The Color White

On the Tibetan Plateau, white stands for purity, knowledge and learning. White is auspicious, as symbolized by the white silk scarves offered to welcome guests, or the white yogurt that is served before seeing them off. As an object of meditation, white is known for its power, for severing delusions and ignorance, and turning them into the wisdom that perceives all phenomenon as empty in nature.

White yaks are extremely rare on the plateau, with only one out of a herd of 1,000. When collecting our yearly wool, Norlha sets aside the white yak khullu (wool) to later spin and weave into scarves and shawls which are neither dyed nor bleached. They are Norlha’s most precious pieces, they mirror the snowy mountains, winter landscape and icy rivers that make up the delicate eco-system of the Tibetan Plateau. Norlha’s white scarf stands for the pristine, untouched purity of nature.