A Study on the Formation Factors and Characters of Yi Women's Headdress in China

중국 이족(彝族) 여성 두식(頭飾)의 형성요인과 특징에 관한 연구

The headdress is one of the most important clothing characters in China, as it was used to distinguish the 55 minority groups in China. Each minority group has a unique headdress culture. Among the 55 minority groups, the Zang, the Yi, and the Miao focus their ethnic costumes on the headdress, and have a more distinctive headdress culture compared to be other nationality groups. The Yi is one of the minority groups that linvd in Southwest China. They usually lived in compact communities in Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou provinces, as well as the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region. The total population of the Yi is the sixth largest among the 55 minority groups. Modern scholars believe that the Yi people are descendants of the ancient Qiang people, which is a group that lived in Northwest China six or seven thousand years before. It is believed that the Qiang went down to the southern part of China and allied with the aboriginals in that region, and this group of people became the Yi, Due to its long history, cultural background, and the large number of people and settlements, they have produced a unique costume culture. The women's headdress culture is considered to be the one of the most important characteristics of their costume culture. There are four forming element of the Yi women's headdress, religious faith, myths, geographical distribution and customs & festivals. The first three elements play an important role in the protection and spread of headdress, while the fourth element provides potential for the modern headdress development. Because of much influence factors, more than 100 types of Yi women headdresses have developed. Depends on categories, Yi woman headdress can be divided into kerchief, hat, fascinator and other accessories wore on the hand. This study investigated the development of the Yi women's headwear, and screened and analyzed representative Yi women accessories, such as the headscarf, hat, and fascinator. This analysis will provide basic materials for further studies of Yi women's headdress or costume.