Dai people mainly live in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Dehong Autonomous Prefecture, Gengma, Menglian, Xinping, Yuanjiang and Jinping. Dai men's clothes are basically the same everywhere, mostly white or blue, with collarless double-breasted or large-breasted tops, trousers, green cloth around their waist, red, white or blue cloth around their heads, some wearing wool hats, preferring to wear blankets in cold weather, and often barefoot all year round. In the past, Dai people had the custom of tattooing on chest, back, abdomen, limbs and other parts. Write symbols or patterns such as liger, Kirin and Peacock to show courage or pray for good luck. Dai women's dresses are very distinctive, but they are different from place to place. Dai women in Xishuangbanna generally wear tight underwear in white, sky blue or crimson, with a round neck and narrow sleeves outside and a big skirt or double skirt inside. This blouse is unique, with thin and long sleeves and close to the arm; The waist of the dress is thin and short, with a small part exposed at the back, and the hem is wide and big. Wearing colorful tube skirts, reach the foot. There used to be several stripes on the skirt, and the number of stripes indicated class. These rules are so strict that no one can violate them. In this area, women have the habit of wearing shoes, such as pointed shoes, veneered shoes and slippers. They usually wear long hair on their heads and crescent combs, and some even wear flower headscarves. Their images are elegant and beautiful. Dehong Dai women's clothing is different from others. When they were girls, they usually wore white or crimson blouses and trousers with pigtails tied on their heads and a small waist. After marriage, they put on double-breasted tops and skirts. The hair styles of Dai women in Dehong area are also different. Young women wear their hair on their heads, while middle-aged and elderly women wear a tall black hat. Dai women like to wear jewelry, generally made of gold and silver, mostly hollowed out, engraved with exquisite patterns and patterns. Girls often wear delicate combs and colorful headscarves on their heads. Sometimes I pick some flowers and wear them on my head. Dai men generally don't wear ornaments, and occasionally find a shiny silver bracelet on their wrists. Gold teeth and silver teeth are their hobbies. They usually pull out their front teeth and replace them with gold or silver dentures. Another striking thing about Dai women's clothing is that they wear a delicate silver belt around their waist. It is said that this silver belt is very precious and has been handed down from generation to generation by their mother. In fact, this is a token. If a girl gives a young man a silver belt, it means that she has fallen in love with him.

Dress differently

Due to regional differences, Yunnan Dai women's costumes are different, but each has its own advantages. From the perspective of clothing styles, it can be summarized into three categories: short skirts, long skirts and short skirts.

Clothing is a symbol of a nation, showing the customs of all ethnic groups and regions. As a cultural symbol, it is also a national symbol system with its own system. Its formation, development, accumulation and continuation are the inheritance and development of various forms of human cultural life-myth, religion, history, art and so on. As the saying goes, "knowing the customs by observing clothes" is a major symbol of Yunnan minority costume culture.

(A) the magic fish-Dayao Dai costumes

Dayao Dai people in Jinsha River Basin have long lived in Pingba and along the Jinsha River Basin, with low valleys and hot and humid climate. The unique geographical location, regional culture and religious beliefs, coupled with the influence of the surrounding Yi, Han, Yi and other minority costume cultures for many years, gave birth to the unique cultural connotation and regional characteristics of Dai costumes in Jinsha River Basin. After a long period of mutual integration and infiltration with the surrounding ethnic groups, the Dai people here are quite different from the Dai people in Xishuangbanna, Dehong, Yuanjiang and New Equality in terms of clothing style, cultural characteristics and aesthetic connotation. Up to now, they still retain and continue many relics of the primitive culture of Baiyue people living in the valley. According to China's historical records, such as Records of Jingtai Yunnan in Ming Dynasty, Records of Wuding Prefecture in Kangxi of Qing Dynasty, Records of Longyaozhou and Dayao County in Qinggan County, some Dai ancestors in Jinsha River originally lived in Yongchang (now Baoshan) in Yunnan Province, and some migrated from Jingdong to settle in the middle reaches of Jinsha River due to the war in Nanzhao period of Tang Dynasty, and began to be self-sufficient. It was not until the end of the Ming Dynasty that he began to contact with Yi, Bai and Gelao ethnic minorities, and was influenced by their customs and religious beliefs. It is reflected in the fact that their clothing fabrics mainly absorb the simplicity and massiness of Yi and Gelao costumes, and their styles still inherit and retain the traditional short-sleeved and long-sleeved styles of Dai women's wear, which is a fusion of Dai and Yi culture and has a certain degree.

