Malai Uba and the "Uba" Tassel
The part of a Thai garland everyone recognises and almost nobody can name
The "U-Ba" is the tassel that hangs from a phuang malai. It is what separates a finished Thai garland from a loop of flowers, and a Thai eye reads it first: the length, the density, and how many there are.
Traditionally an Uba is threaded from fresh jasmine, dok rak or dok phut, and it takes longer to make than the ring it hangs from.
It also dies within a day. Malai Uba is that same piece, hand-threaded entirely in cotton, made to the length you ask for and built to last.
Hang it alone, pair it with a garland, or use it to finish a piece you already own
Product details
- Handmade in Asha village, Chiang Rai, Thailand
- Materials: cotton
-
Size: 40 cm
- Sold per piece (for a couple, please order 2)
- Wooden Box included
- For custom color, lengths and bulk orders, please contact me for a quote
Made by Akha women
- These pieces are handmade by Akha women under the AKHA MA-DE social programme
- Every time you buy from us, you directly support and create opportunity for these women
Bulk orders
- For retirements, weddings, corporate gifts or hotel welcome gifts, we make to order in batches with no minimum order quantity. Please contact us for a quote.
Contact us
- You can reach us any time through Messenger, Instagram or the "Contact Us" page
Packaging and delivery:
- Delivery within Thailand takes around 5 to 10 working days. Because our pieces are handmade, delivery times can vary with the number of orders currently in production.
- For international delivery or express shipping, please contact us.
Returns and exchanges:
We accept returns and exchanges:
- Please contact us within 7 days of receiving your order
- Send the item back within 14 days of receiving it
Return conditions:
- The buyer covers return shipping when the reason for dissatisfaction is not caused by a third party. If the returned item does not arrive in its original condition, the buyer is responsible for the loss in value of the item.
* Product photographs are for presentation purposes, and each piece may differ slightly from the image. Colours may appear different from those shown on screen depending on your device settings.
** Because each piece is handmade, the dimensions given in the product details may vary by around +/- 2 cm.
What an Uba is
The Uba is the tassel hanging from a Thai garland. The ring is the body of a phuang malai, and the ubae is what finishes it. Without one, a garland is unfinished.
An Uba is a single strand of flowers threaded from the largest at the bottom to the smallest at the top. It hangs from the tail of a garland, or is tied in at the joins.
Every Uba is built from three named parts, threaded in order from the bottom up:
- Dok tum, the flower at the very bottom
- Dok khrop, also called the cap, threaded directly above the dok tum
- Dok suam, the flowers threaded above the dok khrop
The number tells you what kind of garland you are holding. A malai kon, the one carried over the arm or offered to a Buddha image, has one.
A malai song chai, the one placed over the neck of an honoured guest or hung at the front of a car, has two, one at each end.
There are several forms.
- Uba kha diao, also called uba tung ting, is the single strand: one dok tum, one dok khrop, and as many dok suam above them as you want.
- Uba khaek, also called uba phuang, is the clustered form, built from several single strands gathered together.
- Uba phu is a cluster arranged in tiers that taper smaller as they descend, from two tiers upward.
- Uba Thai thammada is the plain Thai form.
- Uba Thai song khrueang is the fully worked version.
The choice changes how formal the finished piece reads.
Cotton or fresh flowers, compared honestly
We make the cotton version, and here is where fresh flowers are still the better answer.
- A fresh Uba lives on its scent, and cotton cannot give you that. For an offering at a temple or a spirit house, or a ceremony that finishes within the day where the piece was always meant to be temporary, buy fresh. It is inexpensive and it is what the tradition intends.
- A cotton Uba is for the piece that is meant to be kept, and for the maker who wants to finish a garland once rather than rethread it every time it is used. It holds its shape and its colour, and it travels.
We are not here to replace fresh flowers. We answer for the occasions where fresh flowers are the wrong format.
How to choose the right colour for the occasion
In Thailand colour is more than decoration, it carries meaning. Choose right and your intention lands. Choose wrong and people notice. This is the part nobody tells most people buying a Thai souvenir.
- Gold or yellow is the safe and correct choice for a retirement, a long-service award, or celebrating a career milestone in the Thai way. It carries prosperity and honour.
- Red reads as Chinese and celebratory. It suits Chinese New Year, a business opening, or a celebration in a Thai-Chinese family. It is not the first choice for a retirement.
- Black is for mourning. Keep it away from any happy occasion.
- Blue is the colour of Mother's Day.
Because it is made to your length, it suits the pieces a standard size cannot serve: a long ceremonial garland, a matched set for a delegation, or a replacement ubae for a garland you already own. If you need several, tell us the quantity and we will quote you a per-piece price.
See everything in our Thai souvenirs and keepsakes collection