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"Attached are two photos of Yi man's garments, one a long robe similar to those posted by Iain and Louis. I, too, puzzled over the location of the decoration on the wrong side of the long robe. I think that the long tail of the robe is pulled between the legs from back to front and then gathered by a long woven hemp belt and folded over so that the decoration is visible. The jacket was bought by me at the same time as the long robe, and I think that they should be worn together as in the attached photo.

In the attached folder I have also placed a woman's outfit apparently from the same Yi subgroup. Thanks to Iain and Susan for giving me the general geographic locations of this subgroup, as being from Yunnan, rather than Sichuan."

Dear Pamela,

Now that you have obtained permission to post photos from the Writing with Thread catalog I hasten to send you a piece of major identification from the exhibit in Santa Fe and the catalog. There is a thread on The Forum [this thread] devoted to discussion of the impressive Yi Luxi huge capes that several of us have in our collections. I thought that the cape was a man's garment which was pulled between the legs to form a front skirt and I sent a photo of such for discussion on the Forum (see photo "Misattribution as male"). However, when I put a much larger cape (08.059 Yi Luxi Ceremonial garment) on my husband and tried to drape it, the hemp robe was much too voluminous to fit comfortably between his legs. Was there a difference between Yi men and American men? Now I understand my mistake. According to Writing With Threads the robes in question are ceremonial garments for women (see attached scan from the WWT catalog). The explanatory text on page 376 of the catalog is as follows:

"CEREMONIAL GARMENT The baina is made from six panels of heavy hemp cloth. Embroidery embellishes the front and shoulders and the lower inside back that is pulled up over the head when worn to make the needlework plainly visible. The baina signifies wealth, solemnity, and respect for family origins. According to village elders, it can be worn only under three circumstances: 1) upon entering the groom's home the bride is covered with the baina so her figure is concealed, 2) the eldest son's wife wears a baina to greet relatives at the funeral of a famiy member; 3) a married daughter wears a baina to honor the dead and express her gratitude when she returns to her parents' home for the funeral of an elderly family member (Chen, "Caizhuang nongyan fanhua sijin: [Vibrant Colors and Brocade-like Floral]. 108-19.)

The Writing With Threads catalog is a wonderful addition to any archive or collection of Chinese ethnic minority textiles.

Ann