depicted as a long white tassel
the flower of Sha-Guan(下關花) - represented by artificial flowers on the headband
the snow of Cang Mountain(滄山雪) - represented by a white crest on the top of the hat
the moon of Erhai Lake (洱海月) - the shape of the had reflects the moon reflected in Erhai lake*
* Yunnan is far from the sea but the Bai refer to the large lake as ErHai where hai = sea/ocean.
