Art & Crafts of Assam

Cane and Bamboo

As inalienable parts of the life of the Assamese people, Cane and Bamboo have always remained as the common items used on a daily basis. Cane and bamboo are used in making household implements, in the construction of houses, making musical instruments and making weaving accessories.

Commenced on the day of the arrival of Hiuen Tsang, the Chinese traveler, the Jaapi (the conventional sunshade) still is used in welcoming the visitors to this place. It is considered to be among the state’s most esteemed bamboo items.

Cane and Bamboo furniture has achieved tremendous success both in the domestic and the export market. The Paati too has swept into the interior décor of each and every household.

Handlooms in Assam

Silk, in few of its rare varieties- Eri, Paat and Muga (the golden silk) is found in this part of the country. Muga occupies the place of extreme prestige and prominence because of its exclusiveness to this state. Besides it is also reckoned as the finest among all the wild silks of India for its rich golden hue and for the fact that it is produced only in Assam. ‘Eri’ is used to make Eri shawls called the ‘Eri Sador’ which prevents the body from extreme cold.

The women excel in weaving fairy tales in their household looms. The reason for Assam being the hub of handloom and woven products is that in ancient days a girl who excelled in the skill of weaving was considered to have primarily qualified for marriage. The exclusive range of Pat, Eri and Muga silk garments has given expression to the world’s finest art traditions.

The classic beauty, individuality, exclusive design and rarefied texture are the add-ons to this handloom silk that renders it a place above the silks made in the factory and have let it sweep into the world markets. The handwoven silks differ from each other in the same manner as the personality, her innate skill and native sense of colour of a weaver differs from another weaver. All these factors conjure up to give an unmatched look to the handloom silks.

Jewellery

An Assamese woman has to embellish herself in gold ornaments as the tradition goes. Nevertheless, silver along with other metals have been used for making jewellery.

The Himalayan River Subansiri was renowned to carry gold along with its waves. The Sonowal Kacharis were engaged in the washing of the gold in this river.

Although the traditional Assamese jewellery is manufactured all over Assam, Jorhat is renowned for the retaining of its unadulterated and ethnic form. Items like Loka-Paro, Doog-Doogi, Gaam-Kharu, Jon-Biri, Keru, Dhol-Biri, Bana, Gal Pata, etc. are some of the ethnic jewellery items that are exclusively found in Assam. With changing time and demands, these items have boosted the modern jewelers to mechanically carve out similar designs.

Masks

Tribal art as well as folk elements lie at the core of the base of the culture of Assam. For the same reason, masks have come to be renowned as an essential item to be carried in the Assamese people’s cultural activities. The folk theatres along with the Bhaonas witness the wide application of the masks.

The masks find extensive and varied use among the tribes as an embellishment of their dances which base themselves on tribal folklore and myth. However, these traditional masks have moved from the dances to the drawing rooms as a piece of décor generally wall-hangings. The making of masks has provided many unemployed youths with a rich source of employment.

Metal Crafts

The metal crafts are dominated by two major metals-Brass and Bell-Metal. The Assamese artisan has been using these metals for making fancy items and traditional utensils since time immemorial and has been integrally present in each and every Assamese household. Hospitality has always been linked to the Xorai and the Bota which are used to offer paan and betel-nut (Tamul) to the guests.

The areas nearby Guwahati- Sarthebari and Hajo are engaged in the production of traditional brass and bell-metal articles. To cope up with the competition of the modern era, these artisans have skillfully innovated the pre-existent forms and have given a modern touch to the articles.

Moreover, Gold, Silver as well as Copper are seminal parts of the conventional metal craft of Assam. The State Museum located in Guwahati has retained large treasure of such crafts. With changing times, Gold has come to be used only as a jewellery item.

Pottery

Being rooted in the beginnings of the human civilization itself, Pottery has been present in Assam too since centuries.

The Hiras and the Kumars, traditionally practicing pottery, differ in their use of wheels. While the Kumars have been using the wheel for this craft, the Hiras are renowned all over the world for not using the wheel at all. Another interesting aspect is that the women among the Hiras get engaged in pottery and the men are engaged in furnishing raw materials and are responsible for the sale of the wares.

Earthen pitchers and pots, holders for incense sticks, plates, earthen lamps, etc. are the usual products but with the onset of modernity in every sphere, pottery too has adopted the latest designs.

Terracotta

Since ancient times, Terracota had remained as a dominant medium of handicraft in Assam and the tradition has passed down from generation to generation. In the recent years, there have risen certain families who have endeavored to improvise the old versions of it present in the form of mythological figures, figures of deities and that of toys and vases into an all new form.

Toys

Classified under the heads of :

• Clay Toys
• Bamboo Toys
• Wooden Toys
• Pith Toys
• Cloth Toys
• Cloth and Mud Toys.

Assam displays its unique artistry, sense of colour as well as sense of proportion in the shape of these dolls. The human figure in the form of wedding couples dominates the artistry but animals too get figured as clay toys. The Kumar and the Hira communities were engaged in the occupation of making toys with clay. There’s also found a tinge of Mythology with the figures of gods and goddesses shaped into the clay.

Toys made with Indian cork or Pith too is the unique feature of the craft of Assam. The artisans of the Goalpara region especially lead this craft and they mould the shapes into those of gods, birds and animals.

Wood and bamboo too are employed for the making of toys of similar forms.

The rich toy making tradition of the Assamese people and its matchlessness is also reflected in two of the varieties cloth toys and the one which mix cloth and mud. Cloth toys have maintained a tradition of being passed from the mother to her daughter whereas toys made of cloth and mud are used in the puppet theatres.

Traditional Paintings

Preserved from the dates of the reign of the Ahom kings, the traditional paintings of this region can be found now in the palaces, naam-ghar and the Satras. These paintings depict various historical and mythological stories and events. Rich in motifs and designs, the Chitra-Bhagavata has become the Assamese painters’ traditional style and it continues to be in practical form.

Woodcraft

The immense variety of timber and wood found in this region of dense forest, other than forming a seminal part of the culture and the economy of the people, have always been an important and underlying theme in the state’s art and craft.

The Assamese have the faculty to identify any timber by the sense of touch and that too in darkness. They have been producing innumerous items out of the timber and wood culled from the forests. The ancient royal palaces of the Ahom kings and the Vaishnavite monasteries known as the Satras used to have decorative panels carved on wood. Hence it led to the rise of the Khanikars, a special section of the people with an exceptional skill in the domain of wood carving. The surname was so revered in the ancient times that it passed on from generation to generation.

The Satra and the Naam Ghar abound in wooden articles which portray the Guru Asana in the form of wood carved on it. Besides innumerous mythological animals and birds are carved.