Tan Sujuan: inheritor of the Maonan Bamboo-hat Weaving Technique

我叫谭素娟，毛南族，

I’m Tan Sujuan, a member of the Maonan ethnic group.

我们毛南族的人性格比较开朗、能歌善舞，

We Maonan people are outgoing, and good at singing and dancing.

主要居住环江毛南自治县。

Our people are mainly concentrated in Huanjiang Maonan Autonomous County.

我（也）是国家级非物质文化遗产代表性项目环江毛南族花竹帽编织技艺国家级代表性传承人。

I’m a representative inheritor of the Huangjiang Maonan Bamboo-hat Weaving Technique, a national-level representative project of intangible cultural heritage.

毛南族花竹帽，我们毛南语就叫“顶卡花”，

The Maonan bamboo hat is called “dingkahua” in our own language.

是我们毛南族的一个幸福的象征，也是一个定情信物。

It’s an emblem of happiness, and also a token of love.

以前我们结婚的时候，必须有一个花竹帽当嫁妆陪嫁。

In the past, a bamboo hat was a necessary part of a bride’s dowry.

它是上面、下面都有花，主要是底层有花，我们叫顶卡花。

There’re flowers at both the top and the bottom of the hat. We call the hat “dingkahua” because of the flowers on its bottom.

毛南族的花纹，它是有代表性的，

Our design patterns are typical.

主要是一个菱形，是我们毛南族的一个特色。

The rhombus is a distinctive feature of our design.

花竹帽的编织做法很复杂，跟其他的帽子都不一样。

The weaving method of the bamboo hat, different from that of other hats, is very complicated.

我们用的材料都是我们毛南族特有的一种竹子，

We made bamboo hats with two peculiar types of bamboo,

叫金竹和墨竹。

golden bamboo and ink bamboo.

我们从山里面选了竹子回来，

We go into the moutains, selecting bamboo suitable for weaving.

首先把它破成竹片再后来把它破成竹丝，

We need to first cut the bamboo into pieces, and next split them into threads.

那个竹丝是跟头发差不多一样，

The bamboo threads should be as thin as hair.

后来编花纹、编帽子，

Then we use these threads to weave decorative patterns and hats.

帽子的那个花纹是墨竹来编织而成的，它不是染色的。

The decorative patterns are not printed on the hat, but are woven into it with ink bamboo.

每一步都是很精致的、很复杂的。

So you need to take every step carefully and meticulouslly.

我20多岁开始学编这个花竹帽，到现在已经是20几年了，

I started to learn bamboo-hat weaving in my 20s, and it’s been more than 20 years since then.

现在我女儿是接班人了

Now my daughter is a successor of my bamboo-hat weaving skills.

我们真正的徒弟也有3—4个

We have four apprentices.

附近的年轻人有时间他们就来我这里跟我一起做。

Young people living nearby will join us if they have time.

现在有很多人还没了解我们这些民族文化，

Few people know about our ethnic culture now,

我想把我们毛南族花竹帽把它推广出去

so I want to promote our culture by promoting bamboo hats.

让很多的人能够了解我们毛南族、了解我们花竹帽，因为这个花竹帽它就是我们毛南族的一个族宝嘛。

I hope that more people can know about our ethnic group, as well as our great treasure, the bamboo hat.