The Kachin People

Kachin State is Burma's northernmost province, and it is crowned by the country's highest mountain, Hkakabo Razi, which stands at the edge of the Himalyas and towers to a height of 5,889 meters (19,321 ft). A trip to Hkakabo Razi is only possible with a state-appointed guide, and it takes visitors weeks on foot, along virtually untrodden paths and through thick jungle. Then they catch their first glimpse of the snow-covered foothills of the Himalayas.

Hkakabo Razi

The Jingpho or Kachin people are a South East Asian ethnic group who inhabit the Kachin Hills in northern Burma's Kachin State. They occupy a large and fertile territory rich in natural resources including one of the most exclusive forms of jade in the world. These resources are coveted by the ruling government and this sadly has made the Kachin targets of violence and displacement for many years.

Different ethnic sub-groups belong to the Kachin tribe including the Jinghpaw, Maru, Lashi, Atsi. These are linguistic rather than national distinctions. Each groups dress is colorful but the individual tribes clothing is distinctive and their dialects also differ. 

The Kachin textiles are woven on backstrap looms and have predominantly geometric patterns. The women’s skirts are usually comprised of three narrow bands and these wrap skirts can take months to weave. When learning to weave, the woman first masters the “mother pattern” which runs in supplementary weft down each vertical end of the finished cloth. The patterns vary between sub groups.

For contemporary Kachin people these textiles remain a visible symbol of their cultural identity and history.

Photo credit http://www.tribaltrappings.com/

“As a Kachin person, I believe that cultural heritage is one of the most valuable things we have. As a community struggling in the midst of political instability and uncertainty, culture offers a constructive tool for building Kachin identity. Even such a regular routine such as weaving clothing at home can be considered an important form of heritage and culture“

*Gumring: a member of the Kachin ethnic community of Burma. 

Siamese Dream Design is thrilled to welcome these beautiful hand woven fabrics to our textile collection.

Women's t-strap sandals in Kachin textiles

Women's t-strap sandals in Kachin textiles

What's In A Name

What's In A Name

We have been working on our new children’s line of clothing and footwear for many months. There can be a lot of bumps in the road when you are making a brand new line of products. We finally have enough little shoes and boots, dresses and pants to go ahead and present our ideas to the world. Wait, we need a name for all this adorable little stuff. We thought about using something like "Boho Babies", no we are not really making baby things and a 5 year old might just not be happy being called a baby. "Tribal Tots", hmmm, but we go up to larger sizes that are no longer tots.

DekDoi, as soon as the words came out of Amy’s mouth we both knew this was it.

When we travel to the villages in the mountains often we are there in the afternoons. This is the time the children come out to play. It is such a pleasure to watch these children and their simple methods of play. No electronics, no fancy toys or computers to occupy their time. They run, rocks and pebbles turn into games in the dirt. It’s simple, they are breathless with joy as they speed up and down the hills. Mothers chatting close by with friends while working on their latest embroidery, babies, lots of babies. It’s simple, it’s natural, it’s slow and it is pure joy to watch. Dek Doi means mountain child, it was perfect. Young, wild, free.

So we gathered up some friends, several cameras, a few small children with parents

 in tow and headed out to the country. Thank you Charlotte for living in paradise. An old teak-wood house, mountains, a lake and lots of room for kids to run. 

The children played and the photographers shot as they… well did what children do. 

A blanket, some bubbles, a guitar played by our dear friend Thon and a great day was had by all.

Introducing DekDoi

(Mountain Child)

 by Siamese Dream Design

A friendly neighbor even stopped by to see what we were up to.

A giant thank you to all of our friends who helped make this day possible. We truly love you.

Visit the Children's Shop on Siamese Dream Design to see all of the new children's styles.

 Ethnic fashion for the smaller set. 

Barbara

Dying textile traditions in the mountains of South East Asia

She’s lived in these mountains for as long as she can remember, but it's all different now.  Now there are roads and shops and the young people are leaving. They are leaving for the cities, for factory jobs and tourist spots. They are leaving without the tribal skills, the skills which they did not care to learn. The skills they felt would not provide the things people down there, in the city value. The skills her grandmother taught her mother, and her mother taught her and she taught her daughter. "Is this where it ends?" she wonders.

Yet she smiles as she sits in her hut and draws the batik as she has for years. It is a part of her, the culture, the Hmong tribal ways. The women sitting together embroidering, chatting, after a day of gathering or planting in the hills. Will it end here? These beautiful skills lost forever remembered only by these hills that witnessed the beauty of it, and the grandmothers that created them.