Assam is home to a diverse group of tribes and communities, with each of them having rich and variegated folk traditions and culture. The Misings are one of such ethnic groups having their own rich traditions and the art of weaving is one of its most distinctive features. Like other communities, the different varieties of cotton, silk, Muga production and weaving art are almost entirely carried out by women.
The Misings picked up the art of cultivating the Silkworm and the Muga after their permanent settlement in the plains. This cultivation enables them to produce their own threads for the purpose of weaving. Silkworm production has a long and colourful history. The history testifies that the first cocoons of the silkworm and their surprising properties were discovered by the Chinese almost five thousand years ago. For more than two thousand years, the Chinese kept the secret of sericulture to themselves. For the first time, silk crossed the border of China in the second century B.C. through the Silk Road. Gradually silk trade extended to the neighbouring countries like Korea and Japan, and later on to India and Persia.
In the past, the Misings used to cultivate cotton plants clearing fertile land in the foothill areas using a hoe instead of a plough, with a belief that it would yield good quality cotton and these method of cultivation was known as PAGRIG (Si:pag+ Arig= Pagrig, si:pag means cotton, arig means -field). The mature cotton pods, after being collected were spread on a bamboo platter or tray for drying. By using a cotton gin, the seeds were separated out and finally softened them by repeated crushing as cotton. Lastly, with help of a Takuri- a contrivance for twisting yarn, the fine cotton fibres were converted to threads of variable thickness as required for different varieties of cloths. This procedure of yarn production is not much practised now, but is a true fact that there is inherent weakness of the Mising women since their childhood, in the art of producing threads from cotton and weaving cloth of their choice.
The Mising women usually use two types of looms for weaving- a mini loom and a common ordinary loom. The mini loom is a very simple and portable loom used conveniently for weaving Gadu, Gapa, Gale, Sogon, Mibu Galug, lingkog etc. even in leisurely hours.
Gadu which can be called Mirijim or Misingjim, an entirely cotton product, known for its high value in the society, requires a lot of labour and care in its weaving process. Dulum (Gadu+Olum = Dulum, olum stands for basic or beginning) is the basic yarn spun out of cotton to weave a Gadu. The necessary implements other than a mini loom to weave a Gadu are
- Ke:yeng – a contrivance for winding thread
- Be:long – a flat long pointed instrument designed out of a deer’s hind leg
- Yapa or I sumpa-a hard, flat, long instrument made of wood
- Gegur-a type of net
- Dupid– a cut piece of Dulum, size 2″ each
- Duke: – a half of a Gadu
- Ra:s and Durpoti– other important implements and
- Mutkon– a ball of honey etc.
A Gadu is a symbol of status and dignity of a family in the community. Presentation of a Gadu is almost compulsory in the marriage of their daughters for which the parents try their best in advance by any means to weave a Gadu to maintain their honour and respect. The Gadu is well known in different parts of the world through demonstration as a part of Assam’s weaving industry. Now, it has been observed that there is growing scarcity in its production because of lack of expertise and dedicated weavers in the society.
Combined with their impeccable knowledge, imagination, skill and hard word, Mising women can also varieties of cloths for use of all other members of the family. Each of these weave include designs of artistic beauty. The stars, the moon in the sky, the flowers of different varieties of nature, pictures of birds, animals, historical monuments and so forth, are very beautifully designed in their looms. The art of weaving comprises of intermixing, crisscrossing interposing, imposing, transposing, spiralling, overlapping etc. off the threads of different colours giving rise to delicate patterns of attractive beauty as desired.
A Mimang is a model or a data copy of different types of weaving patterns and it gives detailed information on arrangement of lines, shapes, colours etc. The basic pattern, known as a gai-gamig, expressed in graphic details, follows a particular system called alam. Its graphic directions consisting of straight, angular, rectangular, triangular, square form etc. ultimately give rise to a particular design or shape. In giving shape to a specific pattern, mixing different colour threads, great care, concentration, eyesight, patience and skill are required to a weaver. Moreover, a good weaver should have thorough knowledge in every aspect of a Gamig inclusive of graphic directions their names, techniques, utility etc. related to it. Some forms of gamig which are devoid of alam, being represented by circular, semicircular, cured, in irregular lines etc. could be grouped in a category called Appun gamig and it mostly includes designs of flowers, animals, birds etc. Most of the Mising women are expert weavers and hence it could be said with pride that there are very few women in other communities who can compete and beat them in the field of their weaving capabilities.
