Pashmina refers to a type of cashmere wool an textiles made from it. The name comes from Pashmineh, made from Persian pashm (= "wool"). This wool comes from changthangi or pashmina goat—a special breed of goat indigenous to high altitudes of the Himalayas. The wool has been used for thousands of years to make high-quality shawls that also bear the same name. The goat sheds its winter coat every spring and the fleece is caught on thorn bushes. One goat sheds approximately 3-8 ounces of the fiber. Villagers would scour the mountainside for the finest fleece to be used. Cashmere shawls have been manufactured in Kashmir and Nepal for thousands of years. The test for a quality pashmina has been warmth, feel and the passing of the shawl through a wedding ring.