Assam’s Mishing Tribal People: A Photo Series

North East India is one of the best places in the country if you are interested in unique cultures. These 7 states house more tribes than the rest of the country. And the best part is that these tribal people still follow their ancient traditions and that offers a fantastic experience for a rural tribal holiday with them. One such tribe is the Mishing tribe of Assam. These meat and fish loving Hindus who live on the flood plains of the Brahmaputra river are known for their artisan weavers, their house on stilts, their delicious food, their hospitable nature and their many amazing traditions.

I had the privilege of staying with them in their village and watching their life from close quarters. I liked this rural experience so much that I want to return there at the earliest and explore more of their unique cultures and traditions with them. It is from this rural holiday in Assam that I bring this photo series. I hope these photographs of the Mishing Tribal people egg you on towards this part of Incredible India.

Above Photo: The women of Assam are known for their colorful traditional apparel called the Mekhla and Chador. This woman in picture is a master artisan weaver and the Mekhla Chador that she is wearing has been hand woven from her.

 

This Mishing gentleman is wearing a traditional hat called the Zaapi. This Zaapi comes in extremely handy to beat the sun and the rain while they work outdoors.



While younger men work in the farms, the older men work inside the home. This 60+ year old gentleman is weaving a bamboo basket here. The work is slow, but the final products are very rugged.



In addition to weaving, the women of the Mishing tribe also work in the tea gardens and the neighbouring forest. In this picture, they are returning with a head load of firewood from the forest.



Here, a Mishing tribal woman is being trained on the latest weaving techniques. The Indian government arranges such training to create sustainable livelihood for them.



The Mishing women work in the tea gardens and farms as well. In this picture, the woman is returning home with some greens from the forest.



This is a mother and a daughter from the Mishing tribe of Assam. The daughter was all smiles after chomping on a chocolate biscuit and the mother cannot stop but feel happy for her daughter.



Work for Mishing tribal men is strenuous as can be seen from the weather beaten face of this middle aged gentleman.



A Mishing Tribal women is weaving on the traditional loom in front of her house. As a thumb rule, women weave once they are done with all the house chores. They try and weave for a few hours every day.



These kids are all smiles as I train the camera lens at them while interacting with them in their traditional bamboo stilt homes.



This Mishing tribal woman with her big red bindi gave me the smirk when I was photographing the weaving training facility in the village.



A Mishing tribal woman wearing a colorful Mekhla is preparing the comb for the traditional loom.