The following represents weaving art teaching
Some examples of ‘alam’- the system of graphs are:
- Duksub-dugjar– Graphic lines converging and diverging to a particular point in horizontal direction.
- Duggyi-Duksang – Graphic lines converging and diverging to a particular point in up & down direction.
- Kingkub-Ki:lab – a pattern of repetition at regular interval.
- Ke:si Konggar– a type of alam
- Kebyir-kebgur- a type of alam at borders of a cloth
- Tigur – a type of alam at borders of a cloth
- Gorge: Tignam – a type of alam bordering the principal pattern horizontally at both sides.
- Keteri– designs of geometrical area, flowers etc.
- Takar – a design of stars
- Adoli – a design of fifty paisa coin
- Iki: – a design of twenty five paise coin
- Dosnoya– a design of ten paise coin
- Ngosig – a design of a fish scale
- Pa:me: appun – a design of orchid flowers
- Marsang Appun– a design of vegetable flowers
- Babori appun – a design of plant flower
- Moimang – a picture or a photo
- Po:pir – a butterfly
- Dumsung – a deer
- Nasoni – a dancing lady
- Ebong– a wicker hat used as an umbrella
- To:de:- a peacock
- Ta:sang akang– a weaver bird’s nest
- Peki– a dove
- Si:te’– an elephant
- Mokora– a spider
- Tasmohol– the Tajmahal
- Sondronga:r – a kind of necklace
The Mising woven Dresses
a) For baby used by a baby sitter
(i) Niseg (ii) Segbi (iii) Sektag
b) Male dresses:
- Ugon- the waist or loin cloth of man
- Gonbor – the waist or loin cloth of man
- Gonro-ugon- a long waist or loin cloth of man
- Gontung ugon – a short or loin cloth of man
- Galug – a shirt
- Gadu galug- a shirt made of a gadu cloth
- Tukog galug – a jersey
- Mibu galug- a mibu shirt
- Domer- a towel
- E:tub – a turban
- Lingkab- a muffler
c) Female dresses:
- Ege- the wrap around, types are muga, pu:sung, leke, ki:nam, pidbung and ko:tor.
- Riya- a long narrow cloth wrapped over the breast
- Kegreg or segreg- a type of waist cloth for women
- Ri:bi – a type of shawl
- Gero- a type of shawl
- Gaseng – a type of shawl
- Gale:- a type of waist cloth
- Bimbung – a type of shawl
- Pe:re- a type of shawl
- Gapagare- a type of waist cloth
- Yambo- a type of shawl
- Po:niyang gasor- a type of shawl for bride
At the present time, there is growing impact of science and technology, in one or other way, in the weaving industry of this society. The necessity to produce cotton plants in the fields for yarns has reduced considerably because of easy availability of variable qualities of cotton threads in the market. Moreover, the repeated affliction of floods of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries have inundated a major portion of high fertile lands suitable for cotton cultivation, in the Mising inhabited areas. For this reason, they have become reluctant to produce cotton in their limited cultivating land other than growing food crops. Of course, some poor families in remote areas still pursuit the habit of silk and muga worm production with some interest to fulfil their requirements mostly through traditional way without adopting scientifically developed methodology resulting always low production.
The unique patterns of gamig represented in woven dresses would always reflect distinctly the attractive as well as incomparable beauty of designs. Nowadays, the Mising women have been looking forward to commercializing these valuable products in the market which is a positive step towards financial benefits for themselves and to their families.
The Mising society has got a high expectation from this “Cultural idol” section of the society in respect of preservation and all-round further development of this industry as a mark of its age-old tradition and identity in years to come
(Editors Note- This is an original work and cannot be reproduced without permission from the author or mcrc. Any references to this article should be properly cited to the author and this site. MCRC is happy to connect researchers/academics to the author. The terms used in the articles are consciously not translated into English to ensure that authentic mising words and terms are used.)
Welcome sir, we are proud about this Mising traditional method and used this cultural dress.It is a good activities for your purpose and warness thinking.So, I am going to say that it is the most important subject for our Mising society.Now a days, Most of the women’s people product himself and to live for business system.I support this activities, because it is a own cultural of before the grandmother and grandfather’s made this role and regulations, So that this responsibility for mising society in future life. I want to write berifly about this matter.