From the ancient carvings and paintings of the temples and
pagodas in Bagan, their ancient lifestyle can be revealed. It
can be said that the costumes are combinations of Indian and
Chinese cultures. They wore longyi-like long dresses and had
shawls on top of their short pieces of cloth. At that time no
blouses were available. Most of the materials were made of silk
and cotton. The women of Bagan were able to weave the clothing
that they wore. Many of the evidences can be found on
inscriptions of Queen Pwa Saw's donated pagodas. Both men and
women wore band wrist on their arms, bangles on their wrists,
necklaces and foot chains. They also had belt-like jewellery
accessories on their waist.
During the reign of King Narathu, women started to wear divided
long longyies. The king wanted to promote the entertainment
facilities in his kingdom and theses changes seem to be start of
new ideas.
Describing the wall paintings of the Kyanzittha Umin cave, women
usually gather and went to the monasteries carrying offertories,
water pots, and some old women. They are followed by groups of
musicians playing drums, flutes and harps. They are again
followed by men carrying lotus flowers. After them is a large
cart carried by four horses which carries the King and Queen of
that time.
Depending on the time and the temples, different designs of the
people in the ancient time were recorded.
Hairstyles of
Bagan
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