Handicrafts and handlooms of Tripura are unique and attractive. Tripuri has a skillful boon to create incomparable handicrafts and handlooms. Their products are famous in and outside of Tripura. Due to modern practices, such traditional skill is being forgotten. Handlooms in Tripura are in every house since ancient times. In the olden days’ clothes required for the family members were almost woven by the women of the family. Thus buying any clothes from the market was not so regular practice at that time. Though the family members have discarded their traditional dress, the womenfolk continue to wear their traditional attire.
Tripuri women’s traditional wear consists of three parts. They are ‘risa’, ‘rikutu’ and ‘rignai’.
• Risa – t is a fabric used to cover the upper part of women. It covers the upper/chest part in two layers. It is around 1.5m long and 0.3-0.5m in width. Risa covers from the top and halfway to the navel. It is embellished with numerous brilliant designs. Some such designs are kwchak pali, takhumtwi, khamjang, etc. Tripuri people celebrate the adolescent ceremony of a girl child known as ‘Risa Sormani’. On this particular occasion, 12-14 years old girls are given Risa to wear for the first time, and all the relatives gather to worship Lampra god.
Both men and women use it as per the occasion. Men use it as their turban in festivals, marriages, etc. During the winter season, it is used as a muffler by wrapping it around the neck. It is also tied to the waist over the dhoti that gives strength and enables the status of the person. Young girls and boys of Tripura use it as a headscarf. Risa is offered as a mark of honor to the guests, hung down over both the shoulders in front.
• Rikutu – This fabric is used for covering the whole body of Tripuri women. This garment is worn in several ways. It can be draped around the whole body during the winter season. The other way to use it is to wear it like ‘Chunri’ covering the chest part and hanging down from the shoulders towards the backside. The other way is to wear it like the pallu of Indian saree, and it is wrapped around from waist through back to the front passing below the armpit anti-clockwise by covering the chest region and is hung down over the left shoulder. Newly married women especially wear it on their heads. In the olden days, Rikutu was available in only a few colours. But in the present-day Rikutu is woven to match Rignai, so the apparel looks like the continuation of Rignai.
• Rignai – It is the garment used by women of Tripura. It is worn to cover the lower half part of the body. It is said that the Indian saree has evolved through this Rignai. But Tripuri women wear it as their traditional saree. These Rignais have varieties in designs. During the reign of Trilochana, nearly 240 designs were invented in Rignai. The designs that are used today have a long history that dates back to 4000 years ago. Some of the designs are chamthwibar, takhumtwi, mikhunchok, kuwaifang, khaklubar, etc. As women of the family wove these in their houses in the olden days, looking at the designs of Rignai, women’s IQ was judged, and it also showcased her intelligence.
The standard size of Rignai is 1.6m in length and 1.2m in breadth. It is usually woven for about 3.2m long that is further cut in two equal sizes, then the sides of the clothing are stitched to make it 1.2m in width. It is used as Chandua on different occasions like weddings, betrothal, etc. Chandua is clothing that is spread in front of the footstep of the main gate that is hanged down from the four poles above the head level. It is also used as a bedsheet, carpet, and mat. These Rignais are also offered to the Tripuri people’s god.
Artisan Mr. Jharna Debarna of Tripura is well versed in weaving the traditional Tripura saree. His family is completely involved in the production of weaving products. These artisans use backstrap loom for weaving the sarees. It is the traditional method followed by the artisan’s family to weave. It is an age-old loom that is simple to assemble and very easy to operate. This loom is portable as it is not a permanent fixture and does not have a heavy frame. Such loom is also called a ‘loin loom’. The artisans at this place spend 600rs-700rs for the materials to weave an ordinary saree.
