Man's Costume Worn on the Guzang Festival Embroidered with Dragon Design on Flat Silkworm Cocoons

This is a costume worn by Miao men for the Guzang Festival. The three heads of Guzang will wear this costume during the festival. It is decorated with dragon, pheonix, and bird motifs, embroidered all over the garment using a special technique called "cocoon embroidery." This is made by first putting silkworms on a flat surface, the silk produced by the worms will form a peice of a cocoon which are then stuck together on a peice of plain white cloth with gum from the Chinese honeylocust fruit (Gleditsia sinensis) or konjac gell (from Amorphophallus konjac). Afterwards, it is embroidered with various paaterns using colored silk thread.