Traditional Weaving Among the Adi Women: A Case Study of Bomdo Village in Arunachal Pradesh

Kombong Darang¹ & Tame Ramya²

Kombong, D., & Ramya, T. (2023). Traditional Weaving Among the Adi Women: A Case Study of Bomdo Village in Arunachal Pradesh. InterViews: An Interdisciplinary Journal in Social Sciences, 10(1), pp. 11-23. https://doi.org/10.36061/IV.10.1.23.11.23

Abstract

The women in the Adi community are very hardworking. Apart from involving themselves in household activities such as cooking and looking after the children, they are actively involved in agricultural activities. Interestingly, while managing all these activities, they also take time for weaving. They weave various clothes, including wrap skirts, coats for men, badu or gadu (traditional blankets made of cotton), etc. Various plant-based materials derived from natural resources available in their surroundings are used for weaving. Though produced by employing simple indigenous techniques, their products are durable and long-lasting. The art of cloth weaving among the Adi women is learned and transmitted orally and/or through observing their elders, i.e., mothers and grandmothers. The present study explores the weaving practices among the Adi women in the Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. It also deals with exploring various forest products used in weaving and the varieties of clothes produced through weaving. It also aims to identify the possible threats that arise due to globalization that might affect traditional weaving. Our findings show that despite the influence of modernization, the women of Bomdo village continue to practice traditional weaving.

Keywords: Weaving, Adi, Upper Siang, Bomdo village, Arunachal Pradesh

¹Kombong Darang is currently working in a major research project at the RIWATCH Centre for Mother Languages (RCML), Khinjili, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Correspondence regarding this article may be directed to him at: kombongdarang@gmail.com

²Tame Ramya is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Tribal Studies, Arunachal Pradesh University, Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh, India