Banana Clothes: A Stylish Heritage Clothing of Hainan Li People

(Source: Sanya Tour)

Hainan province is home to many ethnic groups; the Li and Miao people are particularly prominent on the island. The Li were the earliest settlers of Hainan. Their first-recorded appearance on the island has been traced back to 3,000 years ago.

The cultural heritage of the Li people includes many ancient and beautiful handicrafts, including the Li brocade, a unique textile product invented by the Li people.

Another source of pride of the Li people is a type of clothing: their extraordinary “banana clothes” are made from the bark of Musa Basjoo banana trees.

Musa Basjoo banana tree bark is a source of natural fiber. The fiber has superior mechanical properties, high modulus, and tensile strength.

(Source: Sanya Tour)

Banana clothes (芭蕉衣)

1. To make a banana clothing item, the Li people first peel off the dry bark of a wild Musa Basjoo banana tree.

(Source: Sanya Tour)

2. The bark becomes soft after being boiled out and soaked for nearly half a month. The fiber comes out in strands by using a bamboo chip to scrape the softened tree bark.

(Source: Sanya Tour)

3. Fiber yarn is then produced by connecting the strands end-to-end by the deft hands of a Li woman.

(Source: Sanya Tour)

4. Banana clothes are made on a traditional weaving machine. The fiber yarns are dry and breakable and need to be moistened with water constantly while weaving the clothes.

(Source: Sanya Tour)

5. The banana clothes are light, thin, breathable, and highly valuable; a piece of banana clothing takes three months of cooperative work by eight people.

(Source: Sanya Tour)