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Accepted Paper:

The Living Heritage in Western China: the Symbols of the Universe in Naxi Women Dresses  
Xinyan Chi (Nanjing Normal University) Jia Wang (Shenzhen Bailu Travel Agency)

Paper short abstract:

The women dresses in Western China on behalf of Naxi ethnic displayed the astronomy philosophy of 12 earthly stems and the reproduction worship, showing that they have the same ancestors as other Chinese ethnics.

Paper long abstract:

The sheepskin cape with 7 stars worn by Naxi Women in Yunnan consists of 2 big circles, 7 small circles and 2 hanging fringes, representing the sun, the moon, the stars and light beams respectively, which is the most primitive dress remains to stand for the primitive universal characteristics. Its connotation is "the stars change in positions", to take the Big Dipper as 12 time zones to build coordinate - 12 earthly branches. The creation of 12 constellations with 7 bright stars instead of the Big Dipper was the most outstanding achievements in astronomy.

The figure 7 is regarded as the figure of life in the universe. In Chinese mythology of the world creation Nuwa spent 7 days to create life, and it was extended to the figure for the women reproduction cycle in HuangDiNeiJing in which double 7s were the start of the reproduction cycle.

Qiang girls perform their adult ceremony at the day of double-7s years old (14 years), with the decorations of semi-circle and 7 hanging fringes to form a necklace of the moon with 7 stars.

Yi girls' headdress has 7 pendant chains on both left and right sides, and their tobacco pouch has 7 hanging fringes deriving into 14 fringes.

headdress of Jiarong Tibetan girls has 49 (7×7) beads rings.

The girls of multiethnics in Gansu Qinghai Plateau carry their purses with 7 hanging fringes..

There were a lot of girl dresses with figure 7 unearthed in Xiaohe Cemetery in Tarim Basin.

Panel MUS06
Women Culture Museum in China: ways of seeing the changing national culture (IUAES Commission on the Anthropology of Women)
  Session 1 Friday 9 August, 2013, -