Curare Bark Clothes

This is an example of Hani clothing made of curare bark.The bark cloth is made from the bark of a tree with a thick, straight trunk, which is peeled from the trunk after the tree is cut down, then rubbed with water to soften it and laid out to dry in the sun. Once it is processed, the bark can be cut and sewn into clothing. This is one of the most ancient surviving techniques for making clothing and in the past it was very popular among the Hani and Dai in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan. Today, though, the art of making clothing from bark has been completely abandoned.