- Collection type
- Object
- Description
- Red cloth with a central white band ornamented with designs painted in dark resin. [JMC 16/3/2021]
- Long description
- Red cloth with a central white band ornamented with designs painted in dark resin. The cloth is said to have been worn by a man who has taken heads and done the mithun sacrifice. The cloth comprises three pieces of cotton textile stitched together: two red panels of equal size either side of the central white strip. Each red panel has four evenly spaced thin dark blue lines in the warp. The white band has five sets of three dark blue warp threads, splitting the band lengthwise into four narrow panels with a border on either side. These spaces are filled with parallel lines, chevrons, concentric circles, opposing triangles and conventionalised mithan designs all painted in dark resin, with a painted line of zigzags filling the border above and below. At each warp end there is a fringe of twisted and knotted tassels. Four lines of dark blue thread in supplementary weft run widthways just above the fringe on either side, in the red textile panels only. [JMC 16/3/2021] The textile is warp-facing and plain wovern, counting 14 warps and 9 wefts per 1cm2. All threads have Z twist yarns. The textile comprises three panels joined together edge-to-edge using simple looping stitches. Two broad side panels are woven predominantly in red threads: weft picks are mostly in red except for the paired (tripled?) wefts that occurs on three picks at both warp ends, whilst six warps in black occur at regular interval (at approx. every 100mm on average) to create stripes. They occur four times on each panel. The painted narrow middle band is woven chiefly in unbleached threads, with a warp of black stripe occuring at regular interval five times to create stripe pattern. Both warp ends are embroidered using stem stitch in black. Two picks each of black wefts also occurs at both warp ends. Please see annotated image for detailed measurement. [MT 16/03/2021]
- Geographical reference
- Cultural groups
- Ao Naga
- Date / Period
- Date made: Before 1921
- Date collected
- 16 April 1921
- Acquisition information
- Loaned: 11/1921 Donated: 1928
- Materials and processes
- Material Cotton Seed Fibre Textile Plant, Material Pigment, Material Wax, Material Resin Plant, Process Woven, Process Dyed, Process Painted, Process Stitched
- Dimensions
- Length: max 1690 mm, Width: max 1275 mm
- Object numbers
- Accession number: 1928.69.166
- Research and responses
This textile was viewed virtually by members of the Ao Naga community, including members of the Watsü Mungdang (Ao apex women's organisation), during a virtual meeting on 2nd September 2021, organised as part of the Talking Threads Project. For the full recording please see the project file.
While viewing the central painted band on textile 1928.69.1078, the group noted that the pigment is made from tree sap from the 'tsunko' or 'junko' tree, and looks very similar to modern examples. Today the fabric may be painted with acrylic paint bought from the shop.
The group were able to identify the 'indecipherable name' on the luggage tag as 'Imna Meren'. According to Surendra Nath Majumdar, writing in his book 'Ao Nagas' in 1925, Imna Meren was "the chief of the Aos at the time I was residing at Mokokchung" (June 1914 to October 1917) and was "the chief interpreter of the Government offices at Mokokchung".
In her book Naga Textiles, Marion Wettstein draws and describes the symbols often found in the painted middle bands of the Ao warrior’s shawl, tsunkotepsü. According to Wettstein, who bases the interpretations on information drawn from her fieldwork in Nagaland, the following symbols (which are found on cloth 1928.69.166) can be interpreted as follows:
- The conventionalised mithun heads mean only a man who has offered a mithun in a feast of merit has the right to wear the cloth. When mithun appear as heads only (known as sükolak), they record the exact count of mithun offered. The count is represented twice in the middle band, to the left and right of the centre (so the full number can be seen from front and back when worn).
- Concentric triple circles are called mankolong, meaning ‘very old head’. Some of Wettstein’s informants suggested that the vertical and horizontal rows of the symbol could represent ‘generations of head-hunting’. Wettstein suggests that, taken with this meaning, the rows could be a symbol of community and continuity, the heroic history of a family, although she admits there is no commonly accepted interpretation.
- Concentric circles atop vertical lines, with fields of parallel chevrons between them, represent shields.
- The vertical lines which surround all symbols are called atsü, meaning fence. They represent youth from around 15 years, the songpusongen age. From this age boys sleeping in the arichu dormitory are considered fully grown warriors and expected to protect the village against attacks, like a large fence. The symbols also visually fence off the other designs.
Reference: Wettstein, M., 2014. Naga Textiles: design, technique, meaning and effect of a local craft tradition in Northeast India. Stuttgart: Arnoldsche Art publishers, pp.141-146.
- Associated publications
- Reference: Naga Textiles Design, Technique, Meaning and Effect of a Local Craft Tradition in Northeast India, Main author: Marion Wettstein; Stuttgart, 2014, Page: 139, 141
Search terms: Textile, Clothing, Status, Figure, Headhunting, Body Cloth