Assam has one of the richest places in the history of handloom. Blessed with a number of tribes and their unique textiles, thanks to the distinct geography that North east India possesses, Assam is known in the entire world for its golden pride the ‘Muga’ silk, ‘Eri’, ‘Paat’ and ‘Nooni’ silk. The Mising tribe of Assam, too has a lot of contribution towards this artistic uniqueness, because of the fine textiles that the Mising weavers weave mising traditional dress in their looms.
The Art of Making Mising Traditional Dress
Weaving has been an important source of income and livelihood for every Mising household. Mising girls, according to local sayings, grows along with the art of weaving and pursue this skill throughout her life and transfer it to her succeeding generation. Mising girls start weaving at a very tender age and gain mastery over it in the long run. With an urge to preserve traditional craft and culture, the Mising weavers are seen to be quite innovative as far as their stylized expressions in the form of weaves is concerned while maintain the traditionalistic values of the motifs and design. A missing loom typically comprises of a wooden frame which is the base of the shuttle loom. The Charkha, bamboo and wooden spools and spools for throw shuttle loom etc. are some important components of a traditional Mising loom. Durpati, Raasi, Sangkok, Tulta,Gubong, Tangage, Bo-Sunga, Dangmari, Sereki, Yapa, Olimari, Sutkong and Soori are some of the important components of a Mising loom Yarns used commonly are Zero ply. Two ply. Pokua suta,Aasi sula, Eri (Philosamia recini B), Sum Auga(Antheracea assama ww), Nooni and Kesa Suta.
Dyes Used in the Dress of Mising Tribe
Natural dyes extracted from leaves, fruits, barks, roots of plants were used for dyeing the yarns and fabric organically in mising traditional dress. For instance natural dyes like Lac (Cocus lacca), Achugach (Morinda augustifolia), Halodhi (Cucurma longa). Tepor (Garcinia Xanthocymus) etc are used. The process winding and bobbining of dyed yarns follows, so that it can be warped in the loom Although at present times chemical dyes are used commonly, organic colours are still loved by many, and hence its usage!
Fibres Used in Mising Traditional Dress
The two most important fibres used by Mising weavers are silk and cotton. Several steps are involved in processing these fibres and yarns. In case of silk fibre (Eri Sum Muga, Nooni), the sericin is removed from the cocoon by boiling in water along with alkali for a period of 5-8 minutes. Thereafter spinning of the yarn using the traditional spinning craft and on spindles made of wood/bamboo is done Sinning is usually done by the women, even the elderly ones. In case of cotton ginning, which means the process of remoing seeds from cotton pods is carried out.Carding of cotton which means to clean the cotton follows thereafter. Spinning is done after these steps The concept of aesthetic beauty and artistry gets its well defined explanation in the variety of designs and motifs with beautifully articulated colour combinations woven in terms of clothes by the Mising weaven. The tribe can be undoubtedly credited to having one of the best weaving industries (handloom) which finds its expression in the different types of cloths and garments that they weave with minimal implements and equipments. The Mishing traditional designs and motifs are inspired from the nature and the surroundings. Flowers, trees, animals, creepers etc, are some prominent designs which get expressed in varied geometrical shapes in different sizes. Every design and motifsused by the Misings have several oral histories and stories attached to it. White, red, green and black are the three most used colours since time immemorial, although owing to consumer demands and popularity other colours like lavender, purple, blue, yellow etc. are used today. The apparels vary as per occasions, seasons and sex. For instance, while some mising traditional dress are used by only one sex, some are used by both sexes.
