First- it's a very handsome piece Pamela! Lovely condition, very skillful weaving and striking design.
Second- I was immediately hit by similarities to T'ai weavings (Hi! Sandie): the overall patterning on a large central field recalls many types of T'ai textiles- headcloths, meditation cloths, shoulder cloths, blankets...; the pattern itself is a star motif which is not uncommon in many areas of the world, but can be readily found in T'ai pieces (see Susan Conway's Thai Textiles, p.133).
Third- Re it being a headcloth or not: Gittinger&Lefferts, in Textiles and the Tai Experience in Southeast Asia, show numerous similar small square textiles, starting with a phaa mon, or head cloth, of the Phu Tai people in Thailand (p.77, #2.24 and p/224-5, #5.27-5.30). These are multi-colored and of a different design, but have clear similarities. I cannot find them referenced specifically in the text, but in the context of the chapter they would be part of gift exchanges at New Year's/Songkran or weddings.
Another square textile is used for about-to-be-ordained boys, as Sandie mentioned, and is called phaa pok hua. The ones shown on p106-7 are a bit different than yours tho, with an open white square in the center, which makes an interesting design device where the center band of patterning is at right angles to that on either side of it.
Yet another square textile is that used for meditation and three examples are shown on p112-13. These differ greatly from yours with the Buddhist motif of the 'third eye', or concentric diamonds in the centers.
I mention all these not to show off, but to shed light on the possible use of such a square-shaped cloth. It could indeed be a headcloth.
Being entirely cotton makes me wonder about Dong provenance, as I cannot recall any Dong textiles I've seen in cotton; usually they are silk. The fineness of weave and geometric patterning do suggest Dong, tho the material does not. The Dong live nearby to Miao and it is often difficult to be sure of exact origin- ie a baby carrier in Bonding Via Baby Carriers (p.112, #33) which is shown as Miao, but here they are called Dong (I've enclosed a photo of an example). Personally, I would love to know more about the Dong people as I am very much drawn to their textiles.
As to origin, many T'ai people originated in SipSongPanna/Land of a Thousand Rice Fields, or the area now known as Yunnan Province in the south of China, and migrated into what is now Burma, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. The T'ai Lu people still live in this area and are known as 'Dai' in China. Miao people are non-T'ai, but often live in close proximity. The only book I have with good Miao information is Clothings and Ornaments of China's Miao People and on p.58 there are an apron and a waistband from Zhenfeng which have overtones of T'ai weaving, and show the star pattern on your headscarf, tho not as an overall pattern, but as one of several forming a concentric diamond.
I guess the question is- Have the T'ai influenced the Miao? And where specifically? Dissertation time...
Attachments: |

forum-dong-tach155.jpg [ 58.73 KiB | Viewed 18404 times ]
|
|