Laura E. Start

“ White turbans are worn in the North, variously coloured ones in the South, whilst the Chinese Shan wears blue and the Shan trader of British territory a broad-brimmed, limp, woven grass hat of Chinese manufacture (Fig. 2) .
The men usually tatu with isolated patterns in red on the chest, back and arms, in some cases continuing the tatuing as far as the middle of the calf.
The Shan women (Fig. 3) do all the indoor and much of the field work, they are strong, healthy, and fair-skinned; being fine specimens of Eastern female beauty. ”

“ In recent times they have spread a long way to the South, there being many isolated Kachin villages in the Southern Shan States and even beyond the Salween river. The Kachins are broken up into small communities, each with its own chief, but have no common authority, and, owing to blood feuds often lasting several generations, there is a rigid exclusiveness between different tribes. ”

“ Everywhere cultivation is more careful and laborious than in Burma. Rice is the chief crop, but cotton, tobacco, leguminous crops and ground nuts are grown in most parts, and in certain special districts tea, sugar-cane and chillies are cultivated. Rice is exported in large quantities, and cotton to China in a lesser degree. ”

“ The Kachins are adepts at embroidery in silk and cotton, and their skill is often to be seen in the wallets carried by them. In the art of dyeing they are not so skilled as the Shans and their more limited range of colour is very noticeable.
Dyeing and Dyes.
H. G. A. Leveson, in the Upper Burma Gazetteer gives an account of the dyes used in the Shan States of which the following is an extract:—" Dyeing as an industry is seldom the sole objection of an individual or household. ”

“ Although at the time of writing foreign cloths are being imported to a certain extent into the Shan States, it is the custom for all Shan women to weave cloth for their own garments and those of their families. ”

“ The delightful mingling of colours on black or neutrally tinted backgrounds, and the restraint from over-decorations, shew to what a high degree the sense of artistic fitness has been developed; whilst the excellent use made of so many varied materials, often of a somewhat unpromising kind, displays great ingenuity as well. ”

“ Such a process requires great care and skill on the part of the person weaving, and a space of several minutes sometimes elapses while the numbers of little shuttles [or bobbins] are passed along the breadth of the web.
Dyed spun silks, both twisted and non-twisted (floss) are used in working the patterns on the Shan cloths, but dyed cotton is chiefly used by the Kachins for the same purpose, with a resulting dullness ot colour.
In the patterns on some of the Kachin bags and for the stripes on GS 55n, a fine, silvery, natural, non-spun grass fibre has been used with good effect. ”

“ A twist of white braid is also sewn on to the front, and its ends are decorated with elaborate tassels of narrow scarlet braid,A Kachin bag or wallet white thread and strings of glass beads, with little coloured tufts of cotton at intervals. The four tufts of navy and red cotton at the sides of the bag add a touch of novelty to it. GK (Fig. 40) is a bag of similar construction to the last. The pocket is made of unbleached cotton cloth, having a few red and dark blue stripes down the centre, and the strap consists of a strip of black cloth, 6.5 cm. ”

“ Shoulder bags or wallets (Figs. 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40) , are worn by all the hill tribes, and are used by the men to carry their tobacco pipes, money, etc. The women, who are skilful embroideresses, decorate the bags with stitchery, seeds, cowries, beads and tassels. The number of patterns is very great, and would make a study in itself, but roughly speaking, the Kachin bags seem to be more frequently decorated with tabs and fringes, red flannel being highly esteemed, than the Shan bags. ”

“ A further border of brocade weaving in terra-cotta, yellow, blue, green, white and black is evidently inspired by the Chinese fret, but has the typical Kachin arrangement of three keys in a group (Fig. 33a) p. 40.Fig. 35. a. b. c. GK 39a (Figs. 34, 34a and 34b, p. 41-43) . This is the finest example of a Kachin garment in the collection, and is made of three strips of terra-cotta coloured cloth 21, 22 and 23 cm. in width respectively. The length of each of these strips is 164 cm. and they are joined along their selvedges by a coarse black seaming or overhand stitching. ”

“ Amongst the examples of Shan and Kachin garments in the George collection other methods of decoration besides brocade weaving are to be found; of these, embroidery, appliqué of different materials to form patterns, and the addition of fringes and tassels form the chief. ”

“ This ancestor had many sons and from the eldest are descended the true Kachins who migrated from the Khakhu or headwaters; from the remaining sons are derived the various tribes. There is no doubt of the Tartar origin of the Kachins, although the isolating character of the hill country in which they live, their combative nature, and blood feuds have caused the race to be divided and sub-divided to a great extent. The tribes, sub-tribes and clans have decided differences in dress and sometimes even in physical appearance. ”

“ The cloths are, for the most part, home-dyed and the results depend on chance and the fancy of the operator.
Indigo. Two varieties of plants are recognised, both give an equally good dye varying from blue to black.
Sticklac is cultivated generally in the Karenni district (Fig. 1) ; elsewhere if a tree is attacked the deposit is cultivated when it is formed. It gives a crimson dye. ”

“ The Shans resemble both the Siamese and Burmese in general appearance, but are frequently fairer. They are muscular and well formed, having eyes almost lineal in position, a small nose and a large mouth. ”

“ In all cases the difference in dress between different tribes is more marked amongst the women than the men. The tall turban and silver tube through the ear is characteristic of the Southern Kachin woman.Fig. ”