Basketry Craft Practice in Southwest China: The Case of Defeng Village

Abstract

This paper focuses on the practice of basketry craft and its relationship to changing social dynamics in Southwest China that we have observed through collaborative ethnographic projects across the region. We here focus on the case of Defeng village, a Dong (Kam) settlement where the entire community specializes in producing a particular form of basket called fanyouyou (rice basket) for a regional market. Basket making as a living form of community-based culture in Defeng is practiced, sustained, and adapted by skilled basket makers in a fast-changing social, cultural, and economic landscape. When relevant, we will also compare the basketry in Defeng to other locales that we have visited in Southwest China.