Kashmiri

Kashmir sits at a crossroads — between Persia, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Its jumkas carry all three. The hook is long and curved, more dramatically than any other regional style. The dome is often inlaid with dark walnut wood, a material unique to the valley.

The Kashmiri jumka moves differently when you walk. The long hook changes the swing. The weight distribution is different. When Kashmiri women wore these in the wooden houseboats of Dal Lake, the sound travelled across the water.

The craftsmen work in silver almost exclusively. Gold is rare in the mountains. What they had was silver, walnut, and centuries of geometric pattern-making borrowed from Persian carpet design.