Abstract

Predominantly in the Bodo society the dresses were weaved in every household as a part of their daily activities depending on the weather and climate conditions. But in the present scenario it is observed that the culture of weaving is diminishing in the semi urban and urban areas of Kokrajhar district and other three neighboring districts of Bodoland Territorial Region (B.T.R.). Generally, the Bodo traditional handloom weavers are from the remote places who are undertaking this activity for their livelihood. This paper emphasizes on dresses of Bodo tribe (especially women) weaved by the traditional weavers of Kokrajhar District, Assam by using the knowledge transferred from their forefathers. Bodo tribe is one of the largest tribal communities settled in Brahmaputra valley of Assam. They are unique and different in various ways including food habbits, culture, language, weaving of their clothes and many others. Dresses that are being traditionally weaved since inception represents the cultural value and social relationship. Dresses are considered an integral part of one’s cultural identity. It may be emphasized that if the traditional dresses weaved by traditional knowledge finds a place in the market then it will strengthen the financial position of the local weavers. It will resolve the unemployment problems among the youth. Also, it is observed from many years that these clothes are facing certain threats. The biggest one of them is lack of recognition. Therefore, this paper will focus mainly on granting recognition and protection to these dresses and to find out the reason regarding the disinterest among youth in learning the knowledge. The State must ensure to promote policies for inclusive living to ensure justice, fairness and equity so that the representation can be made in wider platform.

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