ཡར་ཐྲ (Yathra)
Yathra (ཡར་ཐྲ) is Bumthang District's defining textile tradition — a weft-faced weave producing bold multicolor geometric patterns in hand-spun and hand-dyed wool. Unlike the supplementary weft technique of kishuthara (CRAFT-0530), yathra is a tapestry-based weave where the weft entirely covers the warp — the pattern is created by color changes in the weft, not by supplementary floats. The defining characteristic is the interlocked weft color change technique: at each color boundary within a row, the two adjacent weft threads are interlocked by looping one around the other — the same principle as Japanese luntein (CRAFT-0456) and Burmese tapestry, but achieved with thick hand-spun wool rather than fine silk, requiring a different tension and interlocking force. Natural dyes from Bumthang plants (walnut for brown-black; madder for red; indigo for blue; onion skin for yellow) are applied before weaving — the color palette is the yathra maker's signature.
Risk level: Endangered · Bhutan national ICH list; Zorig Chusum state designation
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