Naga Textile & Beadwork Craft
Warrior shawls with named stripes and cowrie badges, and necklaces of glass, shell, brass and bone.
Naga textiles are woven on the loin (backstrap) loom by the women of each tribe, and every tribe — Angami, Ao, Sema, Lotha, Chakhesang, Rengma, Phom, Konyak and others — has its own shawls, body-cloths and skirts, defined by their striped bands and by the right to wear them. Some shawls, such as the Ao tsungkotepsu, are reserved for men who have taken heads or given feasts of merit, and carry a painted or appliquéd median band with figures of mithun, elephant, tiger, spear and human heads. The ornaments are equally coded: multi-strand necklaces of red glass beads, conch and cowrie shell, carnelian, brass, bone and boar tusk, and armlets, headgear and ear ornaments for warriors and dancers.
Craft at a Glance
Origin
Kohima, Nagaland
Also Known As
Naga shawl weaving, Naga loin-loom textiles, Naga tribal jewellery
Craft Type
Backstrap-loom weaving and tribal bead and shell ornament
Practising Community
Women of the Angami, Ao, Sema, Lotha, Chakhesang, Rengma, Konyak, Phom and other Naga tribes, each with its own textiles
Materials
Cotton, acrylic and blended yarn; natural dyes (lac, indigo, iron) and acid dyes; red and yellow glass beads, conch and cowrie shell, carnelian, brass, bone, boar tusk, hornbill feathers and goat hair for ornament; and cane and cotton thread.
Known For
Community-specific shawls and body-cloths with symbolic bands, and multi-strand bead, shell, brass and bone ornaments
Where It's Made
Kohima, Dimapur, Mokokchung, Wokha, Zunheboto, Phek and the tribal areas of Nagaland; related traditions in Manipur and Arunachal
Time to Create
Days to weeks for a shawl; days for a beaded ornament
GI Status
Chakhesang Shawl (Nagaland) is a registered GI; Naga textiles broadly are widely recognised
Process Steps
Dyeing the yarn
Cotton or acrylic yarn is dyed in the tribe's colours — deep reds, blacks, whites and yellows.
Warping the loin loom
The warp is prepared with the tribe's stripe sequence built in, tensioned by a strap around the weaver's back.
Weaving the body
The plain ground of the shawl or body-cloth is woven, the weft thrown by hand.
Working the named bands
The symbolic stripes and bands are worked in supplementary weft and warp, counted by hand.
Adding the median band
For shawls that have one, a separately woven or painted band with mithun, tiger and head figures is appliquéd along the centre.
Joining and finishing
Two woven widths are joined for a full shawl, and the ends are fringed.
Stringing the ornaments
Glass beads, shell, stone and bone are strung in patterned rows, and tusks, hair and brass heads are mounted on cane for headgear.
Technique Glossary
Loin (backstrap) loom
A portable loom tensioned by a strap around the weaver's body, standard for Naga weaving.
Tsungkotepsu
The Ao men's shawl with a figured median band, reserved for those entitled to it by feat or feast.
Morung
The Naga men's dormitory, a centre of instruction, defence and craft in traditional village life.
Feast of merit
A public feast a man gave to gain status and the right to wear certain cloth and ornament.
Median band
A decorated strip along the centre of a shawl, sometimes woven, sometimes painted or appliquéd, carrying status figures.
Cowrie badge
Rows of cowrie shells sewn onto a shawl or garment to mark rank and achievement.
Chakhesang shawl
The GI-tagged shawl of the Chakhesang tribe, with its own set of named designs.
A Craft Through Time
Pre-modern
Cloth as status
Each Naga tribe weaves its own shawls and cloths, and the right to wear a design records heads taken and feasts given.
Late 19th century
Contact and conversion
Christian missions and colonial administration reach the Naga hills, beginning a transformation of society.
Mid-20th century
End of headhunting
Headhunting ends, and the warrior meanings of the textiles give way to identity and festival wear.
Late 20th century
Emporia and yarn
State emporia market Naga shawls, and mill and acrylic yarn change how they are made.
2000 onward
Hornbill Festival
Nagaland's annual festival gives Naga textiles and ornament a large public and tourist platform.
2017
Chakhesang Shawl GI
The Chakhesang Shawl is registered as a GI of Nagaland.
Did You Know?
The Ao tsungkotepsu shawl's median band, with its rows of mithun, tiger, elephant, spear and human heads, is a résumé in cloth — each figure records a specific feat the wearer or his clan was entitled to claim.
Every craft has a story. Every story begins with tradition.