Sikki Grass Products of Bihar are various handicrafts that are made from a special kind of grass known as Sikki. These are mainly produced in the areas of Madhubani, Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, and Samastipur districts in Bihar. The craft is usually practiced by women in these areas, and is passed down from generation to generation.
Sikki is the king of stemmed grass found in the wet lands of the North Bihar. Sikki grass belongs to Poaceae family and its botanical name is Chrysopogon Zizanioides.
The history of Sikki crafts shows that grass crafts have been around for hundreds of years. It is difficult to ascertain the exact age of this craft. Boxes made of sikki known as pauti are given to daughters by parents on the occasion of their wedding. The boxes are used to hold sindoor, ornaments, and jewellery.
The process of making sikki grass handicrafts involves collecting the sikki grass, drying it, splitting it into fine strands, and then weaving it into various shapes and sizes. The weavers use their fingers to weave the strands, and the finished products are usually decorated with colourful threads, beads, and mirrors.
The women collect sikki-grass from the village farms. The upper portion of the stem which contains flowers is discarded. The remaining portion is finely sliced and shaved and use for making the products.
The technique used for making products from sikki is the ancient and time-honoured coiling method. Interestingly the actual form is shaped with munj (succharam munja), raffia grass or khar. This provides the basic shape and give additional strength to the product. The munj is completely coiled and covered with sikki.
The only tool used by the women is a six inches long needle-shaped iron object called takua with a rounded head, made of lac, which is used to grip the needle while coiling the grass.
It is coloured by boiling dyes to the shade they require. The colours that are more popular are purple, deep blue, bright yellow, magenta pink, green and red. All of them combined with natural golden colour of the grass to make the final product appear a complete riot of colours
The craft products often depict the daily rhythms of craftsperson’ lives to their natural surroundings, mythological and religious aspects. The wide range of Sikki products can be categorized into two
- Religious & Mythological: Human figures, replicas of gods and goddess, models of chariots, temples, relief & sculpture.
- Ornamental & functional products: Baskets, boxes, toys animals, birds and, animals & bird models, trays & baskets, jewellery, beads, pendants, necklaces bangles, bowls etc of different sizes and shapes.
GI Tag Registration Date : 23 November 2007
GI Tag Number : 75
Certificate Number : 46
Geographical Area : Bihar
Special Cover Release Date : 24 August 2021
Cancellation : Darbhanga 846 005
Type : GI Tag Cover
Cover Identification Number : BH-06/August,2021
Enlarged View of Illustration
Back Side Scan of Cover
India post has also issued a postage stamp on Sikki Grass Products of Bihar. Details are furnished below.
Handicrafts of India - Geographical Indication Registered Handicraft Products
Issued on 31 December 2018
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