Hani Dress Culture In Historical Memory

At present, the study of Hani history only confirms their origins of ancient Di and Qiang, but there is still no specific research on migration time or route. The oral history tells the long migration history of Hani ancestors - they went from the remote Hunihuna in the north, passed Shisui Lake, Reluopuchu, Nuomaamei southwardly one after another, to Se'ezuoniang at the side of Erhai Lake, then moved to Guhamicha beside Dianchi Lake, finally stopped to live by the sides of the Honghe River. But scholars could hardly pay attention to the considerable historical information because of the large span of space and time, and the differences of time and names of the places and ethnic groups between oral history and Chinese historical books.Ancient songs, pedigrees and rites are the main ways of Hani male-dominant society to record and keep social and historical memories. Besides, where else could Hani historical memories be possibly kept? The traditional Hani costumes are the precious treasure created and inherited by Hani female. How to interpret the culture connotation under the costume materials, discover the historical information hidden behind, and make ethnic costume studies important evidence and breakthrough point of ethnic history and culture research?The thesis carries out a way of holistic folk study in putting the costumes as the noumenon into lives, culture and history of human as the subject. Based on abundant fieldwork, through the full-scale study on daily lives, festivals, sacrificing and life rituals, it indicates that the traditional costumes core elements with endowed divinity and communication between human and God are Hani ancestry historical bearers. The so-called divinity is the traditionalism, the God is the ancestors. Rooted in the apotheosized tradition and belief, historical memories hidden in the costumes are passed on till now.This thesis states a relatively clear argumentation on ancient historical time, places and ethnic groups interaction in oral migration history of Hani people in virtue of oral history, Chinese historical books, archeology materials and linguistics knowledge, and according to the core characteristics of Hani costumes which include "black dress and red adornment", adorning shell, adorning bamboo, adorning fish, cotton textile tradition and so on. The thesis not only discusses the origin of ancient Qiang, indicates the close relationship between Hani ancestors and history of Ancient Shu and Dian, but also discusses the time of Hani people entering the drainage area of Yuanjiang River and Honghe River. It provides the reconstruction of complete and true Hani history with important time line and geographical frame, and the study of ethnic groups in southwest and Zang-Yi corridor with a Hani perspective. For those marginal ethnic groups with no characters, costume is a special memorizing method from feminine perspective and folk standpoint. As the margin of margin, ethnic females also have the rights and abilities of history writing. It points out the deep relationship among ethnic females, group costumes and historical memories, and gives a new viewpoint on historical studies of marginal ethnic groups with no characters. Only if the marginal ethnic groups studies were emphasized, their history writing were respected and its centralism was broken, could we possibly reconstruct marginal ethnic groups' history, inter-confirm with Hua Xia central history, and restore the true Chinese history.