Pakistan · Weaving / Wool Textile
شو (Shu)
Shu (شو) is the traditional woolen cloth of Chitral District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — the narrow valley gateway to the Hindu Kush and one of the most geographically isolated communities in South Asia. Chitrali shu is a thick, densely woven wool fabric used for the traditional Chitrali dress coat (chogha) and blankets — designed to withstand the extreme cold of Hindu Kush winters (temperatures reach -20°C in Chitral). The defining technical knowledge is the cold-resistance density calibration: shu must be woven at a density that passes no wind — tested by holding the woven cloth over the mouth and exhaling forcefully: 'if my breath passes through, the weave is wrong.' No breath-through is the standard.
Risk level: Critically Endangered · Pakistan national ICH list
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