tea.toys ENRU中文DEESFRJA

line two — 56 ethnic groups of China · a custom, not a rank

lisu

This is Kamenka. She keeps a clay jar with resin and icy spring water so the infusion does not darken before the moon rises.

full GLB · Hunyuan · full GLB · Hi3D

downloads open after a one-email sign-in — that is how the registry knows its guests

drag to rotate — a light 2 MB copy; full models below

Peoplelisu ·
RegionYunnan, Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture (Fugong, Lushui); also Dehong and the outskirts of Lijiang
Rolethey drink in their own way

Tea

雷响茶 léixiǎngchá, “thunder tea”: water is boiled in a large clay jug, a tea cake is scorched in a small one, the brew is poured into a butter-churning cylinder, then butter, crushed walnuts, peanuts, salt or sugar, and an egg are added, and finally a river stone heated red-hot in the hearth and pierced with a through-hole is dropped in — the tea answers with a rumble, and immediately after the rumble the mixture is quickly beaten with a pestle. The everyday version is 油盐茶 yóuyánchá: leaves are roasted in a clay pot until they smell caramelized, butter and salt are added, water is poured in, and the whole thing is boiled for about three minutes. Nujiang and Weixi.

Crown mark

A river stone with a THROUGH hole, set on the crown flat side facing the viewer with the hole toward them: slate-gray, flattened on the sides, with an orange-red-hot rim around the hole and along one edge, and two dark steamed leaves stuck to the lip of the hole. The hole is visible all the way through in silhouette — this makes the stone impossible to mistake for a pair of stuck-together Tajik bubbles or a jagged Hui bud: those have solid bodies, while here there is a hole in the middle of the spot.

Headwear

头帕 tóupà — a hemp headcloth of the Weixi style, with flat cowrie-shell disks and a few glass beads sewn along the front edge. Folded into a triangle, it fully covers the crown, with one acute corner lying at the back of the head. Slit: the corner seam above the crown is unpicked and whip-stitched, the stone emerges through this gap, and the edges of the cloth are drawn tight by a cord under the back of the head.

Outline at 6 mm. Kerchief: a solid triangle covering the crown, with a SINGLE acute corner at the back. Bayczi has an open crown and two tails, the Jino have a rigid pointed spire of a cape, and the Li gather nothing at the back: there the fabric runs from the crown in two even wraps around the neck, and the back of the head reads as a smooth column, whereas here it is drawn out into a single acute corner.

Clothing

A hemp shirt reaching the hips, a wide woven belt, a woven carrying bag on the back, and a string of cowrie-shell disks on the chest.

Palette

Unbleached hemp, indigo of the headcloth, slate gray of the stone, orange glow around the hole.

← back to the line