Ladakhi head dress for women: interpretation and explanation of each element

From the archive record

Ladakhi women wear an attractive headgear called Perak, made of black lamb skin studded with semi precious turquoise stones, covering the head like a cobra's hood and tapering to a thin tail reaching down the back. The perak is a symbol among the Ladakh of the rank and economic status of the woman wearing it. Traditionally, the number of front-to-back rows of turquoise signified the status of the wearer: nine rows for the queen of Leh (the Ladakh capital), seven rows for the more modern aristocracy, five for the marvels, and three for the lower ranks. This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of HD imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of 50, 000+ hours of high qu