9th September 2024
Traditional Indigo tie-n-dye workshop practiced by the Bai minority of china.
Workshop at Yi Craft, London with Yiran, for Chengyi Lin.
I was invited to participate in an interactive workshop by Lin on the 9th of September. The workshop was organised by Yiran of YiCraft in NW London and consisted of a brief history of the traditional indigo tie-dye craft of the Bai minority followed by a practical demonstration. Yiran explained that she was a part of this ethnic minority in China. The workshop was set in her beautiful studio, adorned with many examples of Chinese ethnic crafts and prominently featured indigo dyed textiles using multiple traditional techniques including batik and screen print. Large panels of indigo dyed textile floated above our heads and draped the walls. Traditional costumes of the Bai tribe decorated the mannequins scattered around the periphery of the room and soft Tibetan chant music played at an ambient volume. We sipped some freshly brewed tea as Yiran told us the history and relevance of the Bai tribe traditions and how it was related to other textile traditions ranging from Japan, South-east and South Asia and into parts of Africa. These regions shared some practices but had their own history and traditions when it came to colour and design. It was a fascinating peek into an ancient tradition that we were today going to participate in. The history and story telling was a large part of appreciating the workshop. As we sipped our tea, it was evident that this was not going to be a simple tie-dye workshop, but one where we intimately connected with Yiran’s culture. It was clear that she had a deep connection and love for where she came from. Her understanding of the history made us look at the humble blue dye with fresh eyes. She had succeeded in not just sharing her heritage with us, but inviting us into the region of China that the Bai tribe inhabited. To me, I felt a profound connection with the people who lived across the border of my country of India. We had been divided politically for over 70 years, by the borders of the modern nation states of India and China, but we shared a unique link for thousands of years before that. A link that was as ancient as human trade in textile knowledge and as deep blue as the stains of indigo that we were about to oppress on our pieces of cloth.
As we sat and meticulously put needle to thread, to squeeze, scrunch and tie our plain white pieces of fabric together into distorted yet promising forms, the Tibetan chants played in the background. The Tibetan plateau lay to her west, and to my north. A sense of meditative calm had overcome us all. With this practice of sharing of tradition, I felt a bond that on a casual day would have gone completely unseen. Here, ten thousand miles away from our home countries, on a small island off the coast of a different continent, neighbours found themselves. I felt a deep appreciation for the preservation work Yiran is doing here in London. The stories of a people, the land they come from and the beauty that inspires them, their hopes and dreams from centuries ago, preserved and shared so graciously with me. As we sat there, Yiran shared pictures of the mountains in her village, the water that reflected the gentle blue sky in the early morning, a picture that almost seemed dyed by indigo itself. To say this experience was anything less than spiritual, would be an understatement.
