The Yao People - We attend a lock in

Still 2nd June

Once we returned from our walk Tone retired wounded for a couple of hours and Helen and I wandered through the village.  I had asked her if she could arrange for me to take a photo of one of the Yao ladies I had seen in the village.  These ladies don't cut their hair very often and wear it wound round their heads in a particular style that shows whether they have children of not depending on the way it is wound.  Not only did she arrange the pic but two of the ladies were her friends and they agreed to show us how it is done!!

So we returned to their shop at 5 with Tone and the ladies took us into the back of their shop and locked the door!! 

Then one of them showed us how she takes down and then puts back her hair.  Yao women cut their hair when they are 16 and then not again.  When they comb their hair they collect the hair and make it into another bunch and our lady had the one she had cut at 16 plus another piece at least as thick that she had collected up over the years. 

They wash their hair, like their clothes, in the river and they rinse it using fermented liquid that has been used to cook rice!!  Their hair is black and very thick and shiny so perhaps we might try it.  Although I may not be eating much rice for a while once we get home so wont have any rice water!!

Then once she had her hair back up safely they sang us a song.  These ladies were probably 45 and I don't think they will abandon these traditions.  It will be interesting to see if their children keep them up.  The daughter certainly had very long hair but it was not put up it just hung down her back in a shiny mass.

We were then invited to a concert in the evening at the school which was about 10 minutes walk from the hotel.  Thank you, we said, yes please.

The concert was in the playground of the little school and started at 8 'ish.  Tiny benches and stools were brought out and we were asked to sit in the middle of the front row and as has happened before the locals were taking pics of us and not the people performing!  As you know we have been the object of some curiosity before and this was no exception.  We were glad when the performance started and it as just like a caleigh. Music dancing and singing . A lovely evening to mark the end of the three days to celebrate the beginning of the rice growing season.  More good luck and a great evening.