General description: This woman made of a round wooden post and the upper torso of a Barbie-like doll has the Chinese characters for Yi Zu on a label under her post, which means the Yi people. However, the Yi as an ethnic group consists of many different tribes, whose clothing varies greatly. I have found a picture of a group of Lisu folk singers (see below), whose headgear is very similar to this doll’s and as the Lisu are a minority within the Yi people, I have decided this doll is supposed to represent a Lisu woman from Yunnan.
Dimensions 29.5 x 16 x 8 cm
Date when acquired 2024
Original Date Unknown
Source
Her label says “Yi Zu”, which means Yi people. No further information is given. There are, however, many similar dolls but with different costumes shown on the net, sadly just with the title “ethnic dolls” from China or from Yunnan Province (where the majority of Yi live).
Flea market, Göttingen, Germany
Body
Her lower body is made of a tapering wooden post that has been painted red. Her upper torso, arms and head are those of a Barbie-like doll. Her features are painted on. Her long black hair is made of wool. She has a small fringe but most of her hair is drawn back from a central parting to form a long ponytail (down to her non-existent hips).
Clothing
She is wearing a jacket and a long skirt. Both are mainly made of red linen. The skirt is slightly pleated. At the bottom are two 2.5-cm-wide bands made of different coloured linen (white and black). Between these two bands is a piece of narrow golden braid. The white band has vertical stripes of red silk ribbon set at regular intervals. The black band is ruffled.
The long-sleeved jacket is also mainly made of red linen. However, the narrow sleeves are made of white linen from mid upper arm downwards. Two stripes of flowery braid are sown onto the white area The top braid is black with pink and green flowers; the bottom one is in red with yellow and green flowers. The jacket opens in the middle and its mandarin collar and the placket at the front are made of red braid with yellow and green flowers. Another length of the same red braid is used to form a belt. The skirt of the jacket is divided into two and is hemmed with yellow silk braid.
Her large crown-like hat is made of red silk ribbon wound around a circular base. The outer edge is heavily decorated with silver ornaments.
Accessories
Around her neck is a long necklace reaching down to her waist. It is made of thin bronze rings each decorated with two beads of the same colour (blue, green, red, white or yellow). The rings are held together by bronze coils. She has gold studs in her ears.
Background information
The Yi or Nuosu people are an ethnic group of Austroasiatic origin who speak a Tibeto-Burman language and mainly live in southern China in the rural areas of Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan (almost two-thirds of the Yi live in the latter area), usually in the mountainous regions. With nine million people, they are the seventh largest of the fifty-five ethnic minority groups recognized by the Chinese government.
The Yi populations in different areas are very different from one another and make their living in completely different ways. Their costumes also often differ greatly. The Yi language is spoken in six relatively distinct dialects. Among the lesser minorities within the Yi language group are the Bai, Hani, Lahu (see also Thailand: Lahu & Lahu — General information), Lisu (see also Thailand: Lisu & Lisu — General information) and Naxi.
A caste system formerly divided the Yi into three groups: the Black Bone Yi, the White Bone Yi and the Jianu. The Black Bone Yi was the ruling group and were apparently descended from a people that originated in northwest China. The far more numerous White Bone Yi and the Jianu (family slaves) were formerly subjugated or enslaved by the Black Bones. This subjugation was ended by the Chinese government in the 1950s. Nowadays, the White Bones are spread over the highlands of Yunnan and Guizhou, while the heartland of the Black Bones lies in the great and lesser Liang Mountains southwest of the Sichuan Basin.
The Lisu ethnic group apparently originated from the ancient Diqiang (Qiang) tribe, which has an origin relationship with the Yi. The two groups have had a close kinship since ancient times. After a long history of development, the Lisu and Yi gradually divided into different tribal groups; however, they are now considered to be a single ethnic group. In China, the Lisu are divided into three depending on the colours chosen by the women for their clothing: Black Lisu, White Lisu and the more colourful, Flowery Lisu. The colour red is used apparently by the Flowery Lisu for festive clothes and for weddings.
Source(s) of information
4.2.2