218. Pawndum

Pawndum is an important traditional cloth of the Mizo people. Pawndum literally means ‘black cloth’. (In Mizo language ‘Paun’ means woven cloth from loom, ‘dum’ means black). However, the cloth is not totally black but striped consisting of mostly black and red colour. 

Pawndum is rectangular in shape, the length is about 63" and the breadth is about 44" long. Traditional Pawndum was characterized by bold warp stripes of handspun indigo-dyed blue-black cotton and naturally dyed red cotton obtained from barks of different plants such as sentezel (Calophyllum polyanthum),sentelek and khei(Mallotus phillippensis). 

The weft in Pawndum has always been black. With the introduction and availability of soap dyes and coloured yarn in the market, more complex and rhythmic stripes of different colours such as blue, green, yellow, pink, and purple were incorporated. 

Image credit: asiainch.org

The black weft against the multicoloured warp gives it a vibrant yet deep effect. Although Pawndum is usually characterized by bold 4-inch stripes of black and red, different sizes and colours of other warp stripes are incorporated depending wholly on the preferences of the weaver.

Pawndum is worn by wrapping it around the waist and covers the lower part of the body down almost to the feet. In earlier times, young men usually used this as a night cover during their stay in the men’s dormitory (Zawlbuk) and were also used as attire while performing ‘Khuallam’, one of the famous traditional dances of the Mizos. 

Pawndum always have fringes on both edges lengthwise of about ½" to 1". About an inch from the fringes, a kuthruih design is incorporated throughout the breadth of the puan. This ‘kuthruih’ appears like a simple braid which consist of two colours. On one side, a red and green thread is used whereas a red and black thread is used on the other side. 

Pawndum design consists of groups of red, blue, green, yellow, pink and black stripes in a total of six batches. The first and the sixth batch are similar while the remaining four batches are identical. In all the batches, there are 11 alternating stripes. 

In the first and sixth batches, the three outermost stripes are green, pink and blue. They are of the same width. This is followed by a yellow stripe. Next, two black stripes flanking a thin pink line follows. Next, we have a yellow stripe followed by a blue stripe. The yellow stripe is followed by a  pink stripe and lastly we have a green stripe. The stripes on the cloth follows a certain pattern in such a way that the orientation of the cloth remains the same both ways. 

The second, third, fourth and fifth batches are identical stripes. On each batch, there are eleven stripes. In the middle there is a pink stripe which is flanked by two black stripes. Adjacent to both these black stripes is a yellow stripe. Next to these yellow stripes are two blue stripes which is followed by two pink stripes. The outermost stripes on both sides is a green stripe. In between each of the batch is a red band.

A young Mizo woman was required to weave a Pawndum and carry it along to her new home when she got married. If she failed to carry it to the new home, it was considered her prime duty to weave one soon after going to her in-law’s place. Failure to do so was looked upon as highly disgraceful in the Mizo culture. 

The Pawndum was to be used as a shroud to cover her dead husband’s body had he died during her lifetime. It could also be used to cover the bodies of any close relative on her husband’s side. Pawndum has a deep cultural significance, even to this day.

GI Tag Registration Date         : 06 August 2019

GI Tag Number                         : 586

Certificate Number                  : 347

Geographical Area                  : Mizoram

Special Cover Release Date   : 26 November 2021

Cancellation                             : Aizawl 796 001

Type                                          : GI Tag Cover

Cover Identification Number  : NE/11/2021-2022

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217. Mizo Puanchei

Mizo Puanchei is the most colourful and popular among the Mizo Puan and it is an essential possession for every Mizo Women. It is wrapped around the waist by tucking in at the waist to fasten it, covering the lower part of the body. It is an important item in their marriage outfit, and the most commonly used costume in their festive dances and official ceremonies. 

Mizo Puanchei is normally 65” in length and 45” in breadth. The ground fabric of Mizo Puanchei is warp-faced plain weave using a higher density of warp yarns than the weft yarns. Puan is the name given by the Mizo to the cloth or the fabric which is woven out of the loom. The traditional loom use by the Mizo is the loin-loom. 

