Assam Tribles Tradition
Bodo Tribe
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Bodo Tribe |
The Bodo Tribe of Assam reside amidst the lush greenery from Bodoland
Territorial Council upto Karbialong. The women folk wear colorful handwoven attire
known as Dokhna. This covers the whole body from chest down to the ankleand
its length and breadth are made in such a way that it can be tied one round at
a time around the waist. This dressis anidentifying feature. Dokhna are often embellished
with different types of agororphul or embroidered flowers. Dokhnas are of various
types– the ones without agoror embroidery are Salamatha or math. Women wear
another garment called Jumgra (Scarf) which is wrapped around the body’s upper
portion.
Aronai is a small Scarf, the sing
of Bodo Tradition and is used to felicitate guest with honors, as a gift. In ancient
period Bodo warriors used Aronai as a belt in the battle field. At the time of
the war, Bodo women would weave Aronai within a single night and present it to
the warrior as they set out for the battlefield. Bodo people usually
wear cloth of indigenous product.
Dimasa
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Dimasa tribe dress is very simlar to Bodos. The
men and women of Dimasa wear clothes woven on householdlooms. The women wear
Rigu, a skirt-like garmentusually made of silk or endi. On top, they wear a
vest-like cloth, called Rijamphai. They also wear a garment called Rikhaosa
while dancing. The Dimasa men wear costumes called Rica or Dhuni. They sport
beautifully designed scarves known as Rinsaso. The men often wear turbans woven
from pure cotton or Endi and which are 19 meters in length.
Dimasa women are excellent weavers. They weave clothes
which are simple as well as those with very high artistic merit. Most of the
domestic requirements of clothes are met by the family looms. Spinning and
weaving is confined to the womenand are considered obligatory duties of Dimasa
women and girls. It is mandatory for a girl to weave her own wedding garment. The traditional loom
is called ‘daophang’ and weaving is called “Daophang Dauba”. The bride carries the
“Dauphang” to her in-laws house after marriage, not for her in-laws’use but for
her own personal use. This is passed dowm from mother to daughter or nearest
female relatives of her own female clan or ‘Jahdi’.
The designs (Rikhu) woven into
the Dimasa fabrics are unique. These patterns are made by tying the threads and then
wovenin the usual way. So, when you touch any Dimasapattern, it appears very
thick and has a 3D look and feel. Unlike designs (pari) of other communities which
usually are of one or two colours, the Dimasas add three or more colours, thus
creating multicoloured patterns.
Thai Phake Tribe
A
Thai Phake woman uses a striped girdle, called Chin which stretches from the
waist down to the ankles. She covers her upper body with a multi-coloured
blouse, called Chekhamchum.A cloth belt with a 6 cm width and a 1.5 mlength called
Chairchin encircles her waistDuring weddings, this Chaddar acts as the
customary veil of the bride.
The Thai Phake manwears a chequered green loin cloth, with black stripes and
red, yellow or white lining, called Fatong. He matches his Fatongwith a shirt
called Sho. He also wears a white turban called Fa ho ho. For special
occasions, the Thai Phake man adorns himself in a white shirt with long
sleeves, enriched with a plain bordered white shawl called Fafekmai.
Rabha Tribe
The wear typical costumes known as
koumkontong that are woven by women on the back-strap loom. These are usually
very elegant and Akambang covers the upper part of the body like a stole. Rabha
women also adorn themselves with colourful blouses that they make themselves.
The women also wear a delicate belt made of several, small conch shells or
pearl balls around their abdomen – the labok.
Karbi Tribe,
The
traditional dresses of the Karbi people are designed very attractively by the
adept Karbi weavers. Karbi
women wear a short piece of cloth tied around the waist like a Mekhelaknown as
Pinicamflak. Pe-kok and jar-ek is upper garment of the Karbi ladies. They wear
a colorful striped Endi scarf called Khongjari during winters
Missing Tribe
Mising women
wear the Sampa around the waist. Married women wear an additional length of
cloth the around the hip. The upper portion of the body remains covered by
Galuk. The women also adorn themselves with headdress called Hura.The men wear white
dhoti as the lower garment and a white bush shirt as the upper garment. They
also wear a turban. The men also wear a cover coat with parallel and stripe
design known as Mibu.