Clothing is one of the most vivid and intuitive manifestations of national culture. Dai costumes have strong national and regional characteristics. Dai people in Dayao, who live in Jinsha River valley, are limited by natural conditions on the one hand and influenced by local Yi culture on the other. For a long time, in the use of clothing fabrics, they like to make clothes or clothing bags, shoes and hats with strong, wear-resistant, cold-proof and breathable cotton, hemp, animal fur and durable, soft and comfortable fire grass fiber plants, with Ma Yinghua patterns full of forest flavor and containing Yi culture and totem worship, and with quadrangular octagonal patterns representing Yi traditional gossip and symbols. As far as the modeling of Dai women's costumes in Jinsha River is concerned, Dai women's costumes in Dayao are related to a legendary story about two brothers and sisters who devoted themselves to the people and totem worship.

1. The concrete manifestation of totem worship

The word "totem" comes from Hindi, which means "his kin" and is a religious belief. Totem worship, also known as totem belief and totem worship, is the earliest primitive worship ideology of human beings and an ancient and universal cultural phenomenon in human history. It originated from the early clan system. In the era of totem worship, it is very common to use a certain pattern or symbol as the totem flag or symbol of the clan. Totems can be animals, plants, inanimate objects or natural phenomena. Believers believe that this clan has a certain blood relationship with totem, thus becoming a protector.

As an ancient cultural phenomenon, folk beliefs have been deeply rooted or involved in social life in many ethnic minority areas for thousands of years. As we all know, the connotation of folk beliefs in ethnic areas is mainly to seek good luck, avoid evil and eliminate disasters. As a native of Yunnan, the Dai people's belief in seeking happiness has many forms and contents in social life. In short, in today's Dai social life, we often see that belts, sachets, brocade, embroidered shoes and all kinds of gold and silver ornaments are gathered together in different forms and rich protection connotations. As we all know, many cultural prototypes of artistic images can be traced back to totem worship in primitive times. For example, the fish, frog, rabbit and tiger in folk art images are the remains of totem worship image in the Yellow Emperor era. The ritual of seeking good luck in folk customs is also the inheritance and development of the ritual of ancient ethnic and religious sacrifices, divination, witch culture or belief activities. Therefore, in the ancient religious beliefs of mankind, it is very common and universal to transform animals or plants in totem images and endow them with spirituality as ancestors with backward productivity and low cognitive ability. It can be seen that the totem worship of the Dai people in Yunnan is actually a form of religious belief that combines animal and plant worship with ancestor worship. The object of worship is arowana, snail shells and other animals or aquatic creatures in the water, while the purpose and concept of worship are full of primitive reproductive worship and belief.

2. The symbol of nature worship-water worship

Generally speaking, nature worship is the worship of something natural. Dai people's worship of nature is manifested in the worship of water, that is, the water-splashing festival, and the worship of aquatic creatures, that is, dragons, fish, snails and shellfish. Dai nationality is a descendant of Baiyue nationality in ancient times, living in rivers and lakes since ancient times, and has an indissoluble bond with water all the year round, and is known as the "water nation". As a rice-growing people who live on water, they have long lived a life of fishing, hunting and planting rice. Dai people worship and love water, which is a symbol of sacredness, auspiciousness and beauty of Dai people. As a traditional festival related to natural objects of the Dai people in Yunnan, the Water-splashing Festival mainly expresses the hope and yearning of the Dai people for a better life through the culture and content contained in the festival, and through splashing water on each other by men, women and children, it is hoped that the weather will be favorable, the crops will be plentiful, and the population will flourish. In short, this way of splashing water or bathing is used to express the Dai people's love and worship of water. As we all know, the Songkran Festival is actually a folk activity for Dai people in Southeast Asian countries and Yunnan to enter the rainy season from the dry season and have a national carnival. As we all know, the most solemn, deep-rooted and meaningful activity of the Water-splashing Festival is the traditional custom. Men, women and children must worship Buddha before splashing water, and then splash water on the mascot, which has the belly shape of a woodcarving dragon head fish symbolizing divine power or authority, and then splash water on each other. However, the folk activities and activities held in Dayao Dai Water-splashing Festival, which is popular in the middle reaches of Jinsha River in Chuxiong, are different from those held by Dai people in other parts of Yunnan. The Dai people in Bixiang, Dayaowan celebrate the Woba Festival (Water Splashing Festival) with the Yi people in Binchuan, Yongsheng, Huaping and Yongren on the seventh day of the third lunar month every year. The Songkran Festival in Dayaowan, Chuxiong is called "Woba Festival" here. "Wo" means gathering in Dai language, "Ba" means fish, and "Woba Festival" means gathering fish. Therefore, the most solemn and sacred activity to celebrate the Dai Water-splashing Festival on the Jinsha River is to hold a "fish sacrifice" ceremony before splashing water. On the day of the festival, people will hold an opening ceremony early in the morning. At the beginning of the ceremony, under the command of an old Dai man, two big wooden fish (one red and one blue) were carried out by two local Dai youths and stood in the middle of the water-splashing festival. Suddenly, the guns were loud and the venue was solemn. After three shots, the man carrying the wooden fish walked around the field, then suona cleared the way, blowing and beating, and led the wooden fish to the beach beside the Jinsha River. Everyone followed, and under the command of the Dai elders, everyone went to the river to draw water and scatter wooden fish. Then the old man dipped the pine branches in water and sprinkled them gently on everyone's head to wish them good luck, and then everyone was free to splash water. After the ceremony, people play suona, then take Muyu back to the village, and then have fun, drink and sing a duet. Then why did the Dai people here start the water splashing ceremony in the form of "offering fish" and pour holy water on the special "wooden fish"? Legend has it that a long time ago, the ancestor of the Dai people, King Lv Bai, died in the battle against foreign aggression, leaving only Prince Qingge and Princess Hongmei. Brother and sister vowed to fight the enemy to the end and defend the interests and dignity of Dai family, but they were finally captured because they were outnumbered. The leaderless Dai people were driven out of their homes and came to the Jinsha River. Dai thought this should always be their place to live, but I didn't expect the enemy to uproot Dai by borrowing the demon stone from the cliff next to Jinsha River. At this time, the desperate Dai family no longer had the strength to escape, and the tired people were lying on the beach waiting to die. Suddenly, the clouds were gathering, the wind was blowing, and the river surged. I saw a flash of lightning, followed by a roar. When people saw it, the river receded and the dangerous rocks on the cliff were fixed. However, the surviving Dai family found a red fish on Jiangya Stone. The red fish opened its mouth wide and shouted at the top of its lungs, "Water, water …" So the understanding Dai family drew water from the river with bowls and fed it to the red fish one by one. Red fish opened his eyes, and the villagers found that red fish's eyes were most like Princess Hongmei's. See Panan, Torch Flower of Passion, Yunnan Nationalities Publishing House, 2003, pp. 72-74. Since then, the Dai people along the Jinsha River have used this special way to commemorate the legendary Qingge and Hongmei brothers and sisters who turned into red magic fish and saved the disaster of the Dai people. From this myth and legend story circulating in the social life of the Dai people, we can see that "fish" gained divinity in this legend because of its greatness or kindness to the Dai family, and since then, as a special or illuminated mythological image in the eyes of the Dai people, it has been running through the whole creative process of the Dai people for thousands of years. It occupies a very important position in the ideology of the Dai people and is a great creator and reproductive god in the social life of the Dai people, so today's Dai women live in the middle reaches of the Jinsha River.

