My ‘boring’ traditional attire was never ‘boring’ at all

Packing for college was an exciting activity for Imu considering that this was going to be her
first time leaving her hometown of seventeen years and going to a college in another state. As
her stomach filled with a heavy sense of impending doom; probably because of excitement
and jittery nerves, she did a double check on all her belongings packed in her brown trolley
which her elder sister had packed.

Eeee! Aecha aesya? Ngada. Nga aecha thuwe gimbaw gumda!
Aecha nu chi Etopolo ni Thuwe. Naniapiya mein college gimbana laada.
Eeee. Ngada. Kesha gum. Nga gimbaw gum.
Yoh! Gimbana.
Ngada. Ngada. Ngada!!

Eee. What is this? No! I am not taking this thuwe with me.
This is your Etopolo and Thuwe. Naniapiya has told you to take it with you to your college.
Eeee. No. This is not even pretty. I am not taking it.
Oh c’mon. Take this with you.
No. No. No!!

But after multiple back and forth between the two sisters which lasted for more than half an
hour the result was final. Imu would be taking her ‘boring’ traditional Etopolo (top) and
Thuwe (wrap around skirt) with her to college. Although Imu had kept her end of the bargain
she promised herself she would not be taking these clothes out from her bag any time soon.
College started and so did new adventures and lessons. Days turned into weeks and weeks
into months and soon it was the Indigenous Faith Day of Arunachal Pradesh. In the midst of
tribal students excited to flaunt their traditional attire Imu found herself nervous at the
thought of wearing hers.

The idu mishmi textile pattern consists of simple geometric shapes which are decorated with
smaller colourful shapes. The primary colours used in Idu Mishmi textiles are Black, dark or
bright orange, white. Different cloth pieces have different colour themes. For instance- when
weaving a traditional Thuwe which is a wrap around skirt the colours used are mostly black,
dark or bright orange, white and shimmering yarn is also used for embellishments. The
design on a Thuwe is weaved on a black background with rows of diamond shaped motifs
filled with smaller diamonds in shiny silver, white or brighter colours of green or bright
orange. A traditional everyday Etoma , a coat also has the same colour scheme as the Thuwe.
Another coat known as Anatubru is a more colourful version consisting of bright yellow
rectangular strips with black, red and green geometric shaped embroidery. The warrior coat
known as Etondre is made out of thicker yarn or wool. It is mostly in a symmetrical black and
white design.

In the earlier days the Idu Mishmi people would use nettle plants to make yarn and natural
plant dyes for the colours. Every loom set was different and had multiple components for
multiple attires. Since the clothes were curated out of natural raw products it was a time
taking process taking up to four to five months. Thus each clothing piece was appreciated and
cost a lot. When Imu was in high school she remembered how her naniapiya weaved different
sets of Thuwe for different occasions. The simpler ones made mostly out of one single colour
could be weaved in a week and would cost around 1000- 1500 Rs. While the ones which had
Joṉ (embroidery/ weaving designs) were much costlier considering the amount of time and
precision it took to complete one. The cost of the latter would start from 3000- 6000 Rs.
Imu remembered how she had to accompany her aunty during the initial phase of setting up
the wooden loom for weaving. She would pass the ball of black yarn to her aunty who would
be sitting in front of the loom; one hand waiting for the ball at point A and passing it to the
other hand through the horizontal opening at point B. As the duo repeated this process till a
black piece of desired outcome could be seen they would be sharing anecdotes from everyday
life, incidents of great curiosity, home remedies and life lessons from school and the farm.

As the D-day approached, Imu found herself contemplating if her attire would be pretty
enough or if it would be too plain and simple. A pinch of nervousness and a bucket load of
hopefulness later Imu looked at herself in the mirror. She looked pretty. Why did she think
her clothes made her ugly? Perhaps it looked boring to her because she had always seen it be
made out of simple balls of yarn and had worn it multiple times on multiple occasions that
she forgot how colourful it was and how beautiful her clothes made her feel. She was wearing
a lekopo, a traditional necklace made out of small white beads and bigger red beads, her
silver earrings or andisu and her aakuchi (purse) made her resemble her naniapiya, her
mother’s elder sister.
Mimi, her Adi friend, was also wearing her traditional attire of Ulta Galuk (top) of a dark
black colour and Gale (wrap around skirt) of a bright red colour with horizontal thin black
rows. Her look was complimented with a traditional necklace Aane, made up of silver coins
and beads.

As the two friends joined their classmates all adorning their traditional attires with pride and
gusto, Imu realised how important her clothes made her feel. Every attire was different,
colourful and beautiful. Each attire had a story to tell and a tradition to be preserved and
proud of. She was part of a connection between her traditional roots and the modern world.
Her embarrassment crumbled as she paraded hand in hand with her peers, the sun shining
brightly at the ongoing procession and a smile breaking into her young heart.


References
https://www.ijfmr.com/papers/2023/5/7112.pdf