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Discover the astonishing Chinese Miao silver jewelry art
Who are the Miao?
How do you feel to wear 30 pounds of silver ornaments from head to toe? Well, the Miao are a nation who proudly show off the beauty with their handmade, elaborately designed silver jewelry in a way that almost covers their entire body! Being a minority group in the mountainous areas of south and southwestern China, the Miao think the glistening silver is a symbol of light that can bring hope and prosperous future. There are so many different kinds of Miao silver ornaments, here are just a few:
Silver headdresses
Miao silver headdresses are quite a sight and are worn only on very special occasions, like weddings or important holidays. They include three different parts: the horns, the hat, and the hood.
Silver horns: The silver horns are the most important part of a Miao silver headdress, and they are crafted to mimic the horns of an ox. From one horn to another, the headpiece can span almost three feet and will usually reach about the same height. So they can be almost half the height of the wearer!
The pictures on the horn are colorful and showy. There is always a pattern of two dragons playing with a ball engraved on it. Women place a pair of white feathers onto the horn to make it higher and more beautiful, or adorn the horn with some silver flowers and butterflies.
Silver hat: A silver hat is the base of the headdress and can be a foot tall. It's wholly adorned with silver birds, flowers, tassels, and bells. Twelve pieces of silver feathers hang behind the hat, and reach directly to their waist.
Silver hood: The silver hood hangs down from the hat and covers parts of the face and neck. In some Miao areas, the silver hood has five ornaments placed on it, with the biggest one in the middle dropping from the forehead and the others hanging around ears.
While in other areas, a silver hood has three layers. The highest layer has 29 beautiful, round silver flowers. The middle layer sports a bright, round glass at the center, and 14 warriors riding horses standing at each side. Beautiful fringes form the lowest layer.
Silver hairpins
Miao silver hairpins always feature flowers, birds, and butterflies. The most attractive patterns feature 10 silver flowers laid out just like a Chinese fan. In the flowers are some beautiful, glistening beads, and around the center are five silver phoenixes.
Some hairpins look like chopsticks decorated with silver bells or long tassels.
Silver combs
Miao women use a silver comb to decorate their hair. The wooden comb has a layer of silver slices covered on its surface. On the surface of a comb are designs of birds, flowers, or the image of a Bodhisattva. There are some combs which feature big and long silver chains dropping down.
Silver earrings
Intricate Miao unique silver jewelry is often shaped like flowers, birds, butterflies, dragons, or plants. Miao women often wear 3 or 4 silver earrings at the same time. Reaching directly to their shoulders, a single silver earring can weight 200 grams. But many earrings are quite small, and the fine threads used to make them are almost invisible.
Silver neckbands
Wide silver neckbands are similar to necklaces in the West, but they are rigid and have many pendants hanging down from them. The neckbands vary in different Miao areas.A dragon silver neckband sports two dragons playing with a ball and has 11 various ornaments falling from it. Another kind of neckband has 14 silver rings linked tightly together, while silver birds or butterflies hang down from each ring.
Silver bracelets
The Miao silver bracelets are engraved with the images of flowers, fish, or dragons. Some bracelets have wide, heavy bands that look like the cuffs worn by ancient warriors. Miao women often wear 4 or 5 pairs of silver bracelets at the same time.
Silver rings
A Miao silver ring is usually quite small and has fine pieces of silver bent and shaped into flowers, birds, or plants. In some Miao areas, women have rings on all eight of their fingers, but with their thumbs free. Some rings can be half the length of their fingers.
Silver garments
Tiny silver slices or threads are commonly woven into the fabric of Miao clothing. There are more than 40 silver pieces in round or square shape that can be used.When put on a silver clothes, the beautiful light shines with the Miao walking.
Each piece is carved with beautiful patterns like lions, tigers, phoenix, flowers, butterflies, and dragons.
Also, sometimes as many as 60 silver bells can hang from the garments, which make beautiful sounds and add to the overall look.
Silver waistbands
A silver waistband features hundreds of silver images of Bodhisattvas sewn on a piece of cloth. The Miao wrap it tightly around their waist, and the images shake and sparkle brightly when the Miao dance.
Silver anklet
Last but not least are small but sturdy silver anklets that clasp above the foot. Miao children wear silver anklets to keep off evil spirits.

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