3. The story of reproductive worship-fish worship

As a cultural symbol, fish worship has been used and recorded in many ethnic groups since ancient times. As an aquatic creature, fish refers to the representative of fertility worship in traditional folk culture. Fish are very prolific, and a spring rain can breed a lot of life overnight. Due to the restriction and influence of beliefs, customs and culture, the Dai people's concept of animal worship is particularly prominent in costumes, primitive sacrifices, reproductive worship and festival culture. As the imaginary god of the Chinese nation, dragon combines the characteristics of ready-made biological fetishes of various clans and is the patron saint of many ethnic groups. In the folk culture of ethnic minorities, their totem amulets are often reflected in the communication with aquatic creatures such as fish, which has become an interpretation and cultural symbol recorded by many ethnic groups with images. The Dai people, who originated from Baiyue nationality and lived by water since ancient times, have always regarded dragons and fish as mascots. Fish, as a folk symbol of masculine and prolific creatures, has been favored and concerned by many women for thousands of years. Early female fish patterns are found in cultural relics unearthed in Hongshan Culture and Yangshao cultural sites, as well as decorative patterns of "birds pecking fish" and "Shuang Yutu" on Qin bricks and Han tiles. Mr. Wen Yiduo once pointed out in his "Talking about Fish" that China ancestors had the habit of symbolizing sexual collocation with fish; Zhao Guohua further pointed out that in the cultural theory of reproductive worship, fish is the symbol of female genitalia. It can be seen that today's imaginative ethnic minorities in Yunnan endow the totem object "fish" with divinity or spirituality through its connotation and symbolic meaning. As a kind of mother worship, reproductive worship is a manifestation of worship concept in real life, which has many forms and contents. Dai people respect fish and regard fish as the mascot of Dai family. Dai people have lived by water since ancient times, and the special natural environment, coupled with living by water all the year round, benefited from water, and sometimes was harmed by water, made the fish's super fecundity and reverence for water more realistic and worshipful for Dai people. Reflected in daily life, the concept of fish worship runs through the life of the Dai people, such as tattoo custom, fish sacrifice and eating custom, wearing gold and silver ornaments with fish patterns, wearing clothes embroidered with fish patterns, shoes and hats and other concepts, customs and beliefs, all of which are concrete representations of totem worship, that is, fish worship relics, in the real life of the Dai people. Tattooing, as a cultural phenomenon with a long history of Dai people, is a kind of tattoo with auspicious patterns or totem images on people for utilitarian purposes. Their purpose is to avoid dragons, bid farewell to clans, say the main decoration, and say the age. In a word, the Vietnamese living by the water tattooed themselves with dragon tattoos as a disguise to "avoid dragon harm" when working in the fields. Dai people believe that totem images and patterns such as scales, water lines and earthworm lines tattooed on their legs can not only confuse the invasion and harm of fish, snakes, leeches and mosquitoes, but also reflect the worship of Dai ancestors to the totem-aquatic creature "ichthyosaur". It can be seen that the ancients used tattoos to avoid the trouble of "ichthyosaurs", which not only included the original concept of Dai ancestors simulating animal models to strengthen dignity, but also included the strong and primitive reproductive worship view of Baiyue people. (Yan: Tattoos in the murals of Dai Buddhist temples, On Dai Culture, Yunnan Nationalities Publishing House, 2000, p. 34 1. Influenced by the culture of the Central Plains, the Dai people all over Yunnan have always followed and preserved the ancient customs and cultural phenomena related to fish in the Central Plains, such as "offering fish", "eating fish", "making fish boats as sacrifices" and "wearing fish patterns". For example, the women's clothing of Dayao and the red imitation "fin" belt woven with fire grass fiber and wool at the waist are used to record or commemorate the story of two brothers and sisters who devoted themselves to saving the Dai people and turning them into god fish, or the Dai people in Dayao made fish-shaped boats to sacrifice fish, from the cultural phenomenon of Dai clothing in different regions such as Yuanjiang, Xinping Huayao Dai women's clothing, Maguan Black Dai women's clothing and other Dai costumes that have lived by the water since ancient times, such as using gold and silver jewelry as fish-shaped accessories and decorative items, and Geng. The ancient people's understanding of the connection between eating fish and reproduction originated from the experience of connecting food with life. They think that if you eat fish, you can get as strong reproductive capacity as fish, and the reproductive capacity of fish will "grow" on you. In short, in the process of understanding things, primitive ancestors used analogy, and things with some similar characteristics can be transformed and replaced with each other. Therefore, for thousands of years, influenced by the Han culture in the Central Plains and the surrounding ethnic cultures, Dai women's costumes living in various parts of Yunnan have been endowed with the cultural connotations of "one more year" and "many children and many blessings" in the use of fish patterns and fish shapes. Fish and snail shells are spiritual objects worshipped by many ethnic groups in Yunnan. As a symbol of good luck, they have always been admired and loved by many minority women. According to historical records, the Bai people living in Dali and the Yi people living in Dayao once wore fishtail hats made of black or yellow cotton cloth in history, imitating the shape of "fishtail" as cultural relics symbolizing future generations' desire for reproduction and justice and their worship of reproduction. However, influenced by the region and culture, Dai women's clothing in Sijiang Valley mostly adopts the clothing connotation of fish and water, fish and rice planting, which embodies the aesthetic consciousness and specific production and living conditions. Dai costumes take the image of god fish in fairy tales as a cultural symbol throughout, which corresponds to the fish pattern and whitebait ornaments in costumes. We can see that fish ornaments, as the carrier and symbol of animal worship, are the symbols of sex and fertility, and the cultural accumulation of symbolic meanings such as life and creation, death and rebirth.

