The Origin of Tie-dye

According to the legend，there was once a rich and beautiful village located at the foot of Cangshan Mountain.There were many trees，flowers，fruits，and birds.Every night，the gentle breeze brought the villagers the fragrance of flowers.Girls and boys in the village met each other under the dense pear tree，whispering；and the birds hid in their nests，falling asleep.The villagers were industrious and brave，working hard for their good life，and lived and worked in peace and contentment.But one day，when the villagers were doing the harvest，a gust of wind swept away all the fruits.People were at a loss.Since then，disasters frequently went to this village，and the villagers were short of food and clothing.Pretty girls were often missing.The young men in the village went together to find the girls，but they were lost either.People who went to the mountain to gather firewood had ever seen a demon whose head could not be seen after the demon wind.Disaster and fear occupied the whole village.

There was a beautiful girl in this village.One day，the girl went into the mountain to collect wild vegetables.She was tired from walking and sat on a piece of wild grass to rest.It was a drizzle in the morning，and the grass was slightly dripping.The girl sat down for a while and felt wet，so she stood up.At this moment，she saw her white skirt dyed with blue.She could not find any dyed objects but a cluster of growing grass.The girl wondered if this grass dyed her skirt，so she changed to another place with this grass and sat down again.Sure enough，her skirt was dyed too.She picked the grass back and wanted to dye her skirt into color with some patterns.She thought it over and then sowed the cloth into flowers with a needle and thread，boiled the grass with fire，then put the skirt in it.After a while，she took the skirt out and removed the thread.Ah，what a beautiful color appeared！From then on，the girl had often gathered the grass and helped the villagers dye clothes.

On a fateful day，the girl went into the mountain to gather grass.A gust of wind rolled up and she immediately hugged a big tree.She thought to herself，it was the demon that the villagers kept talking about was coming.No matter how fierce the wind was，she insisted on clinging to the big tree.The wind finally stopped.She felt exhausted and wanted to rest when a man without a head appeared in front of her.She trembled with fear，but calmed down immediately and tried to deal with the devil.The devil said，“You are very powerful.Even my demon wind couldn't blow you away.”The girl said to the demon，“Brother，do you collect the firewood in the mountain？”The devil said，“I can't make a meal even if I collected firewood.I'll take you back to cook for me.”With saying that，he stretched out his hands to pull the girl.The girl said quickly，“Wait a minute.I don't know if the meal I'm making is for your liking.Let's go to a vacant lot.I'll make you some edible wild herbs first，and see if you are satisfied or not.If you are satisfied，I'll go back with you.”The demon was ravenous and wanted to get something to eat，so he agreed.They went to a piece of dirt ground.The girl found some dried vegetables，lit a fire，and set fire to boil the wild vegetables.After waiting for a while，the demon got sleepy again.The girl said，“Brother，you can eat after a short sleep.”The demon was afraid that the girl would run away，so he tied the girl with him to an iron chain.When the demon slept，the girl thought，“It was the demon who brought disaster to the villagers.I should get rid of it for people.”So she lit a fire on the demon.The demon caught fire，croaked and ran away while crying.The girl was tied with the demon and couldn't get away from the demon.

The devil burned to death and became grass.The girl died bravely and became a yak.

In memory of the brave girl，the villagers continued to dye the cloth and the tie-dying came into being.It is a unique dying process in Dali today with a long history.And each family hangs a board of avoiding evil with yak fur to ward off evil spirits and pray for the whole family's safety.