Bamboo is like a living companion to the Mishing tribe because it helps in sustaining their life. It is because of bamboo that they have a roof above their head. It is because of bamboo that they can create a fishing net and catch fish which in turn allows them to earn money and a livelihood for themselves. It is because of bamboo that they can create things of regular utility like a bamboo basket.
How to Prepare the Bamboo
When it comes to “Exploring the Intricate Bamboo Weaving Techniques of Assam’s Mishing Tribe: A Cultural Deep Dive”, bamboo is used in a great quantity because it is useful and it regenerates quickly. The good thing is that it can be shaped into anything like a mask or a basket or a wide net which helps in catching fish. When it comes to preparing the bamboo, the Mishing tribe is wholly particular because they take time to select the bamboo of different ages and species. According to various report, the younger culms of bamboo are selected for creating baskets and mats. If they wish to create items where a lot of structuring is required, they choose older bamboo. They use a small yet sharp knife in order to give proper shape to the bamboo. Sometimes they even use a wooden mallet to give proper shape. After that, they make sure that every strip has the perfect thickness by shaving slivers into the strips. After that, they dry the strips under the sun and smoke it so that there is zero amount of leftover moisture. Sometimes they even soak and bend it in order to increase and check the flexibility of the bamboo.
The Remaining Process
When it comes to “Exploring the Intricate Bamboo Weaving Techniques of Assam’s Mishing Tribe: A Cultural Deep Dive”, the Mishing tribe takes a period of time to season the bamboo properly so that the outcome is worth it. They apply certain treatments to the dried bamboo like plant based oil or they even smoke the bamboo so that it achieves a particular tone of color. They need to make sure that the bamboo that they are using is fine in nature and it is uniform in shape. After that, they begin to weave by using a number of techniques.
The Different Types of Weaving
When it comes to “Exploring the Intricate Bamboo Weaving Techniques of Assam’s Mishing Tribe: A Cultural Deep Dive”, the Mishing tribe weaves the bamboo by plaiting if it is a common product. They plait the interlace strips over and under each bamboo strips. This allows them to create common products like mats and baskets. There is a perfect amount of tension that they apply to each strip, for example, if the strip is too loose it results in sagging and it breaks if it is too tight. If they need to create a complex product, they use the diagonal weave. They shift the over-under pattern to create a surface that is more flexible in nature. Sometimes they even add overlays as per their choice. They add dyed strips that are woven into patterns. If they are using raised strips, they use it to create certain patterns or motifs that are geometric in nature.
The best thing about the weaving techniques of the Mishing tribe is that it is full of purpose and it very minimalistic in nature. That is why they are able to create the best products that people buy from all over the world. The key lies in how particular they are, when they create the product.
Author
Shreeja Mukherjee