Tsangla Traditional Dress in Tibet.

By Tim Bodt Pemakopa ladies dress probably represents the traditional, indigenous dress of tshangla people as worn in what is now eastern bhutan and west kameng until the introduction of ' kira' by zhabdrung ngawang namgyel in late 17th c entury after take over of the area and incorporation in druk yul/bhutan and mon yul/tibet. it was maintained in pemako until relatively recently. even as late as 2003 i saw pemakopa pilgrims wear this dress in lhasa, and the movie on pemako shown in youtube also shows the dress. not just the gutsuma apron but also the colourful barrel skirt is striking and unique. it is a real pity that tshangla pemakopas in exile have given up wearing this dress in 30, 40 years time and now wear tibetan style chupa (or worse western clothing or lopa dress). i think it would be good if at least at special occassions pemakopa tshangla could assert their unique identity by wearing the unique dress.