Waistcoat / شوکہ

33.7670° N 74.0094° E

Harchin, Laspur
Valley, Upper Chitral

Altitude

7500m above sea level

Gender

44% male

52% female

2% trans

Population

1,625

Shoka is made from sheep and yak wool. The wool closest to the yak body is the finest. It is very strong and keeps warm, is odor-resistant as it absorbs moisture easily and releases it into the air.

Those beyond Lowari
(mountain border) do not
know anything about
Shoka.

Shoka is a coat for men and it is generally the older men of the family who weave the cloth and then sew it. The designs vary according to the occasion the coat is being made for. The simplest form of coat is called Kaarbeli

Roiru Shoka is made with the finest quality of wool and this is a colored shoka used for special occasions.

Neck piece is organically dyed in walnut skin. Neck and arms are decorated.

Tak Daaro Shoka is a decorative shoka worn mostly on weddings.

It is decorated with gamboori flower pattern on both front panels. The center of the flower is used for tying both panels of the shoka with a decorative belt. In the traditional design, four decorative threads hang from the flower pattern.

1. The Charkha and Satr is used to roll the wool into thread.

2. The thread is rolled on to a tree bark known as Thasur (hollow stick).

3. Khaadi is then prepared with Tun (Warp) and Wor (Weft) On the Warp they use a tighter thread compared to weft.

4. Comb is used to straighten the cloth.

5. Once the cloth (shu) is ready, Seril, a sharp iron tool is used to cut the cloth (shu) for making shoka.

6. Once the shu (cloth) is ready, it is stitched into a coat using Jowaldais. Jowaldais is a needle was used to sew the shoka together - the needle used to be placed in the chapati (bread) and cooked in order to make it strong and

Barwaazi *Hung: There is a melody of drums attached to the Shoka - in family and community gatherings when the barwaazi melody is played on drums, the shoka is kept in the middle, men dance around it and slowly pick it up and wear it. The arms of the shoka used to be extremely long and used for carrying grain on long journeys, as a baby swaddle, as a blanket and also used for privacy in the absence of toilets.

384

hours

APPROXIMATELY TO MAKE SHU

672

hours of wedding season

APPROXIMATELY TO STICH SHU INTO SHOKA