As a nation, the worship of reproductive culture exists and occurs in all ethnic groups in the world. As an intensified form of reproductive culture, reproductive worship once occupied a very important position in human history. Reproductive worship comes from totem reproductive belief. Ancient biological life, induced life under matrilineal system and sexual life after disintegration are the development process of ancient fertility concept. These three stages have not only development stages, but also infiltration and intersection, thus forming more complex fertility beliefs. (Song: China's Fertility Belief, Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House, 1999, pp. 4 14~424. As Engels said in "Family Private Ownership and the Origin of the State": "According to the viewpoint of historical materialism, the decisive factor of history is, in the final analysis, the mode of production and reproduction of direct life. However, there are two kinds of production itself: on the one hand, the production of human beings, that is, the reproduction of species. The social system in which people live in a certain historical era and a certain region is restricted by two kinds of production, on the one hand, by the stage of labor development, and on the other hand, by the stage of family development. " In a word, in primitive society, the development of human beings and the production of means of production (that is, the reproduction of species) are more important. In the society at that time, women were more or less responsible for the reproduction of race and children. As one of the most deeply rooted concepts in China people's traditional cultural psychology, the old adage that "there are three sons who are unfilial, and there is no heir" has always embodied the important position of reproducing future generations. Therefore, various cultural phenomena, such as totems containing objects, fish patterns modeling into the spirit of the divine fish, fish patterns protecting the people and so on, explain the primitive reproductive worship and belief of Dai women. Ancient humans used fish as a symbol of vulva, and first showed their admiration and admiration for fish. This envy is not a general envy, but an envy of the powerful reproductive ability of fish; This worship is not an animal worship in the religious sense, but a worship of the fertility of fish. In a word, the worship of ancient ancestors to the reproductive ability of fish is a kind of ritual worship, that is, to express their worship and belief in reproduction in the traditional and quaint forms of praying for the reproduction of ethnic populations, such as fish sacrifice and eating fish. The core of its worship is to worship its fertility. It can be seen that in the rich patterns of Yunnan ethnic minorities, every seemingly simple pattern is not created at will, but is formed through the evolution of totems, the convergence of historical factors, the different aesthetic tastes of various ethnic groups and the influence of foreign cultures.

Survival and reproduction is the eternal theme of mankind, and it is the eternal goal of mankind to hope that everything in nature will flourish. Decorating clothes, shoes and hats with flowers, birds, animals, insects, fish and other patterns with diverse meanings and rich connotations is not only a symbol used by minority women for decoration and beautification, but also a protection used by Dai people to commemorate or pray for peace and get the protection of the gods. In a word, this method of directly imitating the image of an object to express meaning can be regarded as a relatively primitive symbolic form or way of thinking interpretation. People imitate shapes as decorations, often in order to obtain the "aura" or "protection" of what they intend in the psychology of "seeking common ground".

