Ornate – Weekly Photo Challenge
“Luxury lies not in richness and ornateness but in the absence of vulgarity.”
Coco Chanel
THE HILLS ARE ALIVE
I must admit that this week’s challenge is not my favorite. I’m not often drawn to things that are ornate, but in the spirit of the challenge I’ve done my best 😊. All of this week’s captures were made in the beautiful Yunnan Province of China. The ladies above were obviously enjoying their finery as they posed in front of the glorious hills of the Dragon’s Backbone, which I posted about during my visit.
NAXI PRIEST
“No flower is happy in a vase, because a vase is nothing but an ornate coffin for the flower.”
Mehmet Murat Ildan
The ornately-attired gentleman above is a high priest of the Naxi culture. Here he is shown faithfully transcribing the characters of the Dongba language in an effort to preserve it for posterity. The language is quickly dying out, thanks in part to China’s cultural revolution which strongly discouraged its use.
HEAVY-HATTED
“We are here to bloom like a flower- to ornate the earth with beauty, love, joy, happiness, and care.”
Debasish Mridha
As I admired this beautiful young woman’s costume I remember wondering how heavy her crystal headgear must be! To me it was astounding that her posture could be so perfect while balancing the hat she wore so proudly. Ah to be young again 😃 😃.
THE MIGHTY OX
“Sometimes you open the door and find out that it’s just a big ornate door to an empty closet.”
Alessandra Torre
Finally, I had to laugh as I took this shot of the ornately clad fellow with his gigantic ox. Yes, it was indeed a real ox – do you suppose he went to the trouble of dyeing it white for the contrast against his own colorful garb?! I suppose not, but they certainly did make an interesting pair!
If you’re in the mood for a few more ornate examples, click here for some other responses to this week’s challenge.
Great pictures! The first one is my favourite 🙂