pretty definitely on the way out. Fewer and fewer of these

and those that still ply the trade seem to pass by less and

less often.

Yet every Thai housewife in Bangkok will instantly

recognize the dyer's acoustic trade mark — a loud, rhy-

thmic tattoo produced by twirling a small buffalo-hide

drum on the end of a handle rapidly this way and that.

As the drum turns, corks tied to it with strings strike each

side of the drum in quick succession. No other shoulder-

pole carrier announces his trade in such a particularly

loud and characteristic fashion.

On one end of the shoulder-pole the dyer carries a

'bpeeb' or square kerosine can about two feet deep and

eighteen inches across, in which water is kept on the boil

by a small charcoal or wood-fired stove beneath; on the

other end of the pole is an old wooden crate in which he

stores his various dyeing materials, and a metal or plastic

bucket for cold water rinsing. He dyes only in black or

other dark colors. This is because in former times, when

he came by more often — perhaps everyday even, house-

wives who urgently needed black to wear at the funeral,

would use his services to dye an old and faded frock

black. But apart from these sad occasions, Thai women

in earlier days wore black much of the time anyway,

especially upcountry — particularly black sarongs, with

which a top garment of any bright color could be worn.

The dyeing-on-your-doorstep procedure is simple

and basic. A tablespoon of black powder dye is put in the

boiling water, and the garment is put in the 'bpeeb' and

kept there for about an hour, using a couple of wooden

poles to hold it under the water and swirl it around. It's

then taken out and rinsed in cold water in the bucket.

Further rinsing and drying are up to the housewife.

Nowadays as the itinerant dyers are growing older,

they are still carrying on with their trade, but in a static

and leisurely manner. Some of them have established

themselves and their businesses under the shelter of large

bridges. The dyeing procedure is just the same, except

that with more space they can now spread themselves

out a bit more. Instead of just one bucket for rinsing, they

have enough room for three or four old metal drums —

and their own drying facilities too.

These men charge about one U.S. dollar to dye a

pair of pants, whatever the size, since the procedure is the

same. A typical dyer earns about two or three dollars a

day, and works seven days a week with no day off. Cus-

tomers normally bring their clothes for dyeing early in

the morning and collect them in the afternoon, although

a few wait while the work is being done. Many of the cus-

tomers are people who want their shirts and

jeans dyed black to look smart and new. Natural cotton,

say the dyers, is much easier to dye than synthetic fabrics.

The reason why the purely itinerant dyer is dis-

appearing isn't hard to see: more and more dyers' shops

are opening up. In most markets, both in Bangkok and

upcountry, there are shops with signs saying "we dye

cloth"; some of them add "one-hour service". Perhaps

this is an idea imported from the west, where in some

countries almost every small town and even village has

one or more shops announcing themselves as "Dyers and

Cleaners".

And yet there is one itinerant dyer (and who knows,

there may be others) who now plies the roads and sois in

the Samsen areas of North Bangkok and who only start-

drove a 'took-took' or mini-taxi but didn't make much of a

living from it. Realizing that door-to-door dyeing is a

trade which is virtually on the way out, he shrewdly

thought that perhaps for this very reason he might find it

more lucrative than what he was already doing. And

indeed he now does earn more: he and his wife, who

accompanies him as his assistant, earn a steady five U.S.

dollars a day — quite a respectable living wage in

Thailand these days.

This couple walk about six miles every day, which

no doubt keeps them fit ... And covering such a wide

beat, it's small wonder that they only come along each

soi about once every two months.

So, for the poorer sections of Bangkok's public who

urgently need black clothes for a funeral, the cheapest

and quickest method is to take an old dress or suit to one

of the dyers "under the bridge". If one waits for the

itinerant dyer to come to one's doorstep, one may have