Book Reviews

Living Fabric

Weaving among the Nomads of Ladakh Himalaya

Monisha Ahmed

2002 192 pp., 9 b & w plates, 178 color plates, 3 maps, 29 x 22 cm., hardbound.

ISBN-10: 974-8304-87-6 $50.00
ISBN-13: 978-974-8304-87-8

Living Fabric

Weaving among the Nomads of Ladakh Himalaya

Monisha Ahmed is an anthropologist who, for more than 15 years, has been visiting and writing about the Himalayan region of Ladakh. The subject of her doctoral thesis while at Oxford University was the weaving traditions of the nomadic peoples of Rupshu and she has extended and developed the work to produce this fine book.
Fibres, weaving and the livestock necessary to sustain the textile arts are inextricable elements in the life of the people of Rupshu. Both men and women engage in spinning and weaving and everything depends on fibres, from the homes that people live in to the bags in which they store their food. This book describes the essential connection between the people and textiles, involving their religion, family and hierarchical relationships; social structures; language and gender issues. It is full of beautiful and informative colour photographs and good diagrams which support and enhance the text, where they are precisely referenced.
Weaving among the Nomads of Ladakh Himalaya will fascinate all those whose fibre interests embrace the work and life of other cultures.

Diane Ashley-Smith, Cambridgeshire Guild

[Read a review from the Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai, India] [Read a review from the Textile Society of America] [More Orchid Press Reviews]