Contents
List of plates 5
List of maps, figures, and tables 7
Note on transcription 8
Acknowledgements 9
Introduction 11
Chapter One : Textile Traditions in Ladakh 14
Locating Rupshu 15
History of weaving and textiles 19
The role of the Moravian Mission 24
Early accounts of textiles in Rupshu 26
Chapter Two : Of Mud And Gods: The Origin Of Rupshu 31
The draining of Tso Kar - creating Rupshu 32
The founding chief 34
Chapter Three : The Livestock Of The Gods 39
We are the people who move behind the sheep and the goats' 42
The route of migration- locating campsites 46
Dedications to the gods, btsan, and klu 49
Changing attitudes to livestock 52
Chapter Four : 'The Livestock Are Naked Now': Gathering And Preparing Fibres 54
Removal of fibres 54
Combing pashmina 56
Removing hair and wool from the yaks 58
Shearing sheep wool 59
Appraising the fibres 65
Imported fibres 67
Preparation of fibres 69
Cleaning and washing 69
Carding 71
Spinning and twisting 71
Chapter Five : Weaving From The WoMB 76
Learning to weave 76
Preparing the warp 78
The loom 81
The backstrap loom 83
The fixed-heddle loom 87
The language of the loom 90
Speaking of gender 90
Restraining the demoness 93
Chapter Six : Cloth Of The Female Loom 97
The threads of connection and continuity 98
The snam-bu 101
Weaving and processing the snam-bu 102
Dyeing 105
Colour prescriptions 106
Cut and stitched - garments made from snam-bu 109
The woman's sul-ma 111
The man's gos 117
Clothing structure, design, and meaning 118
Coverings and containers 119
Design motifs - the roll of the dice 125
Chapter Seven : The Black Tent 129
The structure of the tent 131
The white tent 137
The formation of a new tent 140
Spatial organization within the tent 142
Chapter Eight : The Sheep's Eye: Patterns Of Trade 147
Weaving for trade 148
How to read a saddle-bag 152
Trade in pashmina and wool 156
Setting the price 160
Conclusion are the rupshupa still weaving? 167
Endnotes 172
Appendix. List of Ladakhi place names 180
Glossary 181
Bibliography 185
Index 190