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Black Woolen Cloth and Sheep Skin Cape with Seven Stars

Museum of Ethnic Cultures, Minzu University of China

Museum of Ethnic Cultures, Minzu University of China
Beijing, China

This is a Naxi cape made of sheepskin and black wool. The seven round patterns represent seven stars and the two upper ones represent the sun and the moon. Together they symbolize the spiritual nature of the Naxi but also allude to the daily lives of Naxi women, who rise in the morning while the stars are still in the sky, and work until the moon comes up in the evening. The cape is also meant to resemble a frog, an important totem in Naxi shamanism, representing the roaming and nomadic life of the Naxi's ancestors before they settled.

Details

  • Title: Black Woolen Cloth and Sheep Skin Cape with Seven Stars
  • Provenance: Museum of Ethnic Cultures, Minzu University of China
  • Original Source: http://bwg.muc.edu.cn/
  • Object type: Clothes
  • Ethnic group: Naxi

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