well as the interesting fringed ornaments across the front and back, which form its chief decoration.
The garment is made of a strip of black native cloth, 50 cm. wide and 77 cm. long, edged at the bottom with a narrow strip of very finely woven red cloth 9 cm. wide. The piece of material has been folded across the warp and the selvedges turned back slightly and then joined by a form of lacing stitch (Fig. 11a, p. 12), leaving an opening for the arm which measures 16 cm. from the fold downwards. The sleeve opening is ornamented by stitchery in yellow, red and green, the different threads being just carried along the edge when not in use. Two needles, carrying red and green respectively, would be needed, the emerald green thread being drawn through the stitches at the edge afterwards (Fig. 11b).
For the neck opening a slit is cut downwards from the centre of the fold to a depth of 15 cm., this is somewhat unusual, as the cloths are generally joined in the front. GS 57 (Fig. 7), GS 59n. The raw edges are turned back and fastened down by groups of backstitches in red (Fig. 11c) the bottom of the cut being strengthened by a few overcasting stitches.
The band of red at the lower edge is joined to the black by a lacing stitch in green, similar to that shewn in Figure 11a, but has in addition a simple motive worked in red and yellow (Fig. 11d).
Varied materials have been pressed into service to make the elaborate fringed ornament; twisted and plaited strands of red cotton, narrow red and green woven braid, long and round white seeds, a few very small glass beads, and the iridiscent green cases from the legs of some small beetles. The two latter alternate with one another between the long and round white seeds at the head of each tassel (Fig. 11e).
Across the top of the fringe is a double row of ornamental stitchery, the lower being a chain stitch, worked alternately in sections of red and yellow, whilst the upper is a clever adaptation of a buttonhole stitch, in which the stitches are taken on either side of the finished row and alternate ones are interlaced with the previous stitch (Fig 11f).
It will be noticed that the alternation of red and yellow in the stitchery is maintained throughout Figs, 11b, d, f and the general effect of the garment is both attractive and neat.
The La’hu Garments.
The La’hu or Lü tribes belong chiefly to the Kengtung States on the Chinese frontier, and intercourse with the Chinese has influenced the style of garment worn. The women wear a jacket of black cloth, GS 53 (Fig. 12) fastened at the throat and over the bosom by silver clasps, similar to those used by the Kachins (Fig. 31a). Below the coat a triangular portion of the waist is freely exposed, the legs are sometimes encased in full trousers, sometimes a skirt is worn.
According to Mr. H. S. Hallett[1] the clan to which the tribe belongs is denoted by the pattern of the women's skirt. He says: "the upper portion of the petticoat is worked with horizontal red stripes having interwoven lines of gold thread; then comes an inch (2.5 cm.) of plain red, followed by an inch and a half of blue, four inches (10 cm.) of black, two and a half of blue, (6.4 cm.) and a turning of a quarter of an inch of red at the bottom."
The well-to-do women wear silver torques round their necks (Fig. 32a), the poorer ones cane necklets. Earrings are worn and are frequently long enough to reach the shoulders.
Another branch, the Red La’hu's, or as the Shans call them, the Mühso, have settled in Kengtung for the most part. Their dialect differs from that of the La’hu but their costume is somewhat similar. The women wear a long black cloth coat, reaching nearly to the ankles and slit up at the sides to the hips, frequently decorated by strips of white and red GS 60 (Figs. 13, 13a). The undergarment is usually brown
- ↑ Upper Burma Gazetteer.
