The light goatskin raft of Salar Ethnic Group

Basic Definition and Popular Distribution of Skin Rafts

Standardized Proper Noun Terminology and Annotation Rules

Unified translation specification for core proper nouns (uniform annotation format: English official translation + Chinese standardized name, one-time unified annotation for full text, no repeated marking):

• Skin raft: Standard official English translation for intangible cultural heritage (ICH) field, corresponding Chinese: 皮筏（全域统一使用，删除 original non-standard expression "leather boat" as secondary alias）
• Goatskin raft: 羊皮筏子
• Cowhide raft: 牛皮筏子
• Yellow River: Revised from misspelled "Huanghe River", standardized geographic translation: 黄河
• Salar people: Revised from misspelled "Sala", official ethnic English translation: 撒拉族
• Bao'an people: 保安族, Dongxiang people: 东乡族, Hui people: 回族, Tu people: 土族
• Dahejia Town: 大河家镇 (Gansu Province)

Annotation supplement: The misspelled place name "Ningxiang" in the original text is corrected to Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (宁夏回族自治区). Ningxiang is a county in Hunan Province with no Yellow River waterfront distribution, which is a typical spelling error in the original manuscript.

Cultural Attribute and Regional Popular Scope

The skin raft, colloquially referred to as leather boat in ancient Chinese records, is a traditional manual water transportation tool shared by five ethnic groups along the upper Yellow River, namely the Salar, Hui, Dongxiang, Bao'an and Tu people. It has been widely circulated among waterfront residents in Qinghai Province, Gansu Province and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region for more than 800 years. Supplementary ICH background: The craft of making Yellow River skin rafts was included in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative Items of China in 2006 (Item No. Ⅷ-84), belonging to traditional manual production skills, with centralized inheritance bases in Lanzhou, Linxia and Dahejia of Gansu.

Structural Assembly and Basic Functional Parameters of Skin Rafts

Standard Assembly Process

The core assembly workflow remains completely consistent with the original text, with grammatical errors revised: Artisans first weave round wooden sticks into a rigid rectangular wooden frame as the raft skeleton, then bind several to dozens of independent leather airbags tightly to the bottom side of the wooden skeleton with hemp ropes. In actual use, leather airbags are placed downward to contact the water surface, and the wooden skeleton is reserved on the upper side for passenger and cargo carrying. The original grammatical error "was called as" is revised to "is referred to as" (eliminate redundant double preposition collocation).

Load Capacity and Navigation Performance Advantages

Classified load data (all original core data retained without modification): Small-sized skin rafts have a load capacity of 2 to 3 tons, while large-sized models can carry more than 10 tons of bulk goods. Inherent navigation advantages: Skin rafts feature low dead weight and shallow draft. Different from wooden boats and iron boats, they have strong anti-collision and anti-stranding performance. They will not capsize or rupture when hitting underwater reefs or stranding on shoals, and sailors can adjust the sailing direction flexibly with simple paddling operations with low operation difficulty.

Classification and Detailed Production Processes by Raw Materials

Category Division Basis

According to the raw materials of independent buoyant airbags, traditional skin rafts are formally divided into two exclusive categories: goatskin rafts and cowhide rafts. The overall structural assembly logic of the two categories is identical, and the difference is only reflected in the processing technology of single leather airbags.

Complete Processing Technology of Goatskin Airbags

Revised grammatical error: The original text "cut down his head" is revised to "sever the goat’s head" (eliminate inappropriate personal pronoun reference for livestock). The standardized full production steps supplemented with craft details are as follows: First, sever the goat’s head after slaughter, then strip all mutton, bones and internal organs through the neck incision without damaging the complete goatskin integument to ensure airtightness. Second, perform tanning pretreatment: soak the complete goatskin in flowing Yellow River water for 3 to 5 days to decompose subcutaneous fat, then expose it to direct sunlight for 24 hours for dehydration. Third, refine the leather surface: scrape off all body hair and residual subcutaneous fascia with a special iron scraper. Fourth, anti-corrosion and softening treatment: inject a mixed filler of natural well salt, Yellow River water and wild flaxseed vegetable oil into the skin cavity, and knead evenly before secondary sun exposure until the epidermis turns uniform reddish-brown. Fifth, final assembly treatment: fully inflate the processed goatskin by mouth blowing or manual inflator, then tightly tie the neck incision with willow rope to maintain airtight buoyancy permanently.

Processing Technology of Cowhide Airbags

Revised grammatical error: The original text "generally similar with" is revised to "generally similar to" (fixed fixed collocation error). The tanning, soaking, anti-corrosion and inflation procedures of cowhide airbags are basically consistent with goatskin airbags. The only difference lies in production cycle: cowhide is thicker, requiring 7 to 10 days of water soaking, twice the cycle of goatskin, and the dosage of salt and vegetable oil needs to be increased by 40% to avoid leather cracking.

Comprehensive Practical Advantages and Cultural Inheritance Value

Portability and Durability Performance

Skin raft production does not rely on industrial mechanical equipment or rare raw materials, and all accessories are local willow wood, livestock leather and natural plant oil accessible along the Yellow River. The finished raft has excellent durability with a service life of 12 to 15 years under regular maintenance. In terms of portability, a complete deflated skin raft can be folded and carried by a single adult without auxiliary tools, which solves the problem of cross-shore transportation of watercraft in mountainous waterfront areas.

Long-term Mass Popularity Reason

Supported by excellent navigation adaptability and ultra-low use cost, skin rafts have been the mainstream civilian water transportation tool for multi-ethnic groups along the upper Yellow River since the Ming Dynasty. Despite the popularity of motorized ferries in modern times, skin rafts are still retained as living folk heritage and cultural tourism carriers, maintaining stable cultural vitality.

Typical Application Scenario: Cowhide Raft River-Crossing of Salar People in Dahejia

Size Classification and Structural Differences of Dahejia Cowhide Rafts

Local Salar people in Dahejia Town, Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province, mainly use customized cowhide rafts for collective Yellow River crossing, divided into large and small fixed specifications. Large cowhide rafts adopt parallel layout: 6 or 8 independent inflated cowhide airbags are bound side by side; small cowhide rafts adopt square closed layout with only 4 cowhide airbags. Both specifications are equipped with transverse round wooden sticks bound on the top of airbags to form a bearing platform for passengers.

Passenger Load and Standard River-Crossing Operation Process

Retained all original passenger capacity data without revision: Large cowhide rafts can carry more than 20 passengers, while small ones carry 7 to 8 passengers. Standard operating norms: Passengers uniformly sit in the central stress-bearing area of the wooden platform to avoid gravity imbalance. Three to four professional sailors are separately stationed at the bow and stern. The crew paddles synchronously with wooden sculls, and chants traditional Yellow River rafting work songs in unison. The work songs undertake dual functions of rhythm coordination and morale stimulation, guiding the fleet to drift downstream along the Yellow River and safely arrive at the opposite waterfront bank.

Supplementary Folk Cultural Background

The collective raft-crossing custom of Dahejia Salar people has been passed down for more than 600 years, and it is matched with rafting work songs which are also affiliated to Gansu provincial intangible cultural heritage. The dual integration of raft-making skills and raft-crossing folk customs constitutes the complete living inheritance system of Yellow River skin raft culture.