Unlike the other Puan, Mizo Puanchei is woven in three pieces with the middle being the narrowest, measuring about 12” in width, and the other two pieces of about 17” in width. Many traditional designs are incorporated to form an elaborate textile in Mizo Puanchei. 

Image credit : mizoculture.mizoram.gov.in

The design of the ground fabric is taken from Puanlaisen, a Puan is which a prominent deep red stripe is running horizontally in the middle along the length of the Puan. The middle piece has two dominating red stripes of 2” wide running in the middle, separated by an inch wide of white stripe with ‘Halkha’ pattern motif work on it. 

Next to each of the red stripe runs an inch wide deep green stripe separate by thin yellow lines. Next to each green stripe, an inch wide white stripe filled with ‘Disul’ (Di refers to a species of grass and sul is a term used for grass brushed against by passers-by which bends to the direction in which they have been brushed against) pattern motif is seen. On the extreme ends of the middle piece run 2” wide black stripe.

The two pieces which are on either side of the middle piece are exactly similar, consisting of stripes of colours like red, blue, yellow, green, black and white similar to that of Puanlaisen. A red stripe of 4.5” wide is placed at the edge, followed by stripes of green, yellow, blue and red colour, each stripe of 1 cm wide. 

Next to this is 2 cm wide black stripe followed by two 3.5” white stripes. In between these two white stripes are seen stripes of black, green and red. These pieces are sewn on either side of the middle piece.

Mizo Puanchei is characterised by the presence of two 2.5” wide black woollen bands (Hruih), breadth wise, dividing the Puan into three parts. Hruih is a compactly woven weft-rib weave where none of the coloured yarns on the warp are allowed to make their appearance against the woollen band. 

Besides these two woollen bands, 7 deep red woollen bands, each of about an inch wide are also woven breadth wise with similar compactness on the two edges of the Puan. In between these red woollen bands, a number of thin lines of green, yellow, blue and pink are seen. 

The stripes run breadth wise making right angles with the stripes along the length. Also, in between these stripes, ‘Lenbuangthuam’ (design based on the Lenbuang tree. Lenbuang - name of a tree and thuam -  junction with two or more paths.) and ‘Sakeizangzia’ (design is taken from the stripes of a tiger’s back (Sakei-Tiger, Zang-Back, Zia-Pattern) pattern motifs in different colours are present, thereby producing an intricate, colourful textile. 

Other designs/motifs are not allowed to be incorporated. The above mentioned designs should also be property incorporated where required and without any modifications. Mizo Puanchei is very popular because of its colourful, intricate and unique designs. It is a coveted possession of every Mizo lady. 

Mizo Puanchei is worn by women during celebration of certain traditional festival like Chapchar Kut and by women dancers of the famous traditional bamboo namely Cheraw. Nowadays, Mizo Puanchei is usually worn by Mizo women in their wedding day and on the wedding day of their daughters, sisters and nearby relatives, and it depicts that those wearing Mizo Puanchei are close relatives to the bride.

GI Tag Registration Date         : 14 August 2019

GI Tag Number                         : 583

Certificate Number                  : 352

Geographical Area                  : Mizoram

Special Cover Release Date   : 26 November 2021

Cancellation                             : Aizawl 796 001

Type                                          : GI Tag Cover

Cover Identification Number  : NE/10/2021-2022

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216. Tawlhlohpuan

Tawlhlohpuan had the most cultural significance among the Mizo Puan (woven cloth). Tawlhloh in Mizo language means ‘to stand firm or not to move backward’. Tawlhlohpuan is produced throughout the state of Mizoram, and the main centre of production is at Aizawl and in the village of Thenzawl.

It was worn only by a very courageous warrior among the Mizo men as a symbol for their bravery. Before going out to fight in a war, Tawlhlohpuan was draped on the warriors in the Kawrtawnghak style of draping. Mizo men wearing this Puan were expected to stand on their ground and never to retreat during the fight. 

