Shahtoosh Shahtoosh (also written Shahtush, a Persian word meaning king of fine wools) is the name given to a specific kind of shawl, which is woven with the down hair of the Tibetan antelope (Chiru), by the weavers of Kashmir. These shawls were originally very few and it took very skilled artisans to weave the delicate hair (which measured between 9 and 11 micrometres). These factors made Shahtoosh shawls very precious. Shahtoosh are so fine that an average size shawl can be passed through a wedding ring, leading to them also being known as ring shawls. The Chiru antelope live in one of the harshest environments on earth, at an altitude of over 5,000 metres. Their special type of down fur, which is both very light and warm, allows them to survive in the freezing conditions of the plateau where they gather at one point of the year. They are migratory animals - moving down from Mongolia to Tibet - and traditionally followed closely by the nomads, who also make that journey every year. The nomads would hunt the antelope for all that it provided them - hide, meat, bones, horns and fur pelts - in short, everything that the nomads needed to sustain them through their journey. It is a long-perpetuated false claim, that nomads gathered Chiru down from rocks and bushes, after it was naturally shed. The nomads had no use at all for the soft down - its incredible fineness making it virtually impossible to handle - and this is where the weavers of Kashmir played their role. With their experience in handling the finest hand-combed Pashmina wool, they could weave shawls of the most exquisite quality, and thus the Shahtoosh shawl was born. When the British (of British India) traveled to Kashmir in Summer, they realised the worth of Pashmina and Shahtoosh shawls and introduced them to the world, which led to greater demand for these products. Subsequently, the antelope was hunted down specifically for its fur and this led to it now being listed as an endangered species and given the highest possible level of legal protection, whereby no commercial trade in Shahtoosh is permitted. This also led to the demise of the skill of the Kashmir weavers, who were the only ones in the world who could handle the fibre. The selling or owning of Shahtoosh was made illegal in all countries that signed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Many countries including the USA, China and India are cracking down on those involved in the Shahtoosh trade. Although Shahtoosh is banned under the agreement, illegal hunting and selling of Shahtoosh is still a serious problem in Tibet.
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 17:43:39 +0000
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