India · Natural Fiber / Basketry
सिक्की (Sikki)
Sikki is a coiled and woven craft tradition from the Mithila region of Bihar (and adjacent Nepal Terai), using sikki grass (Cyperus tegetiformis or related golden sedge species) — a naturally golden-yellow grass that grows in waterlogged Terai areas. The grass is coiled into spirals and stitched with colored thread to create dolls, figurines, boxes, trays, and decorative objects. The tradition is practiced almost exclusively by women, and has a strong ritual dimension: Sikki objects are made for Teej, Chhath Puja, and marriage rituals. The natural golden color of the grass requires no dyeing and gives Sikki objects their distinctive warm luster. Colored thread stitching creates the surface pattern. The craft is endangered not by loss of skill but by loss of the raw material: Cyperus tegetiformis grows in specific seasonal wetland conditions that are rapidly being destroyed by agricultural drainage and urbanization in the Bihar-Nepal Terai.
Risk level: Critically Endangered · Not inscribed
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