Pwo Karen Blouse

The Karen people are the largest tribal group in Southeast Asia. They generally live on the western coast of Thailand and the southwestern coast of Burma. They are well known for their outstanding weaving abilities.This blouse belongs to the Pwo Karen people, and would have been worn by a married woman. From when they are children until they get married, girls wore long white cotton shifts. While still young they learned to make their own dresses, and would one day make theirs and their husbands’ wedding clothing. Once married, Pwo women would wear a blouse like this one with a sarong.

This piece has a ground of plain woven black cotton with supplementary weft  of red and gold. The design features vertical stripes on top, zigzag in the center and squares at the bottom.