Men’s Waistbands

2 min read

Minority men in Xinjiang like wearing waistband or leather belt. Waistband can defend against coldness and play the role of a pocket. Furthermore, waistband is an important decoration for minority men that a man wearing a waistband looks vigorous and energetic. Waistband can provide not only beauty, but also warmth. They like carrying a shining dagger which has colorful imitation stones on the handle and decorative patterns on the scabbard. The dagger is not only an ornament, but also a good helper to minority men: it is needed for killing sheep, eating meat, cutting fruit and fighting with beast when grazing. The Mongolian men like carrying the Mongolian knife and tobacco pouch, putting them on the right and left sides of the waistband.

Vigorous and energetic men There is a folktale spreading among Uygur: long time ago, two brothers went hunting in the mountains. Scarcely had they come into the valley, theyounger brother was carried off by a tiger jumping suddenly out from thewoods. The younger brother called for help desperately:”Help me, brother!”

The elder one ran after the tiger immediately, but he couldn’t catch up. At the moment, he remembered that there was a knife in his brother’s waist, so he shouted,”My little brother, the ‘ brother’ that could save your life is on yourwaist!”The younger brother was reminded of the knife hung on his waist, so he drew the knife and killed the tiger by stabbing the knife into its chest. After this, no matter staying at home or going out, the Uygur men will carry a knife, just in case. As time passes, carrying knife becomes a habit of the Uygur men.

With the development of social economy, the living standard of various ethnic groups is improving very fast in recent 20-30 years. Costumes of different ethnic groups in Xinjiang have also changed a lot. All kinds of popular clothes in stores have become hot commodities which are picked from by women of different ethnic groups; and men of different ethnic groups prefer modern clothes such as suits, ties, jackets and T-shirts. There are more and more men and women wearing all kinds of popular hair styles rather thanwearing traditional caps or head scarves. In modern cities, it is hard to distinguish where people come from by their clothes. Now, you will see more traditional clothes in the countryside, but all kinds of beautiful and tasteful modern clothes are becoming more and more popular among young generations in the countryside.