YAO ETHNIC GROUP in china
Located in the Longji Rice Terrace Scenic area of Guilin, Huangluo village is inhabited by Yao people. The Yao ethnic group has a history of over 1000 years. The village has become very popular during the last years and all this due to the women. The women here are characterized by their red embroidered dresses and their long hair that happen to reach the average length of 1,7m, just average. The women of Huangluo village can only cut their hair once, when they turn 18 as a part of a coming of age ceremony which means that the girl is ready to get married.
A woman from Huangluo village in China
THE LONG TRADITIONS OF YAO long hair WOMEN
Till 1987 only the man who would become a husband of the woman had the privilege to see her hair in all its beauty. If it happened that poor local or a foreigner stumbled upon a woman with her hair revealed, he was forced to spend 3 years with her family as a son-in-law. Nowadays, sadly (maybe not for everyone though), all those traditions are abandoned.
Some women in the village work as performers, putting on show what once was such a privilege to see, they sign and dance too and all for money and for tourists coming to the area. But still they cultivate some of the traditions. The hair is the most prized possession for them. Long hair stands for longevity and fortune.
The young unmarried women wear their hair bound and covered by a black scarf. A married woman who doesn’t have children wear her hair down in two braids, while a married woman who has children carry her hair wrapped around her head like a turban curled into a bun in the front.