Dimasa Hasina Textile Dima Hasao Assam

Dimasa weaving is the traditional textile art of the Dimasa Kachhari people of Dima Hasao (North Cachar Hills) district of Assam, producing a characteristic striped and supplementary-weft patterned cloth called Risa, Rigu, and Dokhna used for ceremonial dress, headcloth, and blanket. Dimasa women weave on the traditional loin loom (back-strap loom) using cotton and eri silk, creating bold horizontal stripe combinations in red, black, white, and yellow with supplementary weft geometric motifs called Shengbe patterns that encode clan identity and ritual occasion. The ceremonial Rigu cloth with red-black double-diamond border is the essential dress for Bushu (harvest festival) and marriage ceremonies. The warp is prepared on a wooden frame called agoi and transferred to the loin loom where the weaver sits on the floor with the tension strap behind her lower back. Dima Hasao district is home to approximately 14 Dimasa sub-clans, each with slight pattern vocabulary variations. The North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council has supported Dimasa weaver cooperatives and registered Dimasa textile patterns with the Geographical Indications registry as part of Assam handloom heritage documentation. Approximately 3,000 Dimasa women practice loin-loom weaving in Dima Hasao, Karbi Anglong, and Nagaon districts.