traditional clothing
A Zapotec Village Meets the Spirit of Gandhi
A nonprofit business flourishing in a village of Mexico’s Oaxaca state is inspired by traditional Zapotec values and the ideals of Mohandas Gandhi. A story in Yes! magazine last week describes the revival of the traditional spinning culture of the village, its adoption of effective business practices, and the influence of the Mahatma. The story […]
Traditional Lepcha Culture [research report review]
A fascinating research report about a project intended to strengthen the indigenous knowledge systems of the Himalayan peoples, including the Lepchas, was published in June 2018. A news report dated August 31 prompts interest in the report. The research study was designed to reinforce traditional systems of providing foods in the mountains by focusing on […]
Sealskin Clothing Designers
Inuit views of themselves as hunters have been severely hurt by the anti-sealing campaigns of animal rights groups, but clothing designers in Nunavut are helping them reclaim their heritage. An article in The Guardian last week examined the ramifications of the controversial anti-sealing bans. Victoria Kakuktinniq, for instance, was trained in fashion design in Canada’s […]
Semai on Display
The Orang Asli Crafts Museum in Kuala Lumpur recently featured the cultures and the history of the Semai and the Mah Meri societies of Malaysia in a special, two-day event. According to an article last week in The Star, a Malaysian newspaper, visitors learned about the traditional beliefs, tools, and clothing of the two Orang […]
Ifaluk Atoll Has an Uncertain Future
A prominent educator from Massachusetts spent some time on Ifaluk Island 40 years ago so now he has decided to return there to live out the rest of his life. John Chittick was born and raised in the small city of Fitchburg, completed an Ed.D. from Harvard, and went on to have a career as […]
Young Ladakhis Try to Modernize [journal article review]
Ladakhi adolescents are often left in limbo between desires for modernity and tensions about their traditional moral values. Many desire sexual freedom but they are also torn by loyalty to their society and their culture. A journal article by Jennifer Aengst explores the tensions handled by young Ladakhis as they seek to modernize in a […]
Traditional Lepcha Fashions Reinvented
A young Lepcha woman who has professional university degrees and works as a librarian in Gangtok, northern India, is pioneering the revival of traditional women’s clothing. Tshering Lhamu Lepcha, who goes by the alias Tshela, experiments with fashion designing, particularly clothing that revives the styles worn traditionally by Lepcha women. The regional Indian publication The […]
Young Buid Abandon a Cultural Symbol
The young Buid are giving up a key symbol of their identity, the bahag, or loincloth, an article of clothing that some of their elders see as an essential part of their traditional culture. Younger people increasingly see it as an artifact of the past. Some older Buid, such as the mediums performing a pig […]
Hutterite Women Lifeguards Challenged in Manitoba
Diana Traverse, a resident of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, has complained about the dress of the two Hutterite women lifeguards at the city waterpark. She feels that the full-length skirts of the two women might hamper them if they have to rescue swimmers in the pool. She spoke with the head lifeguard, then to the […]
Awards for Music among the Lepchas and the Semai
News accounts last Friday highlighted the importance of preserving and fostering the musical traditions of two different peaceful societies. According to Indian news sources, the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA), the Indian National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama, just awarded the coveted SNA prize—Rs.50,000 (US$1,000)—to Hildamit Lepcha for her dedication to preserving and performing, with […]
