Ladakhi Region Fashion and the Role of the Female

*This is what I worked on researching in India.

At approximately 11,500 feet above sea level, Ladakh is a region in the Northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir that opens its doors to the world for a colorful, albeit brief summer season. A convergence point of traditional fashions, Leh the capital city of Ladakh, becomes a small cosmopolitan city showcasing its collection of lively local Ladakhi and Tibetan clothing. Although meant to be first and foremost functional, Ladakhi and Tibetan female residents wear intricate, layered, luscious clothing that speaks of their cultural couture abilities. Not only functional and stylish, Ladakhi and Tibetan women’s fashions also imitate that of Buddhist Goddess and female Bodhisattva depictions of the 10-15th centuries. Ladakhi region feminine fashion a marker of social status and heritage and denotes the female role in society and family life as compared to the ideal Buddhist woman.
The Ladakhi Fashion
A typical Ladakhi women’s outfit includes four main articles of clothing. The first is the tipi, or Ladakhi hat. The tipi is a high-top hat with upturned corners. It sits atop the head, back from the forehead and exposes the part of the hair. Made from brocade, it is a daring fashion statement to the Western eye. The next article of clothing is the tilin, a half shirt made of cotton, nylon or silk that is loose fitting. It has wide sleeves that can be rolled up during the warm months. It can be plain or patterned with light designs of tonality or sparkling embroidery. A tilin is mostly worn when coupled with a wedding gongcha, or the Ladakhi dress. The gongcha is traditionally a thick dress that resembles more of a coat, with long sleeves and a hem that falls just above the ankles. It can appear in a range of colors and designs and cost anywhere from approximately 500 rupees to 80,000 rupees for a wedding gongcha. When not paired with a tilin, a simple sulwar kurta, or loose fitting pants and long Indian shirt that reaches above the knee, is worn underneath with the everyday working Ladakhi outfit. The daily gongcha can be cotton, polyester, wool, velvet or a combination of these. Wool is even worn in the hot summer months. While daily gongcha are mostly a burgundy, black or gray or earthen color, wedding dresses are brightly colored and made from brocade silk fabrics imported from China, Korea, Japan and Nepal. Lastly, tied around the waist of the Ladakhi dress is a belt called the kayruck. Often matching the inner tilin in color, the kayruck is made of a thicker fabric and used to cinch the waist. This allowing the gongcha to puff out around the body creating a decidedly elegant ball gown effect.
Ladakhi wedding dresses are elaborate works of art that entirely cover the female body. Including the brocade gongcha, tilin and matching kayruck, brides are also adorned with a square cape called a yogar. The yogar can be embroidered cottons or brocade silk with rainbow tassels or sheep’s wool lining. Tied in the front and resting on the brides’ shoulders, the cape helps to hide the bride’s face, a Ladakhi tradition that may stem from ideals surrounding the virgin Buddhist goddess Tara. Also shielding the bride is a parak, instead of a tipi. The parak is the bridal headdress that is often a family heirloom passed down from mother to daughter. Heavy with turquoise, coral, shells and other family gems, the parak sits atop the bride’s bowed head and expands outwards from both sides, emulating the appearance of the cobra, “tapering off like a snake skin at the back”. Black animal hair and yak felt decorate the flaps and hang down in braids framing the woman’s face. This headpiece is said to symbolize, “a snake skin, harking back to the cobra whose hood sheltered Lord Buddha in meditation”.
Often taking an entire month to put together, the Ladakhi wedding dress is a mass of colorful silk material that entirely covers the bride’s body, perhaps to shield her from impurity before she marries. At the wedding, the bride appears clothed in symbolic auspicious fabrics, white silky prayer clothes and rupees sewn to her person to ensure her good luck and prosperity in marriage. In fact, the Ladakhi bride much resembles 10th century images of Bodhisattvas in the Dukhang of the Tabo monastery while embodying qualities of the Goddess Tara. Considering that a bride is expected to enter a marital union a virgin and come prepared to cultivate family relations, it may be stated that the Ladakhi bride is dressed to emulate a Bodhisattva and Buddhist Goddess.
