# Burmese Textiles/Section 3

The Kachins or Chingpaw.
Origin and Habitat.
Interlaced with the Shans, on the direct route from Bhamo to Yünnan are a people who live in isolated huts, with every ten or twelve miles a group of about six
As the first home of the race, Mr. George says 'that all tradition points to the head-quarters of the Irrawaddy as the ancestral nidus from which the Kachins came.' All the legends describe as their first ancestor a certain Shippawn-Ayawng, who was descended from the nats or spirits who lived on the hill called Majaw-shingrâ-pum, from which the Kachins say the Irrawaddy rises. 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. ​

## Dress of the Northern Kachins or Khakhus.

Mr. George, distinguishing between Northern and Southern Kachins, as Khakhus and Chingpaw, says, "generally speaking, the Khakhu men wear:
(i) a narrow turban wound round the head but not completely concealing the hair,
(ii) a coat with long sleeves, generally dyed indigo and without embroidery,
(iii) a striped oblong piece of cloth about the size of a bath towel passed round

## Wallets.

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. The latter are made of very narrow cloth, have longer shoulder straps than the Kachin, and fringed ends of the cloth instead of the added fringe. Occasionally bags are come across made of a fine straw plait and covered with the skin of the python, of a monkey or other animal, which gives the whole affair a strange and wild appearance. ​

## Kachin Garments.

A selection of the most interesting Kachin garments and wallets has been made and their detailed descriptions follow.

## Skirts.

An interesting feature in this cloth is the deliberate production of flaws (Fig. 34b, s.t.) in the patterns, which occur at several places in the central and right hand stripes; a distinctly naive compliment to bad pattern weaving. ​

## Wallets.

Silk and cotton are used indiscriminately in working the bags of this group, the patterns of which are more elaborate and much more finely worked than those of any other example in the collection. The colours employed are purple, emerald green, crimson, rose, orange yellow and occasional touches of blue.
GK 8 (Fig. 38). A very handsome bag, typical of the work of the Lana Kachins is shewn in Figure 38. (p. 47) Its construction resembles that of the Shan bag in Figure 29 rather than the Kachin bags just described, as it consists of two strips of cloth, each 13.5 cm. wide, one of which forms the sides and shoulder straps and the other the central portion. The native cloth of which the bag is made has a black ground with a narrow coloured stripe down the centre, which is plainly shewn in Figure 38 in the part of the shoulder strap that has been opened out, and is produced by the following arrangement of the warp, two red, two black, two white, four red, two black, two white, two red strands. The pocket is elaborately decorated with patterns woven in the brocade manner. At the top there is a border clearly indicated in Figure 38 and below the front the sides are covered with an interesting fret design in red, yellow and white. This design is based upon the zig-zag and has the frets arranged in groups of three (Fig. 38b). The cloth at the back is much more simply treated, a spot pattern in red, shewn in Figure 38c, being its only decoration.
The most striking features in the ornamentation of the bag are not, however, the woven pattern just described, but the lappets and tassels of scarlet flannel which form an added decoration to the front. The lappets are four in number, each made of an oblong of flannel, about 11.5 cm. by 4.5 cm., backed with a piece of cotton cloth to which it is attached by buttonhole stitching worked over the double edge (Fig. 38a). On the two outer lappets this stitching is in black, on the inner ones in red. In the centre of each the outline of an oblong has been embroidered in yellow cotton and small holes made in it over-stitched round with yellow silk in the same manner as an eyelet hole is worked at the present time. Between each lappet and at the sides are two long tassels made of very narrow strips of scarlet flannel, each finished off at the top by three little balls, of which the upper and lower are made of the flannel, and the central one either black or white cotton. Attached to the lower edge of the lappets are white seeds (Job's tears) six to each, and a second row of seeds is added to form a diamond pattern as shewn in Figure 38a. Between each pair of seeds there is again a little ball of either black cotton or scarlet flannel, the black balls being at the top and bottom of the diamonds, and the scarlet ones forming a line across the centre. At several points the thread which passes through the seeds is attached to the bag so the lappets do not hang entirely free.
Subordinate tassels of scarlet flannel depend from the lower point of each diamond. Rows of seeds placed as closely as possible form a noticeable ornament at each side of the bag at the bottom, where they and a binding strip of the flannel also provide additional strength at points where strength is essential. The opening of the bag is neatened by a binding of red flannel which is hemmed down and the final result is both a handsome and serviceable article.
Another bag of a similar type in the collection has tassels of scarlet flannel and strands of beads with more small tassels fastened here and there in the strands. It is interesting to note that an Ifygas woman's girdle in Bankfield Museum, from the Phillipine Islands, has fringes of warp ends with similarly added small tassels.
Strips of red and indigo blue cloth are added to the fringed warp ends of the braid to form tassels. There are a number of other bags in the collection which belong to one or other of the types described.
In conclusion it may be said, that the examination of these cloths, garments and bags, all of which, from the sowing of the cotton seed to the finished article, are the product of women's labour, impresses one with the good taste, and practical skill of the workers.
The innumerable variations of simple elements of pattern, even when the original motives appear to be traditional, are evidence of a fertility of imagination far greater than would be expected naturally under the existing social conditions. 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.
The whole collection repays careful study, for it includes many excellent examples of fine craftsmanship carried out by the simplest of means.