(B) the aesthetic connotation of taking black as beauty-black Dai and Huayao Dai women's clothing

Clothing color not only marks the individual race of a nation and the group relationship of different personalities, ages and marriages, but also has the significance of exorcising evil spirits and praying for prosperity and auspiciousness. The color, style, decoration and other formal factors of Dai costumes reflect the different aesthetic taste and national character of Dai people. The connotation of clothing has the symbol and nature of regional division and grade difference in a certain social culture. Among the Dai costumes of different regions and branches in Yunnan, the cultural concept of taking black as beauty as the aesthetic representation of national costumes can attract people's attention most. The black Dai women's dresses scattered in Maguan County, Wenshan and Huayao Dai women's dresses living in Yuanjiang and Xinping are unique, mainly black, supplemented by red, green and white. Maguan black Dai women's dress, regardless of gender and age, is a black handkerchief, a black skirt and a black waist from head to toe. Regardless of festivals, weddings, funerals, religious sacrifices and other folk activities, Dai women here have always regarded their dresses woven, dyed with indigo and black soil cloth, inlaid with silver bubbles and silver chains as symbols of good luck, beauty and adulthood. In the local area, whether a girl gets married and becomes a bride or an old man dies of illness, people can't do without it. As a symbolic style, it is not only a symbol of identifying clan, gender, age, marital status and status, but also has a certain normative function. It is a history book worn by Dai's family and a legend painted on clothes. At the same time, it is also a collective representation or symbolic form that Dai family members convey to the same ethnic group, ancestors and ghosts, as well as all real or fictional objects. Now there are some old ladies in Wenshan who still keep their black dresses when they are brides in order to "pretend to be old" after death. Zhu: Notes on the history and culture of the Dai people in Wenshan Prefecture, in Tracing the Origin of the worship of the Dai gods, Yunnan Nationalities Publishing House, 1996, p. 352.

Black Dai worships black, and their costumes are mainly dark fabrics such as black and navy blue, with red and green fabrics. His aesthetic hobby is mainly manifested in thick, strong and distinctive red and black clothes. The traditional black dress of the Dai people in Maguan, Wenshan, from wearing a top-shaped black cloth hat to wearing a stand-up collar and a silver-soaked dress, the hem is bright and smart, embedded in a dignified black atmosphere, and its dress characteristics are in sharp contrast with the colorful clothes of Dai women in other areas. At the same time, the costumes of Huayao Dai also have the connotation of black theme costumes, from wearing black cloth to wearing black jackets and jackets, to wearing black patchwork skirts and black leggings, which reflects the aesthetic and cultural connotation of Dai people's worship of black. In a word, this concept of taking color, nature, society and life as cultural consciousness is sacred and therefore beautiful.

(3) decorations-also a symbol of love.

Love is the eternal theme of mankind. Many accessories in Dai costumes and some specific items in accessories, such as satchels and waist reeds, are often used as tokens of love by Dai women.

1. schoolbag

Satchel, a traditional folk handicraft of Dai nationality. It is an indispensable daily necessities for Dai men, women and children to go out, and it is also an exquisite ornament for Dai women's clothing. People have been paying attention to its cultural significance of carrying shoulders and decorating the body. For a long time, satchel has been favored and welcomed by people because of its convenient use, fine workmanship, bright colors and elegant appearance. In Dai areas, people can't live without it, such as celebrating festivals, gathering in the streets, moving from one village to another, working in the fields, weddings and funerals, etc. It is not only an ornament and necessity of people's life, but also an article for Dai families to explain Dai history and culture, folk beliefs, transmit information and express love.