The Ladakhi Woman as a Buddhist Goddess and Bodhisattva
The comparison between the Ladakhi bride and the Tabo Bodhisattvas can be made when examining the dress of each. The Tabo Bodhisattvas, the Dukhang, sit suspended from the walls. Jutting out from the paintings, these Bodhisattvas float in mid-air. Dressed in rich auspicious fabrics, white prayer clothes, and sometimes rupees at their feet, these Bodhisattvas appear sensual and intensely fashionable in their silken garb. Just like the Bodhisattva, the Ladakhi bride is adorned with sumptuous fabrics of Eastern origin and covered with white silk prayer clothes, auspicious red and golden swatches and rupees. In this sense, when the Ladakhi women marry, they are expected to embody the qualities of a Bodhisattva. When compared to the Bodhisattva, or one who sacrifices his or her chance for potential enlightenment to help others, the Ladakhi woman takes on the role of one who sacrifices her own achievements to help others. This may take the form of working the family store, baring children, and/or cultivating a comfortable family life. When compared to the image of Tara, the Buddhist goddess who is, “compared to a virgin, a mother and a queen…and protect[s] against the eight great terrors”, the Ladakhi woman suddenly takes on a zenith role as family protectress. Although the Ladakhi woman is also expected to be pure and innocent, she is not thought of as fragile and demurely submissive. The Ladakhi female is seen as a necessary counterpart and strong womanly presence of wisdom. Just as the cobra protected the Buddha, so the Ladakhi woman must protect her family from evil.
In Buddhism, the idea of the female and male counterpart or consort is prevalent. When a male and female are depicted together in union, it is a representation of the “oneness of the two necessary elements for the generation of enlightenment: wisdom, a passive female principle and skillful means, an active male principle, [who join] together on the plane of ultimate reality”. Therefore, the fashions worn by Ladakhi women may seem oppressive, considering these full-body heavy gongcha are worn even during the summer months, but stylish hints elevate the woman and showcase her importance and equivalence as the male counterpart. Just as the Buddha would have been unprotected without the cobra, the Ladakhi woman’s parallel role as protectress is highlighted by her parak. Yet, this snake-like image does not make her an ugly or devious presence as may be misconstrued in Western ideology. Instead, her abilities as wife, mother and guardian are associated with this image. Furthermore, the Ladakhi woman’s cinched waist, which produces large hips of fabric, may serve to echo the tiny curved waist and broad child-bearing hips of the goddess Tara. Thus, because female Ladakhi fashion is an imitation of these Buddhist feminine ideals, the clothing of Ladakh serves more than just an aesthetic value. It beautifies its women and reveals them to society as an, “anima figure [for men], for women…a role model, and for both sexes…a form of…transcendental compassion”.
The Tibetan Fashion
Within the city of Leh, an entirely different fashion has emerged from Tibet. Due to the large numbers of Tibetan refugees, many women wear their cultural heritage and display their roots through traditional clothing. Despite the geographical proximity of the two cultures, Tibetan dress differs wholly from Ladakhi attire in both appearance and symbolism.
A Tibetan outfit consists of three main articles: the unjew, the chupa, and the panday. The unjew is a half shirt that is loose fitting and comes in a one-size-fits-all cut, costing anywhere from 150 rupees to 1,000 rupees. It is exactly the same type of shirt as the Ladakhi tilin. Over the unjew, Tibetan women wear a chupa, which is a long floor-length, sleeveless dress that rests close to the body cylindrically. This can be made from cotton, wool or silk and cost 300 to 9,000 rupees. The chupa has two long ties on either side that wrap around the waist and tie in the back in a way that accentuates the buttocks of the Tibetan woman while adding curvature to the waist. Also wrapped around the waist is the panday. The panday is an apron that falls just past the knees. It is worn to convey the fact that a Tibetan woman is married. Ranging in color from pale grays to bright neon colors, the panday is always a dense material decorated with horizontal stripes of varying thickness. The panday is the least expensive article of clothing, costing as low as 100 rupees to only as high as 500 rupees. The apron serves as a purely stylistic affect with no functional use whatsoever, other than to signify the marriage status of the woman. Another signifier of marriage within Tibetan culture revolves around the jewelry, which plays a larger role in Tibetan dress than Ladkahi. For Tibetans, women who are unmarried may not wear the panday, but they are also prohibited from wearing large jewelry. Although, young woman now may wear small stud earrings, they still cannot wear necklaces, bracelets or bulky earrings. Unmarried girls often also wear their hair in two long braids with colored yarn braided into the strands.
The tradition of headgear and jewelry for the Ladakhi Tibetans is rich with history and symbolism. The custom Tibetan hat is called the usha par. This hat is made of silken brocade fabrics with a hard circular base that allows it to sit around the head. On all four sides, four fur-lined flaps jut out horizontally creating a distinctly Tibetan look. These flaps also help to protect the wearer from harsh sun rays and winter weather. “The flaps of the hat [are] worn down in winter to protect ears from the cold. The flap to the back of the head [is] worn down to keep the neck warm. In warmer weather the flaps [are] worn up. The flap to the back of the head [is] worn down in summer to protect the neck from sunburn.” Both woman and men may wear this hat. Although the Tibetan tradition does not have a head piece as sumptuous as the Ladakhi wedding parak, females do wear a head piece called a namung for graduating from school. The namung is much simpler and delicate than the heavy parak and it rests gently against the head. It has four leather strips adorned with turquoise or coral that hang down around the head, pearls strung between the strips cascade in rows of five or six down the hair and forehead.
The Jewels of a Tibetan Woman as Compared to Tara
Because jewelry is such an intimate, “marker of wealth and status [and] it [identifies] its wearer in a number of ways often simultaneously—region, castes, marital status, personal achievements,” it is interesting to note not only the fashions of Tibetan head pieces, but also the significance of such extravagance. When examining depictions of Tara or any Buddhist female deity, the sumptuousness with which these cosmic women are depicted is astounding. The most famous image of Tara ornaments the lower left corner of the wall behind a statue of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avalokiteshvara, in the Sumtsek temple at Alchi. In this 11th to 13th painting, voluptuous Tara is shown in all her divine glory as a young goddess of about 16 years with full, round breasts and strings of jewels embellishing her curvaceous body. Although depicted young and beautiful, the weight of the world rests on Tara’s shoulders. Her job as protectress, mother, and queen is not one of ease. She is, “like a mother instantly and unthinkingly leaping into danger if her child is threatened. [Tara] steps down at once to give aid and protection to any living being who calls on her”. Thus, when considering the Tibetan woman and her ability to wear jewelry only after marriage, it may be that because Tara embodies these difficult life duties, the young, unmarried and carefree Tibetan woman does not have the life experience to privilege the wearing of luscious and rich jewels. Only after a Tibetan woman is married and expected to take on wifely duties may she then be worthy of comparing herself to Tara in mind and body.
Also, (as previously mentioned) the namung, or Tibetan female’s graduation cap, is also a marker of social status and psychological development as compared to Tara. This semi-precious head adornment used to denote the graduation of a female serves to cover her head, the origin of her intelligence, and elevates her status visually by its appearance alone. A 2,000 rupee or more head piece, the namung displays the education and wealth of a Tibetan young woman, ideally adding to her social and cultural appearance. Considering that Tara is the Goddess of Wisdom, it may be concluded that, again, the Tibetan woman draws upon the jewels and representations of Tara to illustrate her goddess-like qualities. Just as wise Tara is placed beside the figure of compassion, Avalokiteshvara and therefore contrasts him, so the Tibetan bride must be viewed as a wise and worthy contrast to her male counterpart.
Conclusion
Ladakhi and Tibetan woman have rich cultures of traditional haute couture. Both use fashion as a means to communicate social and marital status, wealth, intelligence and life maturity. Using clothing as a means of self expression, Ladakhi and Tibetan women draw from the ideal Buddhists feminine image to establish high social and family status. By comparing themselves in this manner, fashion becomes a mechanism of enlightenment in that it is used as symbolic costuming to put the woman in a place of ultimate Buddhist power both in a public and private realm.


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