Loom Design/Loomates/Seven Sister States >> | Northeast India
The so-called Seven Sister States of Northeast-India are a hot spot of Austro-asiatic models of backstrap weaving loin looms (कमर करघा kamar karagha).
The Neighbourhood of the Seven Sisters
But even in the neighbouring states of Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan, Sikkim, Tibet and even Nepal you find loin looms. In Sikkim you may find mainly the type of Phang Thak, as known from Bhutan, and even in Arunachal Pradesh the Phang Thak is well known in many variations. Nepal is the western end of the cultural expansion of Austronesian & Austro-asiatic loin looms; in other areas of India or Pakistan, they are not known! The expansion of this hot spot leads to the western border of Thailand, where you find the Karen, the last backstrap weaving people in Thailand.
Other areas of Thailand down to Malaysia show no existing loin loom cultures anymore; once part of the Austro-asiatic expansion, loin loom culture vanished here totally by the influence of Indian techniques. Even on Sumatra loin looms are vanishing! By the Golden Triangle the hot spot of the Seven Sister States is connected to Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, where we find another hot spot of Austro-asiatic loin looms.
Known Austro-asiatic tribes of this area
- Chakma people (Chittagong Hills, Bangladesh, Mizoram,...)
- Mishing people (Arunachal Pradesh/Assam)
- Mishmi/Deng people (Arunachal Pradesh/Tibet)
- Adi/Apatani people (Arunachal Pradesh/Tibet)
- Karbi/Mikir people (Assam)
- Lotha Naga (Nagaland)
- Pochury people (Nagaland)
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