It was also said that this Puan could not be woven by all common people in Mizo society and that the process of weaving usually require a lot of time as compared to other puan. Thus, this Puan cannot be possessed by all household of the society and are therefore referred to as ‘Tawlhlohpuan’. 

In one Mizo folktale, a great warrior (Pasaltha in Mizo) named Darhnawka from Hualngo village urged his wife to weave a special cloth for him so as to portray his bravery towards enemies and wild animals whenever the cloth was worn by him. This cloth was named Tawlhlohpuan as it depicted the bravery of the warrior Darhnawka.

Image Credit: purbashree.com

In the original design of Tawlhlohpuan, the cloth is woven in 80 inches length and 45 inches in width. Two pieces of cloth are woven which are sewn together by Puanpuizung Thui stitches with red and white threads alternatively. The edges of the Puan are stitched with Bahrangulzem stitches. 

For the ground fabric, undyed cotton yarn is used for the warp and indigo dyed black cotton yarn is used in the weft. It is woven in weft-faced plain weave, using a higher density of weft yarns, covering the warp yarns so that the ground fabric appears solid black colours. In contemporary Tawlhlohpuan, for both the warp and weft yarns, synthetic black coloured yarns are used.

Tawlhlohpuan is characterised by the presence of breadth wise stripes of red and white in the design of Hruih. Hruih is a compactly woven band of weft-rib weave where none of the coloured yarns on the warp are allowed to make their appearance against the band. The design consists of groups of red and white stripes woven in a total of five batch intervals. 

The stripes on both ends of the Puan consist of seven red and white stripes. The middle three stripes are of 0.5 inch wide, in which the white stripe is centrally placed in between the same width of two red stripes. 0.5 cm wide two red stripes bordered with thin yellow lines are present on either side of the central stripes. 

This is then followed by group of nine stripes of red and white, which is similar to the previous stripes except that 0.5 cm wide red stripe bordered with thin white line is placed in between the red-yellow bordered stripe on either side. 

The group of stripes in the centre of the Puan consists of eleven stripes. Five 0.5 inch wide red and white stripes are placed in the centre followed by alternate white and red stripes. Three 0.5 cm wide red stripes bordered with thin yellow and white lines are also seen on either side of the central five stripes.

GI Tag Registration Date         : 14 August 2019

GI Tag Number                         : 582

Certificate Number                  : 351

Geographical Area                  : Mizoram

Special Cover Release Date   : 26 November 2021

Cancellation                             : Aizawl 796 001

Type                                          : GI Tag Cover

Cover Identification Number  : NE/09/2021-2022

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215. Mizo Chilli

Mizo Chilli also referred locally as Hmarchte or Vaimarchaor, Mizoram Bird’s eye chilli and widely grown in the state of Mizoram. It is one of the most common crops grown in the state. It is grown for its pungency, spicy taste besides the appealing colour it adds to the food. 

There are three major species of chilli Capsicum annum, Capsicum frutescens and Capsicum chinense. Most of the chilli varieties grown in India belongs to Capsicum annuum species, whereas the Mizo Chilli belongs to species Capsicum frutescens and it is exclusively grown in Mizoram and some parts of Manipur.

Image credit: amazon.in

Mizo Chilli variety is characterized by a bushy type of plant. The leaves are smooth oval shaped. Fruit are small sized pods and highly pungent. Colour of the mature fruit is dark red. It is named as Bird's Eye Chilli due to the bird's eye-like appearance when it is looked from end of the stem. The uniqueness of Mizo chillies is they are smaller in size and hotter than normal Indian red chillies.

Mizo Chilli cultivation is scattered all over the state of Mizoram. There are eight districts of Mizoram, where three different varieties/qualities of Mizo Chilli are being cultivated. All these varieties, viz., Grade A, Grade B and Grade C are considered to be same with minor difference in quality. 

(a) Grade A: This is the smallest and most thin variety which is most pungent among all. It is considered to be of the best quality and fetches the highest demand in the market. The chilli powder of this variety can be identified because of the slight difference of colour. Its colour is more shiny red in comparison of other two varieties. 

