THE BUTTERFLY MOTHER IN MIAO CULTURE: DESIGN INTERPRETATION OF MYTH, MATERNAL SYMBOLISM, AND VISUAL MEANING
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This research article aims to: (1) clarify how mythological narratives shape maternal symbolism in the Butterfly Mother motif of Miao culture; (2) explain how visual structures encode and convey cultural meaning within traditional artifacts; and (3) explore how these symbolic principles can be translated into contemporary design contexts through a qualitative research study collecting data from documented mythological texts, ethnographic literature, and representative visual materials such as embroidery, costume decoration, and batik artifacts. The data were analyzed using mythological analysis, visual semiotics, and comparative design case analysis.
The research results found that:
- The Butterfly Mother operates as a composite maternal symbol representing origin, fertility, protection, and cultural continuity within Miao cosmology.
- Traditional visual patterns encode myth-based maternal meanings through structural elements such as symmetry, repetition, organic forms, and symbolic color systems, forming a coherent visual-semantic system.
- Effective contemporary design translation depends on processes of symbolization, abstraction, and recontextualization, ensuring cultural continuity through meaning-based reinterpretation rather than surface ornamentation.
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