India · Textile / Handloom Weaving
Aagor (Bodo: 'motif'); Assam cotton handloom
Handloom cotton weaving by Bodo and Assamese women in western Assam, on light bamboo-and-wood looms built for plain weave with hand-picked extra-weft motifs. Assamese weaving uses a cream or white ground with restrained motifs of creepers, birds, rhinos and the jaapi hat; Bodo weaving brings a bolder geometric vocabulary in reds, yellows and greens, with motifs such as dinkhiya (fern), kasau bikha (turtle shell), daorai mekhrep (peacock's eye) and phareo megon (pigeon's eye). Traditional Assam cotton cloth was thick and used mostly in the home. Since late 2022 the designer Anushka Das has worked with the women weavers of the Aagor society in Chirang district to make a finer, lighter cloth for garments and home linen. Assam's silks are documented separately (Muga, CRAFT-0102; Eri, CRAFT-0106).
Risk level: Vulnerable · Not inscribed
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