Waist hoops of the De'ang ethnic group

Waist hoops of the De'ang ethnic group

　　Among the traditional attire of the De'ang people, the most eye-catching feature is the waist hoops worn by women. According to De'ang custom, once a girl reaches adulthood, she adorns her waist with several, even dozens, of these hoops. Most waist hoops are woven from rattan strips, though some have a rattan front section and a coiled silver wire back section. The widths, thicknesses, and sizes of the rattan rings vary, and many are painted in colors such as red, black, and green. Some are also engraved with various floral or patterned designs, or covered with silver or aluminum foil. This unique custom is a continuation of the practice of the Mang people — the ancestors of the De'ang during the Tang Dynasty — who adorned themselves by “wrapping their waists with rattan strips.”

　　As for the origin, legend has it that the ancestors of the De'ang people emerged from a gourd. When they first came out, all the men looked identical, while the women flew about uncontrollably. Later, a deity used wisdom to distinguish the men’s appearances. In order to keep the women from flying away, the men wove rattan hoops to tie them down, preventing the women from flying and thus compelling them to live with the men. The waist hoops used today evolved from those early rattan circles. This myth reveals that the waist hoops originally served a somewhat utilitarian purpose, but over time, this symbolic meaning faded, and the hoops became purely decorative — a symbol of beauty. The De'ang believe that the more waist hoops a girl wears, and the more exquisitely they are made, the more it reflects her intelligence, capability, and skillfulness. As a result, adult women proudly wear multiple waist hoops. During courtship, young men often go to great lengths to craft intricately designed rattan waist hoops featuring patterns of animals and plants, which they present to their beloved as tokens of love. Thus, the waist hoops also became a symbol of romance.