Zalangzangan “Summer”

Description

Hand-Crafted in Taiwan

Handmade silver crescent filigree with cowrie shells and chains with beads dangle earrings. “Zalangzangan” means Summer in Payuan, one of the Formosan languages spoken by the Paiwan Indigenous people from the island of Taiwan.

Cowrie shells symbolizes fertility in Paiwan culture and are used as ornament for garments and accessories. It was also commonly used as currency for trade in the past between indigenous tribes and with outsiders.

ARTIST

Known as “Ljavaus Handmade”, the artist took her ethnic indigenous surname as part of her brand name. With every individual comes a different perspective of beauty. Lajavaus’s brand represents “hope”, an unspoken message that aims to “inspire everyone to have the courage to try experience the different beautiful things in the world, and through this brave act of exploring the perspectives of beauty, one may hopefully discover one’s own confidence in the process”.

Ljavaus’s diverse creations include earrings, purses, bags, guitar bands, and hairpieces. She often applies the color, green, yellow, orange, and dangling silver pieces like chains and bells in her work to represent the colorful but rustic style common in the Paiwan tribe’s traditional cultural costumes. Ljavaus represents the indigenous Paiwan tribe living in Pingtung, southeast of Taiwan.

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MATERIALS

Silver pieces / acrylic beads / cowrie shell / 925 silver ear hook

Additional information