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Atayal Cloth

Tags: aborigine | Atayal | clothing

Four pieces of woven cloth each measuring approximately 24 centimeters in width and approximately 73 centimeters in length were sewn together. Vertical seams reach a width of approximately five centimeters. The entire piece measures 92 to 98 centimeters horizontally and 71 to 76 centimeters vertically.

A unique feature of this woven cloth is that the weft is made of interwoven white ramie and red yarn. The warp consists of white ramie woven with red yarn to form large and small rhombi. This is a representative pattern of the Atayal tribe.

The background color of the warp is white and the weft makes use of two colors, red and white. The finished cloth contains two types of fibers, ramie and yarn.

This cloth was collected from Xikou Village of Shoufeng Township in Hualien County. During the Japanese occupation of Taiwan (1895-1945), the inhabitants of this area were referred to as the Mugua group due to their proximity to the Mugua River.

 

Department of Graphic Communications and Digital Publishing, Shih Hsin University Digital archiving project of the Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines