The romantic East: Burma, Assam, & Kashmir - Khamkoo

BHAMO AND THE IRAWADI 53
from the north wear a jacket and a tamein, or simple
cloth folded over in place of a skirt, and carry heavy
loads on their backs in baskets supported by a
wicker strap coming over the head. They are very
fond of decorating their clothes with cowries, and
have cylinders of bamboo or amber an inch thick
passing through the lobes of their ears. The Kachins
from the hills bordering on China usually wear brown
turbans, and the men are frequently seen, with a
cheroot or roll of paper stuck over the left ear,
carrying a huge knife (dha) in a rough sheath, and a
big straw umbrella-hat slung over the back. Then
there are the flat-nosed and fair-skinned Shan
women, from the district to the east of Bhamo,
dressed in black skirts with blue belts laced over
them, white jackets, and on their heads black
turbans folded in the shape of a high Parsi hat,
sloping sharply
backward from the forehead.
Chinese in their characteristic garb are everywhere,
and representatives of many
other races and
tribes may be seen in Bhamo, but the most unique
costume we saw was that worn by the Palaung
women from Nam Hsan, east of Mogok. These
women wore large cloth turbans, single-breasted