The Silent Strength of Naxi Women
Nestled in the snow-capped mountains and flowing valleys of Southwest China, the Naxi people have long inhabited the region around Lijiang. Here, nature is not just scenery, but spirit. Their belief system, Dongba, intertwines ancestral reverence with the idea that all things possess a soul. Their stories are passed down not only through spoken word but also through Dongba script—one of the last living pictographic writing systems in the world—where images and totems record cosmic order and ancestral memory.
Among Naxi women, one garment holds profound meaning: the ceremonial shoulder cape adorned with seven circular embroidered stars and trailing ribbons. These elements symbolize the Big Dipper and its radiant guidance, portraying women as quiet constellations—steady, luminous, and essential. The cape is secured with a crisscrossed tie over the chest: a practical choice, yes, but also deeply symbolic. This woven gesture carries a quiet conviction: that women are the steady axis connecting time, lineage, and homeland.
In Naxi culture, this traditional attire is called “披星戴月” — literally, to wear stars and carry the moon.
At YarnGi, we reimagine this poetic form as the Moon Weaver: not a direct translation, but a quiet homage—one that honors the enduring strength woven into everyday life.
A Dialogue with Tradition
In the Moon Weaver collection, YarnGi responds to this quiet power with care and respect. We deconstruct the symbolism of “wearing stars and adorning the moon,” translating it into the interplay of fabric, form, and thread. The cross-tie motif reappears in the shape of a cushion—offering not just comfort, but the feeling of an embrace: soft, centered, enduring.
The stars need not always stay in the sky.
Sometimes, they descend quietly into the corners of everyday life.
Drawn to the quiet strength woven into Naxi women's traditions?
Explore the Moon Weaver Collection —where the quiet strength of Naxi women finds new form in fabric, light, and everyday grace.
