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Unit 5 : Materrial Culture of Assam Unit 5 Materrial Culture of Assam UNIT 5 : MATERRIAL CULTURE OF ASSAM UNIT STRUCTURE 5.1 Learning Objectives 5.2 Introduction 5.3 Concept of Material Culture 5.4 House Building Types and Decorations in Assam 5.5 Costumes and Ornaments in Assam 5.5.1 Costumes 5.5.2 Ornaments 5.6 Bell Metal Industry 5.7 Musical Instruments of Assam 5.8 Let Us Sum Up 5.9 Further Reading 5.10 Answers to Check Your Progress 5.11 Model Questions 5.1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES After going through this unit you will be able to • have an idea about the material culture, • explain about the different types of houses in Assam, • know about the various costumes and ornaments used by different communities in Assam, • discuss about the bell metal industry of Assam, • know about various musical instruments of Assam. 5.2 INTRODUCTION In the previous units we have already studied about the meaning of culture and the various features of the Assamese culture. Culture in general defines the customs, beliefs, traditions, values, norms etc of human 78 Cultural History of Assam Materrial Culture of Assam Unit 5 behaviour.We have also studied about the meaning of folk culture. Folk culture means the culture of a particular area. Culture can be divided into two parts, non-material and material culture. Folk culture is not only the identity of a particular ethnic group but it enriches that particular society and carries on the same from one generation to the other. The Assamese culture is very rich in various aspects and it is the assimilation of the various tribal and non-tribal communities. This racial assimilation added a strong colourful flavor to the Assamese culture. In this unit we will discuss about the meaning of material culture along with the different house building types in Assam. As well as in this chapter we will study about the different costumes, ornaments, musical instruments of Assam. In addition to this we will also study about the bell metal industry of Assam. 5.3 CONCEPT OF MATERIAL CULTURE Material culture often refers to the visible part of folk life of any community. Material culture consists of man-made or physical objects, resources etc that define the culture of a particular community. How people belonging to different tradition-oriented societies build houses, make cloths, ornaments, foods, tools, instruments, furniture, art and craft etc are all included in the material culture of that particular community. The material culture of any community is one of its basic identities and thereby maintains its uniqueness. Assam exhibits a very rich material culture in the form of art, craft, architecture, costume, ornaments etc which is a blending of the various tribal and non-tribal communities of Assam. 5.4 HOUSE BUILDING TYPES AND DECORATIONS IN ASSAM A special kind of earthquake resistance house is constructed in Assam as it is an earthquake prone area. These houses are popularly known as Cultural History of Assam 79 Unit 5 Materrial Culture of Assam Assam-Type house. Generally these houses are single storied but sometimes two or more storied houses are also constructed. Earlier Assam- Type houses were made with bamboo, wood, thatches, cow dung, reed, cane etc which were locally available. But now a day there is a scarcity of these materials and hence other materials like iron, cement, brick, stone etc are also used to build houses in Assam. But in the village areas the traditional bamboo, mud made houses are still made with some innovations. A weed called Ikora is used extensively to build the walls as well as roof in the traditional Assam-Type houses. An earth plastering is also made in order to make the walls strong and more protective. Sometimes walls are made of bamboo strips plastered with mud. The doors and windows are made out of bamboo as well as wood. Wooden plank flooring is used in these houses with stilts. In the rural areas mud plastered floors are seen. Local grass and thatches are used along with bamboo and wooden frames to build the roof which is slanting in shape. In an Assam-type house there are different types of rooms such as Pak-Ghor (kitchen), Chora-Ghor (living room), Suwani Kotha (bedroom) etc. Other than these Assam-Type houses, the tribal communities of Assam have different type of houses having its own distinctive identity. • The main house of the Bodo community is called Nomano which consists of three rooms known as Ishing (kitchen), Okhong (dining room) and Khopra (bed room). Mainly bamboo and timber are used to construct these houses. • The traditional houses ofthe Deori communityare constructed with a long passage having a considerable number of roomsonone side and the front portion of the house is kept open on three sides. The floor of the house is made of