Cotton and porcelain doll, 'Akha Girl' Collectibles Dolls 
The graceful beauty and
colorful elegance of the Akha women is captured with sensitive
care by Suwit Suthamtha. This doll of ceramic face is
dressed in an Ulo, comprising of a black long jacket
and pants, and accented with red, yellow and green. Her
elaborate headdress features long and colorful strands of wool and
her jewelry complements the whole costume with a touch of
sublime delicacy. Makes for superb gift to surprise the admirer
of authentic international fashions. Akhas believe in continuity and see
themselves as a link in the chain of life which
includes birth, procreation, the preservation of the Akha way of
life - which venerates family life - and death, seen
as a meeting with their ancestors. The Akha have a
poetic code of life which governs all aspects of life
from waking to sleeping, from birth to death. It covers
laws, customs, religion, medicines, agriculture, architecture, blacksmith works, and handcrafts.
Containing 10,000 lines, this code must be memorized by the
village priest because for the most part, Akhas are illiterate.
Their attire characterizes their origin, those who wear the Ulo
are from Thailand, loimi is worn by immigrants from Burma
and the phami is worn by the women of Mawn
Po Chan. Distinction is further made between those who are
married, and wear tall hats or u-cher, and single women
who wear u-coe, or bonnets. Suthamtha made a number
of trials before achieving the hand-crafted perfection that characterizes his
work and that of the artisans that collaborate with him.
"I begin by molding the shape of the head, arms
and legs in clay, and kiln the pieces at 1472F.
I then paint in the skin as well as the
facial features. I use wire for the body, and shape
it into a human posture, I wrap it with raw
cloth and use kapok seeds for stuffing. I attach the
ceramic limbs and face so that they may move. Then,
women working at my workshop sew their clothes, I teach
them how as well as about the different hill tribe
costumes. Finally, I add jewelry items made of aluminum and
zinc to authenticate what I see in real life."
Price: $32.95 |
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