Muga Silk Weaving
The golden silk found only in Assam — its natural amber deepening with every wash.
Muga is a wild silk found only in Assam, prized for its natural glossy golden-amber colour, which needs no dye and deepens with age and washing. It is reeled from cocoons of a silkmoth that feeds on the som and soalu trees of the Brahmaputra valley and woven, chiefly at Sualkuchi, into the mekhela-chador (the two-piece Assamese women's garment), sarees, shawls, and the borders of the gamosa. Muga is stronger and more durable than mulberry silk and is the most expensive of Assam's three silks.
Craft at a Glance
Origin
Sualkuchi, Assam
Also Known As
Muga silk, golden silk of Assam, Assam muga
Craft Type
Muga silk rearing, reeling and handloom weaving
Practising Community
Muga rearers of Upper Assam, and the weaver households of Sualkuchi and the valley, mostly women
Materials
Muga cocoons (from worms fed on som and soalu leaves); its own natural golden filament, used undyed; and, for borders, contrasting muga, mulberry silk, cotton or zari.
Known For
Muga silk mekhela-chador, sarees, shawls and the traditional Assamese gamosa border, in natural golden amber
Where It's Made
Sualkuchi (the weaving town) on the Brahmaputra, and the muga-rearing belts of Upper Assam — Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Sivasagar, Jorhat
Time to Create
One to three weeks per mekhela-chador, including reeling and weaving
GI Status
Assam Muga Silk is a registered GI
Process Steps
Rearing the worms
Muga silkworms are reared outdoors on som and soalu trees through several generations a year.
Collecting the cocoons
The golden cocoons are gathered from the trees and sorted.
Cooking and reeling
The cocoons are boiled to loosen the gum, and the filament is reeled off by hand onto a bamboo reel.
Degumming and winding
The reeled yarn is degummed and wound onto bobbins for the warp and weft.
Warping
The undyed golden warp is prepared for the mekhela, chador or saree, with border threads placed at the edges.
Weaving
The cloth is woven on a fly-shuttle or throw-shuttle loom, the natural muga needing no dye.
Weaving the border motifs
The border and pallu are woven with the kingkhap, gos-buta and jaapi motifs in contrasting thread.
Technique Glossary
Muga
A wild silk unique to Assam, naturally golden-amber, strong and lustrous, reeled from cocoons of a som-feeding moth.
Mekhela-chador
The two-piece draped garment of Assamese women — the mekhela wrapped below, the chador above.
Som and soalu
The trees on which the muga silkworm feeds; the flavour of their leaves gives the silk its colour.
Bhir / bhawri
The bamboo reel onto which the muga filament is wound during reeling.
Kingkhap
A woven lattice-and-diamond border motif, one of the classic Assamese designs.
Gos-buta
A flowering-plant motif woven into the border and body of Assamese silk cloth.
Gamosa
The white cotton towel-cloth with a red woven border, a symbol of Assamese hospitality, sometimes bordered in muga.
A Craft Through Time
Ahom era
Silk of royalty
The Ahom kings patronise muga rearing and weaving and reserve fine muga cloth for royalty and nobility.
Pre-modern
Sualkuchi as weavers' town
Sualkuchi is settled and grows into Assam's main silk-weaving town, the 'Manchester of Assam'.
20th century
A symbol of identity
Muga becomes central to Assamese ceremony, worn at Bihu, weddings and public honours.
Late 20th–21st century
Threats
Climate stress on host trees, pests and adulteration with cheaper silk threaten muga production.
2007
Geographical Indication
Assam Muga Silk is registered as a GI, with a quality-mark scheme to follow.
Present
A prized and pressured silk
Muga remains the most valued Assamese textile, its production supported against ecological and market pressures.
Did You Know?
Muga silk is never dyed for its base colour — the amber gold is natural, and unlike most textiles it gets richer and shinier the more it is washed and worn.
Every craft has a story. Every story begins with tradition.