Photo courtesy of the Dimen Dong Cultural Eco-Museum
“Linking traditional craft with contemporary design and promoting them through the most cutting-edge marketing strategies give tradition a new life.” —Dimen Dong Cultural Eco-Museum
In ethnic Dong communities, women are involved in all aspects of textile production—from planting and harvesting cotton to spinning, weaving, and embroidering. The garments, which express the makers’ creativity and emotion, can take years to complete.
The Dimen Dong Cultural Eco-Museum in Guizhou Province collaborates with fifteen local Dong villages and forty-six clans to safeguard indigenous Dong embroidery, architecture, and musical traditions. As access to these villages continues to increase, communities are working to ensure that the region’s cultural ecology is protected and developed with local participation.
Dimen village, Guizhou Province, 2014.
Photo by Josh Eli Cogan, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution
The Drum Tower is an important, traditional space for gatherings and ceremony.
Photo courtesy of the Dimen Dong Cultural Eco-Museum
Dimen village, Guizhou Province, 2014.
Photo by Josh Eli Cogan, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution
Dimen village, Guizhou Province, 2014.
Photo by Josh Eli Cogan, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution
Dimen village, Guizhou Province, 2014.
Photo by Josh Eli Cogan, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution
Dimen village, Guizhou Province, 2014.
Photo by Josh Eli Cogan, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution
Wu Zhangshi plays a tune.
Photo by Hermine Dreyfuss, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution
A display of Dong instruments.
Photo by Rachel Winslow, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution
FESTIVAL PARTICIPANTS
Dimen Dong Cultural Eco-Museum participants include: Ren Hexin 任和昕, Dimen Dong Eco-Museum director Du Kexin 杜科欣, 100 Songs Program director and tradition handcraft researcher Wu Zhangshi 吴章仕, Dong musician and music teacher Wu Bixia 吴碧霞, singer, embroiderer, and weaver Wu Guoying 吴国英, singer and tradition handcraft artist Wu Qianchun 吴前春, musician and instrument maker Wu Taoai 吴桃爱, singer and tradition handcraft artist Wu Xiuchun 吴秀春, singer, embroiderer, and weaver Wu Taonan 吴桃难, singer and tradition handcraft artist Wu Yuanliang 吴元亮, singer and tradition handcraft artist
From the Festival
Wu Taonan demonstrates Dong weaving techniques to a Festival visitor.
Photo by Rachel Winslow, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution
Wu Taonan demonstrates Dong weaving techniques to a Festival visitor.
Photo by Rachel Winslow, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution
(L to R) Wu Tao’Ai, Wu Yuanliang, Wu Guoying, and Wu Xiuchun take a break from a day of performances.
Photo by Josh Weilepp, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution
A display of Dong crafts.
Photo by Rachel Winslow, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution
Wu Qianchun experiments on the claw-hammer banjo.
Photo by Hermine Dreyfuss, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution
Wu Zhangshi plays a tune.
Photo by Hermine Dreyfuss, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution
A display of Dong instruments.
Photo by Rachel Winslow, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution
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