Panyao Three-horned Hat of Yao Ethnic Group

Panyao Three-horned Hat Scares Tiger Away

The topknots of the Yao women are very complicated. Some of them wear hats, some decorate brocade or handkerchief round the head, some form mallet-like chignon, some use silver hairpins and some attach a board to their heads and then wrap their hair around them to form a chignon. The Panyao women in Longsheng County, Guangxi always wear a three-horned hat. A hat-like framework was woven with sawali and hemp canes and then it is covered around with delicately embroidered cloth. Women of different ages wear hats of different colors. Old women wear cyan hats, which stand for longevity; middle-aged women wear blue hats, which refer to good harvest and prosperity; young girls wear colorful hats, which imply youth and promising future. Various patterns are embroidered on the hats, such as flowers, birds, fish, mountains, rivers, trees, lions, dragons, elephants, kylins, golden pheasant and phoenix. But tigers and leopards cannot be embroidered because legend has it that the three-horned hats were originally made to drive off tigers and leopards.

The ancestors of Panyao lived in the remote mountains and forests where tigers and leopards frequented their village and often caused casualties. Once all the men in the village went out hunting, leaving only women and children at home. At night a tiger dashed in the stockaded village and harassed the households by scratching the doors and windows with its claws. The women were roused by the sound. Scared, the women tried to drive the tiger off using sticks and hoes. This, however, did not drive it away. Instead the tiger began to dash towards them more viciously. At this critical moment, the sharp-witted Yao women, resourceful in emergency, grabbed up a tripod at the fireplace and threw it at the roaring tiger. Surprisingly, this tripod fit exactly around its head. The tiger, with no idea what on earth this weird thing was, turned around hurriedly and ran away. Thanks to the tripod, the women and children managed to survive. Afterward, the women made triangle hats based on the shape of the tripod, which they wish could bring them good luck and even turn misfortune into good account.

The Panyao women in He County, Guangxi also wear triangle hats, which are much bigger and magnificent than that worn by Longsheng women. This is a tower-shaped hat with dozens of layers. They believe that with this kind of hat on, they can be free from any danger when they enter the remote forests and thick brushwoods. 

In contrast, some Yao women in Jinxiu County prefer a kind of small and exquisite trapezoid hat, which is also sawali-made framework covered with white cloth. This hat is even smaller than the flowery hat of the Uigurs and can only be put on the top of the head. This delicate hat is especially unique among the topknots of Yao people who usually regard grandeur as beauty.