Costumes of Assam

Costumes of Assam

The vibrancy and the exotic beauty that the silk varieties of Assam exude are soothing yet disturbing. When an Assamese lady wraps herself in the extremely gorgeous ‘Mekhela Chadar’ of golden ‘Muga’ variety then it is hard to pass by without casting a glance on her. Besides the ‘Muga’ variety there is the ‘Eri’ and the ‘Paat’ that is being used mostly in the making of clothes in Assam. The former is used to make winter clothes especially shawls called ‘Eri Chadar’ and the latter is used for the making of ‘Mekhela Chadar’. The ‘Muga’ is the most prestigious and the most desired wild silk all over India and is the major reason behind the breath holding beauty and elegance of the Assam Silk sarees.

The cultivation of the silk fibre is also a long process and extraction of the silk threads of the silkworm from its cocoon stage till its conversion into the fine threads of the sarees and Mekhela Chadar is a process that requires perseverance on the part of the workers. But the beauty of the resultant product makes up for the toil involved in the business.

Sualkuchi is famous all over Assam for this handloom work. The artisans carve beautiful designs pertaining to the vivid flora and fauna found in the state. The bridal wear is made with special attention to grace the most important moment in the bride’s life. Earlier the designs and the embroidery work used to be done with golden and silver threads but with changing times other coloured threads have also been incorporated into the dresses.

The other tribes have their specific traditional dresses. The Mech tribe wrap around an additional ‘Riha’ along with the Chadar. The men belonging to the Bodo tribe deck themselves up in Dhoti and Chadar made of ‘Endi’. The Dimasa tribe people, being skilled in silk culture and weaving, wear Endi clothes. Rigu, an attire resembling the skirt and Rijamphai, a vest is worn by the Dimasa women and the men wear Risha, a loin cloth.

The women folk is also fascinated with jewellery which includes some of the exotic varieties of jewellery such as Gaam Kharu (bangle), LokaPoro, an earring etc. The complete ornamentation of the women is done when they carry the Kopou Phool, a flower, in their hair bun.