The Yao New Year in the Yao (Iu Mien) town of Nam Kheung (LS-150, PC 3256) in Houa Khong Province. It was also a celebration for the dedication of the new market. The four girls to the right in the photograph are Tai Dam (Black Thai) and the two to the left are Yao. All wear their traditional dress for the new year celebrations. The Tai Dam girls wear traditional silver fasteners on their blouses which often are shaped like a butterfly, or sometimes the fasteners are called the "male and female" fasteners because of the way they interlock. Traditionally, the Yao invite other ethnic groups living in their immediate vicinity to attend their new year celebrations. The Yao women and girls wore new clothing for the celebrations, including embroidered pant panels that took perhaps a year to embroider.
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