THE TRADITIONAL COSTUME WORN BY WOMEN OF BABA ETHNIC IN ANDAMAN PROVINCE

Abstract

           This research intended to explore the style of traditional costume of women in Baba ethnic
which residing in the provinces of Ranong, Phang Nga, and Phuket. This is a qualitative research.
The sources of data were literature reviews, interviews, and observations and the result was
presented as descriptive analysis result.
           It is found that Baba Ethnic is a group of Chinese – local Thai or Malaya descendants residing in
Penang and Malaka of Malaysia, Singapore, and Andaman provinces in Thailand including Trang, Satul,
Krabi, Ranong, Phang Nga, and Phuket. The traditional costume worn by Baba women could be divided into  5 styles: 1) the casual stand collar long sleeve shirt with pleated cuffs (A Po shirt), 2) the long wedding gown (Baju Panjang), 3) the knee long gown (Po Tueng Te) worn in casual occasions, 4) Yaya (Ke Ba Ya) worn by adult women in religious ceremonies, and 5) lace dress worn by senior women. In the color section, clothing is popular with red, light pink or vivid colors at auspicious occasions and popular black, dark brown, white at inauspicious occasions. In addition, Baba women always wear Malaya style batik sarong called Pateh with Chinese style shirt. The sarong patterns are butterflies, flowers, floral motif, swan, peacock, and geometric. The popular hair style was the high bun called Chak E Boi. The accessories worn by these women depend on the occasions, social status, and beliefs.