Hi everyone, glad that people have found my pictures from Kham Tibet interesting! I continue with 2 photos of a beautiful young Khampa lady's costume, taken at the Litang Festival - one of the few occasion in a year where these ceremonious costumes will be worn. She is dressed in a vast amount of family treasures which in Tibet are described as priceless - and in reality worth many millions of US dollars.
BTW, If you are interested, but haven't seen my previous threads with other photos, they are are to be found further down in this forum!
The first photo of these 2 photos was taken on my mobile phone - my camera batteries had run out! I saw her again in a different location after I'd found batteries and got a camera photo. Although the background for the first shot was definitely better...
Explanation - about these costumes:
These costumes are the most ceremonial in all of Tibet, and have a much greater importance to the Khampa people than we might ever suspect.
The value of these costumes are anywhere from several tens or hundreds of thousands of u.s. dollars, to many millions (it may not surprise you that there is a big military presence at the festivals, because there are such expensive costumes on display). Precious metals and stones are the main store of wealth for these nomadic people, because families must frequently move with changing seasons, and an easily transported form of wealth is necessary. this culture goes back millenia, archeological finds from the 1st century AD in the khampa area unearthed ornaments that are essentially the same in design and materials as todays are. these costumes and ornaments are passed down from generation to generation inside the family. so the ornaments also have great emotional value as they are the remnants of decades and centuries of ancestors.
Women and men both wear these costumes on fesival days; but most of the attention goes to the women because they are more beautiful are relaxed, while Khampa men are macho and proud. The daughters and wives of rich Khampa families are decorated from head to toe in the ornate and antique treasures of their families. The typical women's costume feautures a headdress made from big red and yellow stones, covering the hair - the effect is very striking! See here for example (http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=101640)
Necklaces are made of coral and ancient dzi beads (the long thin black and white stones) - these beads are a vast subject in and of themselves - Tibetans prize them as having a living spirit inside - and genuine antique articles of these beads can cost up to or over 100,000 US dollars in some cases - including on EBay. Women also are adorned along the backs, and carry below their waists in front and behind large pendants made of gold and silver. Hands and arms are also decorated with bracelets made of animal horn and with big gold rings jeweled with coral and dzi beads.
In Tibet, this costume culture has seen a resurgence in recent years. this is because tibet, like the rest of china has seen much economic growth during the last 10 or 20 years. While Khampa tibetans have no fondness for what they consider the invasion and occupation of their country by the chinese - experiencing the suppression of their freedom to religious and cultural practices, there has been economic development. In truth, a lot of this money goes to the Chinese immigrants, and amougnst many tibetans there is still extensive poverty and need for all aspects of development from food and water, to health and education. However there is a growing upper and middle class of tibetans who are gaining money. well-off khampas today, like their ancestors, continue to invest much of their wealth in the form of jewelry and ornaments, in part because these items increase in value over time, in part to preserve their old culture, and in part because the costumes bring social prestige. at the litang horse racing fesival, the costumes are a significant sideshow, drawing attention from both normal tibetans, and travelling photographers and tourists alike
BTW, If you are interested, but haven't seen my previous threads with other photos, they are are to be found further down in this forum!
The first photo of these 2 photos was taken on my mobile phone - my camera batteries had run out! I saw her again in a different location after I'd found batteries and got a camera photo. Although the background for the first shot was definitely better...
Explanation - about these costumes:
These costumes are the most ceremonial in all of Tibet, and have a much greater importance to the Khampa people than we might ever suspect.
The value of these costumes are anywhere from several tens or hundreds of thousands of u.s. dollars, to many millions (it may not surprise you that there is a big military presence at the festivals, because there are such expensive costumes on display). Precious metals and stones are the main store of wealth for these nomadic people, because families must frequently move with changing seasons, and an easily transported form of wealth is necessary. this culture goes back millenia, archeological finds from the 1st century AD in the khampa area unearthed ornaments that are essentially the same in design and materials as todays are. these costumes and ornaments are passed down from generation to generation inside the family. so the ornaments also have great emotional value as they are the remnants of decades and centuries of ancestors.
Women and men both wear these costumes on fesival days; but most of the attention goes to the women because they are more beautiful are relaxed, while Khampa men are macho and proud. The daughters and wives of rich Khampa families are decorated from head to toe in the ornate and antique treasures of their families. The typical women's costume feautures a headdress made from big red and yellow stones, covering the hair - the effect is very striking! See here for example (http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=101640)
Necklaces are made of coral and ancient dzi beads (the long thin black and white stones) - these beads are a vast subject in and of themselves - Tibetans prize them as having a living spirit inside - and genuine antique articles of these beads can cost up to or over 100,000 US dollars in some cases - including on EBay. Women also are adorned along the backs, and carry below their waists in front and behind large pendants made of gold and silver. Hands and arms are also decorated with bracelets made of animal horn and with big gold rings jeweled with coral and dzi beads.
In Tibet, this costume culture has seen a resurgence in recent years. this is because tibet, like the rest of china has seen much economic growth during the last 10 or 20 years. While Khampa tibetans have no fondness for what they consider the invasion and occupation of their country by the chinese - experiencing the suppression of their freedom to religious and cultural practices, there has been economic development. In truth, a lot of this money goes to the Chinese immigrants, and amougnst many tibetans there is still extensive poverty and need for all aspects of development from food and water, to health and education. However there is a growing upper and middle class of tibetans who are gaining money. well-off khampas today, like their ancestors, continue to invest much of their wealth in the form of jewelry and ornaments, in part because these items increase in value over time, in part to preserve their old culture, and in part because the costumes bring social prestige. at the litang horse racing fesival, the costumes are a significant sideshow, drawing attention from both normal tibetans, and travelling photographers and tourists alike