flattened bamboos and it is raised from the ground on wooden posts. • The traditional houses of the Dimasa community are called Noh-Dima and are built in two facing rows. The superstructure of the house is made with timber, walls are made of bamboo with mud-plasterer and 80 Cultural History of Assam Materrial Culture of Assam Unit 5 the roof is made with thatches. The entire house is divided into different rooms for different purposes. • The traditional dwelling house of the Karbi community is called Chang- Ghor, which is made up of wood, bamboo and thatches. Naujok (wooden posts) are used to raise a bamboo floor or platform called Klong a few feet above the ground. The house rests on the Klong. A ladder called Dondon made of wood and bamboo is used to have access to the house. A partition called Noksek-Arpong divides the main building into two parts known as Kam (bedroom) and Kut (storeroom from keeping important and sacred household possessions). Some of the other important parts of the house are Pang, Hong-Kup, Pang-Hongkup, Hong-Plang, Hong-Pharla, Voi-Roi etc. • The Mishing community builds their traditional houses on stilts popularly known as Chang-Ghor. A ladder called Ko-Bang is used to go to the house. The floor of the house is made with the mat of thick bamboo splits. Bamboo, wood, thatches are used to construct the house. Normally the entire house is divided into two rooms and the fire place (Meram) at the middle of the house is an importantcharacteristic of a traditional Mishing house. • The traditional houses of the Rabha community are lengthierin size. Generally it is a single house approximately fifty feet in length. Bamboo, wood, thatches, cow-dung etc are used in the construction of the traditional Rabha houses. The main rooms of a traditional Rabha house consisted of the Nok Chung Kai (bed room), Nansra (living room), Mazara (guest room), Nok Sara (kitchen) etc. • The traditional houses of the Sonowal Kacharicommunity are made of light materials like thatches, bamboo, mud, cane, wood etc. Generally the main door of the house is in the east direction. Normally the house consists of three to four rooms along with a fireplace. Cultural History of Assam 81 Unit 5 Materrial Culture of Assam 5.5 COSTUMES AND ORNAMENTS IN ASSAM The costumes and ornaments worn by people belonging to different communitiessymbolize the identity of the particular community which is completely distinct from each other. Assam being a land of people belonging to different communities, witness the existence of different folk costumes and ornaments, which indirectly enriches the Assamese culture. In this section we will have some basic ideas about the different costumes and ornaments worn by the different communities of Assam. 5.5.1 COSTUMES • Weaving is a common household activity in Assam since time unknown. In compared to the textiles produced by the hills and the plain tribal communities, the textiles produced by the Assamese non-tribal plains are less colourful. But these are of fine texture, unique design and harmony in colour. Some of the traditional dresses of the Assamese non-tribal plains areMekhela (item of female dress for lower part of the body from waist down to the ankles),Riha (an important part of female’s dress used on the top of the Mekhela covering the breasts and the upper portion of the body), Chadar/ Upreni (Women’s wrapper to wrap over Mekhela and Riha), Anakata Kapor( ceremonial and sacred cloth worn on specific socio- ritual occasions), Dhoti (men’s dress to cover the lower part of the body),Chola (men’s cloth covering the upper part of the body), Cheleng Kapor ( a piece of cloth used as wrapper and shoulder cloth), Gamocha (a towel type of cloth which is an indispensable part of Assamese life and culture), etc. • Weaving is a common practice amongst the Bodo community.Some of the traditional dresses of the Bodo community are Dakhana (main traditional dress of the Bodo 82 Cultural History of Assam Materrial Culture of Assam Unit 5 women), Jomgra (used by Bodo women to cover the upper portion of the body), Gangrachi, Gamsa (main traditional dress of the Bodo men),Arnai (small scarf wrap around the neck by men) etc. • The textiles produced by the Deoris are simple and less colourful in compared to the other plains tribe of Assam. But they are very unique and beautiful. Some of the traditional dresses of the Deori community are Igu (female garment for the lower part of the body), Jakachiba (women’s waist cloth), Khania or Cheleng (used as wrapper by the elderly women, turban by men, shoulder cloth by elderly men), Barkapor and Khania Barkapor (wrapper, also as shawl in winter), Iku (men’s dhoti), Icha (shawl), Boche, Gatigee, Baiga (a towel type cloth used by women to cover the head, breast etc) • Dimasa women are expert weavers.
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