Bags are also called "small bags", and so are bags. Generally used for holding things or carrying things when going out. In ancient times, it was called "Bao", which was a kind of purse, and its predecessor was also called "Lianbao". The earliest bags can be carried by hand or carried, so they are also called "holding bags" or "pulling bags". In the future, people gradually felt that their shoulders were inconvenient, so they hung them on their waists and became "side bags". In ancient times, the material for making lotus bags was generally leather, so it was also called "dish bag". "The Book of Jin Deng Youchuan" records: "Deng Youmeng saw a woman walking by the water, and the beast broke its rock sac from behind." It can be seen that in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, both men and women had a rock sac around them. The rock sac is decorated with animal head patterns, also known as "animal head rock sac". In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, people wore trays, not all made of leather, but also made of silk. For example, "A Brief Introduction to the Cultural Relics of the Old Capital" said: "Hebao Lane sells nine official samples, gold embroidery and various designs." It is said that this kind of wallet was originally used by men to hold tobacco leaves. Later, everyone thought it was beautiful, so they rushed to imitate it, and both men and women liked it. The ancient folk bags, which have been passed down to this day, have gradually evolved into satchels and hanging bags that Yunnan minority men and women carry on their backs and shoulders today, becoming necessities and decorations in people's daily lives. (Zhou Xun, Gao Chunming: Ancient Chinese Costume Customs, Shaanxi People's Publishing House, 1988, pp. 265-267. ) With the surprise and joy of adulthood, young men and women of ethnic minorities who have grown up often express their love by giving gifts to their lovers, such as headscarves, hats, shoes and satchels, while concluding feelings and making love vows. Throughout the ages, various ethnic satchels, such as purses and shoulder bags, handbags and backpacks, have interpreted and interpreted countless romantic and charming love stories. Young Dai men and women who are in love or about to get married in Dehong, Baoshan, Lincang and other places often bring a "satchel" woven with friendship and embroidered with auspicious patterns such as peacocks, butterflies and flowers as a symbol of love. Because in the traditional folk customs and beliefs of the Dai people, A Dai brocade satchel with exquisite craftsmanship, patterns and various languages symbolizing good fortune is not only the exquisite expression and display of Dai brocade culture in Dai satchel, but also the condition and standard for Dai men to choose objects, and it is also a symbol of women's display skills and beautiful performance.

The ordinary Dai satchel is made of traditional brocade fabric embroidered with flowers, insects, fish, animals, geometric patterns, characters and other patterns. And then cutting samples, butting, threading and sewing. Generally speaking, Dai satchels in Dehong, Baoshan and Lincang are mostly rectangular or square, with a length of 24 to 28 cm and a width of 24 to 35 cm. Covering patterns are often composed of strange geometric patterns such as 40-degree or 90-degree twill, diamond, semi-diamond, unequal grid, and the colors are mostly yellow, red, green and orange. The cover is hand-woven with multicolored cotton thread, silk thread or cashmere acrylic wool, decorated with geometric abstract patterns such as four petals, octagonal flower, Wan Ziwen, tortoise pattern, crab pattern, elephant trunk pattern, elephant foot pattern, butterfly pattern and peacock pattern.

2. Waist reed

Luo Yao, also known as Yangluo, is a traditional bamboo weaving handicraft of Dai people in Xinping and Yuanjiang.

Waist reed is generally about a foot high and nearly half a foot in diameter. Most of them are trumpet-shaped, and the middle waist is slightly thinner. They are hand-woven with thin strips and cores. It is an ornament that Huayao Dai women hang or decorate on their waists during festivals, street gatherings and field work. In the local area, because waist reeds are often used by women to hold bits and pieces such as needlework, coins, cakes and fruits, and because waist reeds are small and exquisite and easy to carry, Dai women who love beauty decorate waist reeds with colorful three-dimensional patterns such as cotton balls, plastic beads and aluminum bells, so they are similar to "flower waist reeds". Compared with Dai tube handkerchiefs worn on their shoulders, they are colorful and colorful. In short, it is not difficult to see that Yunnan Dai women's clothing in Sijiang Valley, as a carrier of culture and an external symbol of a ethnic group, not only has the function of identifying a nation and clan, but also represents a nation's region, customs and culture from its structural style, clothing characteristics, cultural functions, totem worship and reproductive images. At the same time, it is also a series of reflections of many aesthetic tastes, cultural connotations and religious beliefs in the social life of the Dai people in Yunnan, and it is a symbol of the Dai people's display of beauty and culture. Nowadays, with the continuous improvement of people's living standards, the use value and cultural function of Dai women's clothing are no longer attached to something, but separated from simple production and living utensils, and gradually endowed with the significance of national changes, history and mythology from the initial production and living needs.