– Joaquim Magalhães de Castro
The third likely option is that they have followed the Gaza Valley to the village of Layla, situated at an altitude of 3,800 meters and inhabited by the nomad layaps, yak herders on the neighboring plateau of Tibet. One of the peculiarities of this people is the conical hats of bamboo strips, with a kind of inverted cross on top, worn by women. They call it “belo” and it has become a layap icon. Their origin is unknown, but local women believe that if they don’t put them on their heads they feel unprotected and can infuriate the village spirits.
Layla was the first inhabited place Shabdrung encountered during his exile from Central Tibet, and today the monarch is highly revered. The dresses women wear, for example, show that they are followers of the warrior monk. Probably all a coincidence, but it is nonetheless curious that the name “belo” hat (“belo” is the Portuguese word for “beautiful”), its appearance – evoking a top-down chalice – and the almost divine memory of Shabdrung’s passage.
It is very possible that Fathers Cacela and Cabral visited Layla during their two-month tour with the king. And if they did not then, they may have chosen this path because it is better known and inhabited in the higher pastures. Who knows if they stayed in Layla for a while and inspired, with their religious implements, the hat that women today devoutly wear in their daily lives? It would not be the first time. There are many cases in Africa and Asia of traditional hats inspired by hats or other objects taken by the Portuguese. Straw hats from the Indonesian island of Roti and Port Dauphin in southern Madagascar are just two examples.
We have no chance to visit Layla – this would require special permits and a three-day hike – but we do visit Gaza, the last pre-plateau settlement where yaks graze, and we never know what to expect in these border areas of Tibet. During our stay we have the opportunity to see one of these relics, a supposed Shabdrung shoe, worn by the warrior monk during his long walk, as the entry into the rugged Dragon Kingdom was through this region. It is religiously guarded by an elderly local woman, displayed in a tent next to a portrait of the monk king and always available for worship by the villagers.
Original photo is removed due to infringement
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