(b) Grade B: The Grade B type of chilli is slightly thicker than the Grade A and marginally longer in size. The colour of dried red chilli changes to dark red and pungency is slightly less. 

(c) Grade C: This is almost similar to grade B in other properties but the size is a bit longer than other varieties of this segment. 

The high availability of potash in the Jhum lands is believed to be responsible for the distinctive red colour of the Mizo chilly. The blood red color of this chilli is different from any other varieties available in market

It is used for spicy cuisine in pickles, chutnies and hot sauces to be served with noodles and has a very high demand in neighbouring states and countries like China, Thailand, Vietnam and Bangladesh and therefore, the major share of the produce is exported outside the state.

GI Tag Registration Date         : 23 March 2015

GI Tag Number                         : 377

Certificate Number                  : 223

Geographical Area                  : Mizoram

Special Cover Release Date   : 25 November 2021

Cancellation                             : Aizawl 796 001

Type                                          : GI Tag Cover

Cover Identification Number  : NE/13/2021-2022

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214. Hmaram

Hmaram is a beautiful traditional small skirt, only worn by women and girls of Mizoram State. The cloth is wrapped around the waist by tucking in at the waist to fasten it, covering the lower part of the body upto the knee. Hmaram is produced in the state capital Aizawl and especially in Thenzawl town of Serchhip district.

It is commonly worn during festive dances and official ceremonies. The oldest patterned textile of the Mizo (Lusei) tribe, Hmaram is a single loom width fabric made from handspun indigo-dyed and natural white cotton. Hmaram is normally 42" to 43" in length and 17" to 18" in breadth though the size can vary a little more or less.

Image credit : asiainch.org

A single loom width fabric, traditional Hmaram had intricate and complex bands of patterning. In Hmaram, the indigo weft almost entirely conceals the white warp. There are weft-wise stripes of patterning which vary in size; some are broad while others are very narrow. The narrow stripes of patterning have simpler motifs as compared to the broader stripes of patterning. 

This patterning follows a continuous double-faced supplementary weft technique. The stripes are woven with a white weft on which an extra weft of indigo-dyed yarn is used to do the patterning. The white edges of the textile are then finished with a rolled hem, which is hand stitched.

Typically, Hmaramcan have three beautiful pattern motifs namely Disul, Lenbuangthuam and Kawkpuizikzial. These pattern motifs are incorporated as a white stripe of 3" that appears as five prominent bands. Alternating each of the prominent bands is a fine smaller stripe of 5mm. In total, there are six smaller stripes. There are only two colours visible in Hmaram i.e. black and white

A very complex and intricate motif, Kawkpuizikzial is believed to be the oldest motif, inspired by the curled new shoot of an edible fern Kawkpui (Cyathea chinensis). Kawkpui is the name of an edible fern, zik means new shoot and zial means rolled up or twirled. More than 30 heddles are required to weave the repeat pattern of Kawkpuizikzial.

Lenbuangthuam motifs, again also believed to be one of the oldest motifs of the Lusei tribe. Lenbuang is the name of a tree with acacia-like leaves and thuam means a junction with two or more paths. This motif is characterized by triangular designs which are separated by intervening giving the overall appearance like that of the paths with many branches.

Another motif seen in Hmaram is Disul. The word Di refers to a species of grass (Imperata cylindrical) and sul is a term used for grass brushed against by passerby which bends to the direction in which they have been brushed against.

Hmaram is mostly worn during festivals like Pawl Kut and Chapchar Kut. It is also worn by girls during various traditional dances such as Khuallam, Sarlamkai, Chawnglaizawn etc. In the earlier days, the material used for the ground fabric (Puan Bu) of Hmaram is the locally produced cotton yarn. Nowadays, acrylic yarn that are easily available in the market is most commonly used due to rise in demand of Hmaram. Silk is also recently introduced in the production of Hmaram. 

For making the design/motif (zeh), wool, silk, cotton or acrylic materials can be used. In the loin loom, the technique involves embroidered work but the speciality rests in the fact that all this embroidered work is done simultaneously with the weaving. In this respect the process differs from the designs produced on mill-made cloth or fly shuttle cloth.

