Though materials,styles and patterns are different for ornamental objects of all nationalities, the positions on which they wear are about the same, such as the head flower, necklace, earring, bracelet and finger ring.Besides these adornments that they all like to wear,every nationality has its unique adornments with unique cultural connotations and ways of wearing. Sometimes,the adornments are more symbolic than clothes or contain more national cultural contents. They are all narrating their national history in a unique way and recording the glory and dream of their nationality.
People are dazzled and fascinated by the affection that Tu minority people show toward colors and the audacity and enthusiasm that they show in the use of colors. They like to use orange, ginger yellow, verdure, dark green, sky blue, light blue, scarlet, pink, blue and white. Tu women attach great importance to their head adornments, which were called "niuda' by local people call. In the past, the style of "niuda" differed in different places, but it gradually formed into one style when entering the modern time only with the difference between married women and the unmarried. Girls usually do three plaits and married women do double plaits. The ends of plaits are connected and decorated with coral, turquoise and trumpet shell pieces. Tu omen usually wear gold, silver or copper earrings decorated with red coral and emerald and carved with patterns. Colorful beads with tassels hang down from earrings. Among them the most beautiful one is the silver eardrops--using colorful porcelain bead strings to connect the earrings. Like several necklaces, the bead strands hang down in front of the chest. Tu women wear neck rings inlaid with more than twenty seashell pieces and hang patterned purses,pouches, small copper bells and colorful silk tassels around waist.Yugur women will start to wear tou mian when they become adults, which show that they are ready for participating in social activities and marriage. The most representative Yugur ornament, tou mian is an indispensable part in festive occasions when women need to dress up.
The way to wear is that first do the hair in three plaits at the left,right and behind, and then use three tou mians inlaid with silver plates, coral, agate, pearls,shells to tie around the three plaits. With a usual weight of 3.5 kg, a tou mian is divided into three segments connected by metal rings. The tou mian starts at the earring position and its length is decided by the body height. Head adornments for girls are also characteristic. The upper part of a long red cloth ribbon is decorated with coral beads of all different colors and the lower edge is decorated with tassels woven by coral beads of red, yellow; white, green, blue and iade stones.These decorative ribbons hang down to tire eyebrow in front of tile forehead like a bead curtain.
Kazakstan women also like to hang a bead curtain in front of the forehead, not as a separate head adornment, but a pendant from the hat. This kind of hat is the symboI of the bride. Unmarried women use hard shell round pipe shape small hats sewn by red,green or yellow flannelette. The hat crown is embroidered with gold threads and decorated with an owl feather. Kazakstan people believe that owl feathers signify courage and steadiness, so they
like to use them as a kind of decoration. There is another kind of round hat made of silk, satin, cotton cloth and otter or lambskin. It is embroidered with flower patterns on top of hat crown and inlaid with beads, agate and plugholes made of gold and silver where an owl feather is plug in.Lisu women's adornments are different in different living places. For example, married Lisu women who live in the Nu river area in Yunnan wear big bronze rings or sliver rings that hang down to shoulders,head adornments called "Ele" stringed by tridacna shell pieces, and hang adornments made of beads of different colors and agate in front of the chest. Lisu women in Lijiang area like to wrap cloth head covers decorated with beads and bang necklaces made by beads. Lisu gms in Dehong region wear red, white, or yellow handkerchiefs fully decorated with beads. Silver bells, silver bulbs and beads pendants hang down from the handkerchiefs and the end of pendants are decorated with colorful pompons and tassels. They wear silver neck rings, silver ornamental locks connected by bead strings and several or dozens of necklaces.
There is a beautiful legend about "Ele,'the typical adornment to Lisu women. Long long ago, a beautiful girl and a handsome young fellow fell in love. The young man hunted in remote mountains and wild forests all day long. His body was severely hurt by tree twigs because he had no clothes to put on. The young girl felt very sad after seeing this, so she crossed mountains and fotmd some wild linen. She peeled off the fiber from the linen skin, and twisted threads, She spent many days and nights and finally wove threads into doth.With the cloth, she made clothes and gave them to the young men. With a wish that the girl would look more beautiful, the young man then gave the girl an" ele" that he wove by coral beads. Since then, the "ele"has become a kind of head adornment for the girls and a keepsake between Lisu young men and women.
Jingpo women's silver adornments are very striking, if a young Jingpo woman walks toward tls from a d/stance, the first thing that will attract us is the Shining silver adormnents in front of the chest. Because they like to wear black round-neck short jackets, silver ornaments look especially dazzling. Besides chest adornments, they also hang several silver necklaces and silver rings. These ornaments not only look shining~ but also clang when they walk. Together with the scarlet pailform skirts andm scarlet hair hoops USUally WOre by Women, the arrangement of black, white and red color complementing each other creates a striking artistic effect.
Women of Nu minority also wear chest adornments,mostly bead strands made by coral,agate shells, beads,silver coins. The color alternates among red, green and white. Some wear head adornments made by red beads strands or wrap red rattan around the head. Besides,they like to pierce through ears with bamboo pipes or Wear big copper earrings. Though materials used share some similarities with other nationalities, there is something new and fresh in the process of making and ornamental effect displayed.
