Women’s braid-ornaments and red-tasseled hat

The Yuku nationality is a traditional animal husbandry nationality, and their clothing also has the distinguished characteristics of animal husbandry culture. In the styles of clothing, gowns and long boots are in a large number; for the raw materials, the sheepskin, Tibetan woolen fabric, felt and silk are widely used. The characteristics of Yuku gown are that the gown is long, the collar is high, and the gown is in the same length as the body. Some of the high collars are in the same level with the root of ear. The lower hem of women gowns was slit up, most of the slit, collar, the gem of front part and the sleeve’s cuff are inlaid or embroidered with lace or patterns. Outside the gown, they like wearing the scarlet, pink or jade green high-collar sleeves jackets made of satin. 

Among the clothing and decorations of the Yuku nationality, the most distinguished are the jewels and hats of women. Most of the single young girls wear their hair in five or seven braids, and decorate themselves with forehead belt. Most of the forehead belts are made of red cloth in the width of 5 or 6 centimeters, and inlaid with coral, shell slices and other decorations. The front part is hung with the necklace stringed together by coral and jade pearls of different colors, just like a pearl curtain hung before the forehead and at the same level with the eyebrow. The married women wear their hair in three braids, with one hung on the back, and the left and right oness respectively hung from the back of ears to the breast. They do not wear forehead belt, but change it into “braid ornaments”. The braid ornaments are actually three pieces of long decoration belts that are respectively bound on three braids, the one on the back is hung with a row of big round shell slices from the top to the bottom. The two pieces before the breast are respectively divided into three sections: upper, middle and bottom, and they are connected with metal loops in the middle. The upper sections is comparatively wider, in the width of about 11 to 12 centimeters, and is hung on both sides before the breast, the upper end is in the shape of triangle. The two lower sections are slightly narrower, in the width of about 7 to 8 centimeters, and are hung below the waist. The belts are inlaid and decorated with coral, agate, shell, pearl, silver plates and copper plates, which constitute all kinds of patterns. The bottom end of the lower section is decorated with colored silk tassels, which are beautiful and tasteful. The whole length of braid ornaments is decided according to the figure and height of every person, generally it requires that the top is at the same level with the root of ears, and the bottom is to the bottom hem of the gown. On the wedding days of the girls of the Yuku nationality, a solemn ceremony of dressing wedding clothes and braid ornaments will be held. 

Besides the braid ornaments, the horn-shape, sharp-top, red-tasseled white felt hat is also the symbol dress of married women of the Yuku nationality. This kind of hat is made of thin felt, with sharp roof, and the brim of hat is comparatively wide and is inlaid with two lines of black silk strip hem. The back brim is slightly warped, and the front brim is horizontally extended. The roof of hat is decorated with red tassels. It is said this is to memorize a heroine of the Yuku nationality that was murdered in history, and the red tassels represent the blood on the top of her head when she died for the people.