GI Tag Registration Date         : 06 August 2019

GI Tag Number                         : 588

Certificate Number                  : 349

Geographical Area                  : Mizoram

Special Cover Release Date   : 24 November 2021

Cancellation                             : Aizawl 796 001

Type                                          : GI Tag Cover

Cover Identification Number  : NE/12/2021-2022

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213. Ngotekherh

Ngotekherh is a traditional Mizo dress. It is a cloth/skirt which is wrapped around the waist and is worn by women especially during festivals. It is produced throughout the state of Mizoram, and the main centre of production is at Aizawl and in the Thenzawl town.

Ngotekherh got its name from the small white weft stripes present on either edge of the weft-rib structure Hruih. These white stripes give the black Hruih a laddered effect. Therefore in this sense in Mizo language, ‘Ngo’ means white, ‘te’ means small and ‘kherh’ is a type of Hruih.

The original Ngotekherh was plain white, rectangular in shape with only two black stripes of 3 of 4 inches broad each running in traverse direction at a distance of about 1/3rd of the whole length from both edge of the puan (Cloth). 

Image Credit : asiainch.org

Ngotekherh is woven in two pieces lengthwise and are sewn together (called Zungthui, meaning sewn together or stitched by hand) in the middle forming a complete puan (Cloth). This stripping was originally called Thaihruih and along the perimeter was embedded a small black and white stripes called kuthruih also known as kherh. However, modifications of the puan which was made from time to time has led to a paradigm shift.

The early modifications of a broader black stripping’s were called Tlangtial Ngotekherh, later the border of the puan was made with a broad black stripes and several number of smaller black stripes running in longitudinal and transverse direction making a number of small perfect squares specifically called as Mangpuantial. Normally it is 60” in length and 45” in breadth.

This particular type of puan is woven with a white background and black stripes on it. Two deep black borders about four to five inches broad run along two edges lengthwise. Adjoining these borders thin black stripes are sometimes woven numbering about two to six according to individual liking. These are so spaced that the intervening white portions look like stripes of the same breadth. 

Besides these, quite a few other black stripes of similar breadth are woven throughout the surface lengthwise between the two broad borders. But these are spread differently from those adjoining the black borders. 

Usually the spacing between these stripes is maintained between two to three inches, also two black stripes run breadthwise at each edge accompanied by a thin thread like stripe. In addition to these lengthwise borders and stripes there are two broad black bars woven with wool which run in the middle of the puan breadth wise, dividing it into three equal parts.

These thick borders have five to six thin white stripes (about quarter of a centimeter each) woven on the inner side of the borders. Two weft-wide woolen bands with a weft-rib weave divide the whole cloth into three parts. This weft-rib structure is known as Hruih or in this case, Kherh

Ngotekherh is woven on a traditional loin loom. Especially skilled weavers are required for making this well-ordered textile. Weaving of the Ngotekherh requires great expertise since the quality of one is assessed mostly on the basis of the absence of white streaks on the black Hruih, black borders and black stripes and also the smoothness and fineness of the Hruih.

In the earlier days, homespun cotton yarns dyed with natural dyes are used. Synthetic yarns slowly replaced the use of locally produced cotton yarns, since wide range of synthetic yarns are available in the market. The weaving process of Ngotekherh involves starching of the warp yarns, warping, weaving, inserting the designs by hand, and sewing together of the two pieces to make the complete Puan.

Even though Ngotekherh was traditionally woven using a loin loom, now the majority of production of Ngotekherh is done using fly shuttle looms. It has also evolved in different colour combinations such as red and white, and blue and white.

GI Tag Registration Date         : 06 August 2019

GI Tag Number                         : 587

Certificate Number                  : 348

Geographical Area                  : Mizoram

Special Cover Release Date   : 24 November 2021

Cancellation                             : Aizawl 796 001

Type                                          : GI Tag Cover

Cover Identification Number  : NE/10/2021-2022

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