Indigenous Silks of Assam

Spinning and weaving of silk in Assam has traditionally been a women’s occupation, done at home. Even commercial production is largely a cottage industry.

Traders of cocoon and yarn are generally village-based, procuring small quantities of silk from individual producers.

The cocoon is boiled with soda ash, then flattened and dried on the walls of village homes.

The flattened cocoon is then drawn into thread. Since the filament is not continuous, it cannot be reeled, and must be spun.

On the right, in the picture, is a basic spinning machine, its foot-operated pedal regulating the speed of the spindle.

The other, more widely used method for spinning Eri yarn is by hand, onto a wooden spindle, locally called takuri or takli.

Unlike other silks which can be leaf fed, the Muga worm is cultivated on Som (Persea bombycina) and Sualu (Litsea monopetela) trees.

A very delicate animal, it is susceptible to changes in temperature and air quality.

The Muga cocoon is heated with soda ash in water, which enables the opening of the filament.

In the picture, the cocoons in the metal container are in the form they are received in from the suppliers, while those in the basket have just been removed from hot water in order to draw out the yarn.

Opening the cocoon.

The opened cocoons are kept in water, and the filament drawn onto spindles on a basic spinning machine which is powered by electricity but manually controlled.

Muga yarn that is thus machine reeled, is made from the filament of 10-15 cocoons.

The reeled yarn is transferred into hanks, using a wooden frame that spins on a horizontal axis.

As with the machine reeling, the hand reeled silk is made into hanks in the same manner using a wooden frame.

Muga waste, the coarse filament from the cocoon, is also used. This is simply drawn out by hand and wound into hanks.

The resulting coarse yarn is called ghicha.

Mechanised processing in a factory setting enables working with much larger quantities. The machine in the photo is used for degumming.

The cocoons are treated with soap, soda and steam. Bleach is also used if required.

Water is removed using a hydroextractor, and the flattened material from the cocoons forms into sheets that are aired in order to completely dry them.

The sheets are put through a Floss Cutter, which combs and straightens the fibres.

The dressing process then separates long fibres from short, which are used for coarser fabrics.

The longer fibres are taken for further processing. Impurities are removed over a light table.

Several stages of combing and processing ensure that the fibres are aligned in parallel.

The silk slivers will now be transformed into usable yarns.

These are passed through Roving and Ring Frame machines. The resulting yarn is wound on cones and then doubled and given a twist.

The final process is that of Gas Singeing, whereby protruding fibres are burnt off.

The finished yarn is supplied to buyers in hank or cone form as required.

Read more about the Sualkuchi weaving traditions here:

- Sualkuchi: Commercial Weaving Enclave of Assam
- The Specialist Weaver: From Anonymous Artisan to Individual Artist