Rope

An important part of a man's paraphernalia in Ladakh is his rope and handles. The loads men most often work with are quite heavy and the rope and handles can be combined in any number of ways to carry anything from long timbers to sacks of barley flour weighing well over 100 lbs. The rope is woven from strands of goat hair with slits left along it for intermittent looping. The handles are bent saplings steamed to make them pliable and then tied permanently. They can be attached to the rope at any place without having to thread the rope through them. These were often used to haul baggage and grain onto the roof of buses which are the chief means of transport.

carrying

A woven goat hair rope (part a) with slits at several places along the rope and a loop at one end. Mixed light natural, brown, and grey tones. There are two handles (parts b-c) with sisal rope.