The Artisanal Handloom Weaving Traditions in India’s Northeast Region –A Comparison of Indigenous Resources

Abstract

The artisanal handloom sector supports 35 lakh weavers in India, 25 lakh of whom are women. The Northeast Region (NER) plays a dominant role. The 4th All India Handloom Census reports 60 percent (18.35 lakh) of the Indian handloom workers are from the NER, more than two-thirds being women. The paper seeks to make people aware about the uniqueness of NER artisanal weaving. Artisanal weaving traditions preserve cultural identities, histories and ancestral beliefs of human communities through intricate cultural symbols. Employing colours and motifs, pure fabric materials bridge the ceremonial and cultural aspects of community life. Tribal handlooms preserve centuries of artistic heritage through colourful, beautiful and intricate handloom textiles. Distinctive motifs indicate marital status, age and clan allegiance, and among the Ao Nagas, a woman’s shawl differs before and after childbirth, while marital status of Bodo women is indicated by the pleats in her dokhona. Throughout the NER, weaving is the monopoly of women. Arunachali tribes weave geometric designs, using zig-zag lines as common motifs. Assam handlooms employ geometric, floral and religious motifs in vivid hues. With mulberry, eri, muga and tasar silks, the NER contributes a fifth to India’s raw silk production, with major shares for Assam and Meghalaya. Manipuri weaving, such as the kumin and potloi worn during Ras Lila, connect legends with events, dances, and ceremonies Maibi priestesses trace Meitei origins during the Lai-Haraoba ritual. Exquisite eri silk saris are also woven, while the quilted cotton lasing-phee is woven as a winter covering. The Angami black shawl or samilami-phee has bold embroidered animal motifs is called the, while the Tangkhuls weave traditional changkhom & raivat kachon shawls, and the Kabuis weave mareipan & pheingao shawls. Mizo women weave elegant Puan patterns onto traditional clothes using the exquisite needlework of stripes and arrows. Garo cotton textile weaving comprises the dakmanda garment, and bedcovers, bedsheets and the like. With weaving being a prized tribal skill, every tribal woman learns the art, generally using loin-looms to weave for their families. Assam handlooms like mekhla-chadar, dhoti-kurta, dokhna, riha and japi use indigenous Assamese motifs for decoration. Manipur produces exclusive phaneks and leirums, also the moirang-phee. Monpas and Bhutias in Arunachal and Sikkim have a tradition of woollen weaving, that is being diversified in Sikkim to revive the lost crafts of weaving traditional chuktuk, gyapa, rarhi, lukuni and gundri textiles. Using data from the 4th Handloom Census, the paper explores the state of historical and cultural preservation of indigenous weaving traditions across NE India. A way forward can thus be suggested for the Handloom Sector in the NER.