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| Folk Customs
- She Nationality > Phoenix Hair-Do Still in Vogue |
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The
countryside surrounding a She village.
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The She women of eastern Fujian dress in
various styles but one most often sees the so-called "phoenix
hair-do" and "phoenix dress". In the counties of Luoyuan and
Lianjiang, young She women are recognizable by their hairstyle:
Locks of hair bound with red cotton thread are bent upwards
and back in a semi-circle to join the mass of hair at the back
of the head. The elderly women use blue cotton instead of red,
which looks somewhat plain. This kind of hairstyle appears complex,
but in fact it is very simple. While I was in Liukeng, I happened
to see a woman dressing her hair. I found out that the "bend"
is artificially made by a sort of hairpin consisting of a piece
of bamboo which has cotton wound round it. All one has to do
to sport a "phoenix hair-do" is link one's hair with the hairpin.
The dresses of the She women in Xiapu and Fu'an counties are
mostly black or blue and are embroidered with patterns such
as flowers, birds, fish, shrimp, butterflies and so on. But
the favoured theme, of course, is the phoenix.
Xiaqishan in Xiapu is a She fishing village, a very rare sight
in this area. The married women of this village wear a unique
hairstyle which reminds one of nothing as much as a telephone
receiver perched on its stand.
The She women of Fuding like to wear a dress embroidered on
the front with human figures taken from their traditional stories.
The "old phoenix dress" worn by elderly She women in northeastern
Fujian also includes a silvery crown and self-made embroidered
shoes, the hair being adorned with red ribbon. It seems that
She women are still very keen on their traditional hairstyles.
They may wear a Chinese-style jacket, Western trousers, leather
pumps or gymshoes, but never will they part with their "phoenix"
hair-dos! |
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