"Walking Culture" Returns to the Body, Nanzhuang Saixia Clothing Exhibition Debuts Contemporary Weaver Girl Reweaves Centenary Memory

"Walking Culture" returns to the body, and the Nanzhuang Saixia Clothing Exhibition debuts. Contemporary weavers reweave centuries-old memories. (Provided by the Aboriginal Affairs Office of Miao County Prefecture)

[Reporter Cai Zhengmin/Reporting from Miaoli] The "Looking Back from a Hundred Years: Saixia Clothing Culture Exhibition" organized by the Donghe Community Development Association of Nanzhuang Township, Miaoli County was held at the Saixia Folk Cultural Relics Museum in Miaoli County. The exhibition centered on "Revival of Traditional Costume Craftsmanship" and presented the cultural history of Saixia costumes from ritual norms and craftsmanship to re-weaving and wearing again by contemporary weavers. The exhibition runs from now until November 29, inviting the public to feel the cultural vitality that shuttles between latitude and longitude.

The exhibition is compiled from the results of many years of weaving practice in the Donghe community. Starting from "ceremonial clothes", the exhibition leads the audience to understand the identity meaning, belief order and physical practice carried by traditional clothing. At the same time, it looks back at the technological gaps caused by modern education and changes in life, showing how local tribes have gradually re-accumulated pattern and technical knowledge through weaving teaching, collection analysis and reproduction, so that cultural objects originally preserved in museums can be re-transformed into "living culture" that can be worn on the body.

The Miaoli County Aboriginal People's Office stated that the exhibition moves from historical review to contemporary practice, which is an important step in the continuation of culture. It hopes that through each piece of clothing and weaving patterns, the tribe, youth and the general public can see the traditional cultural memory of the Saisiyat people, and promote cross-generational exchanges and inheritance.

The county government said that people from all over the country are welcome to take advantage of the exhibition period to visit Xiangtian Lake in Nanzhuang Township and experience this cultural feast of the Saisiyat people that spans a century.