ARTICLE
Mising Gadu
Made by the indigenous Mising community of Assam also known as the Mishing or the Miri, this gadu is a thick fluffy blanket used during the winter season. Traditionally woven on a mini handloom, the process of weaving a gadu is intensive and can take up to a month. The warp of a gadu consists of thick, coarse cotton yarn, while the weft is formed by inserting three-inch pieces of soft, spun cotton one by one using a tool called the sumpa. As a result, one side of the blanket is fluffy while the other is coarse. An average gadu is 3 x 2.5 metres in size and is often formed by stitching two separate pieces together. The gadu is traditionally washed by soaking it for several days in an alkaline solution made of banana leaf ash mixed with water.
The gadu is culturally significant in the Mising community. It is one of the gifts given to a bride by her mother, and the presence of a gadu in a household is considered to be a marker of social standing.
Bibliography
Chungkrang, Lizamoni, Avarani Phukan and Nabaneeta Gogoi. “A STUDY ON MISHING TRIBES AND THEIR TRADITIONAL COSTUMES OF ASSAM.” International Journal of Textile and Fashion Technology 6, no. 3 (June 2016): 15–24. http://www.tjprc.org/publishpapers/2-29-1466002730-2.%20IJTFT%20-%20A%20STUDY%20ON%20MISHING%20TRIBES%20AND%20THEIR%20TRADITIONAL%20COSTUMES.pdf
Chungkrang, Lizamoni. “Miri-Jim (Gadu) – A Traditional Hand Woven Blanket of Mishing Community of Assam.” International Journal of Textile and Fashion Technology 7, no. 5 (Aug–Sept 2018): 49–54.
Chungkrang, Lizamoni and Avarani Phukan. “Traditional textile motifs and designs of Mishing community of Assam.” Asian Journal of Home Science 13, no. 1 (June 2018): 195–218.
http://www.ipindexing.com/journal-article-file/8829/Traditionaltextilemotifsanddesignsofmishingcommunityofassam
Doley, Bijoy Krishna. “Tradition of Mising Weaving Craft: An analytical Study.” Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research 6, no. 6 (June 2019): 144–47. https://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1906Q19.pdf.
NE Tribe. “THE MISINGS TRIBE.” Accessed August 13, 2021.