Lisu Fire Grass Linen Making Technique

Sichuan
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"Fire grass linen" is called "Zamai" in Lisu language. It is a traditional handmade textile of the Lisu people. The craftsmanship is very unique. There are two shuttles for weaving. One shuttle is linen thread. The hemp seeds are sown in the "burning mountain month" (May and June), and the hemp stalks are harvested in the "harvest month" (August and September), and the skin is peeled and processed into thread. The other shuttle is fire grass thread. Go up the mountain to find the white fluff on the back of the leaves of a wild plant and process it into thread. The whole processing procedure goes through more than 20 links such as picking, tearing, cutting, drying, rinsing, soaking, sorting, bleaching, winding, and weaving. Each process needs to be completed manually. Finally, the Lisu women rubbed it repeatedly with sheep oil, sorted it out and dried it, and used a simple homemade spinning wheel to wind the blended thread, and then wove it on a loom. The woven linen has single and double layers, which are generally about 12 feet wide and about 0.3 thick. Cloth with diagonal checkered patterns and belts with lace can also be woven. Weaving is only possible from October to February of the following year. It is not allowed after March 3. Only a few sections of cloth can be woven every day to show good luck. It takes several months to weave a section of cloth. This traditional hemp cloth is warm, wear-resistant, insect-proof and fire-proof, and not easily wetted by rain. It is a high-quality raw material for Lisu to make traditional clothing. In July 2019, the "Lisu Fire Grass Hemp Cloth Making Technique" was announced by the Yanbian County People's Government as the third batch of Yanbian County Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

Intangible culture related to the heritage

China tourist attractions related to the heritage