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only ornaments worn by the Shans here, are about a quarter 
of an inch in thickness, but the ends are not quite joined 
up, and I was disappointed to find on examining them that 
they were not, as I had supposed, made of solid silver ; 
consequently when my friends demanded ten rupees for a 
single bracelet, I found it impossible to trade. 
As stated, the Shan women in this region affect little 
personal adornment, doubtless having been subdued in 
that respect by contact with the stolid Chinese. They are 
sufficiently characterised by their chimney-pot turbans and 
tightly-wound puttees; the whole attire, skirt, jacket and 
all being of dark blue or black cotton cloth, relieved only 
by the coarse silver bangles referred to. On festive occa- 
sions, however, they seem to revert to type, for in one village 
I passed through there were some of the component parts 
of a wedding procession—bridesmaids maybe—decked in 
gay colours and much jewellery, ear-rings, bracelets, silver 
hoops round the neck, and silver plates set in the hair; all 
bearing a distinct resemblance to the outfit of the Moso 
bride. 
The men, however, have adopted Chinese dress almost 
entirely, except when the Swabwas desire to create an im- 
pression in the city, where a chief will sometimes appear in 
a most ludicrous parody of European styles, a frock coat 
supplemented by a bowler hat, for instance. A Swabwa in 
full native dress, however, is a gorgeous sight. 
How different again are the Kachins, occasionally met 
with on this road and fairly numerous in Bhamo itself, the 
dirtiest and ugliest tribe I have ever come across, but with 
a fine taste in dress! Ugly—yet in the dim candle-lit hall 
of the Aracan pagoda at Mandalay I saw, bowed meekly in 
prayer before the golden Buddha, such an innocent-looking 
vision of Kachin beauty as will not be forgotten. 
Their most obvious peculiarity—I speak of the women— 
is the girdle of rattan, like fifty feet or so of telegraph wire 
coiled round the waist and again in lesser amount round the 
legs just below the knee, to improve their walking powers, 
they say. The men carry beautifully wrought cotton bags, 
fringed, and set with silver bells, beads, and inlaid work, in 
shape similar to those carried by the Lutzu and other tribes, 
but of far more skilful workmanship. 
