Ethnography
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She is the recipient of the State Award for handicrafts for dolls and toys for the year 2008–09. She has also been conferred the title of ‘guru’ under the Guru Shishya Parampara Scheme of the Ministry of Culture. She trains many young people in doll making.
Following is an edited transcript of the…
in Interview
The Meiteilon word for doll is laiphadibi. It is made up of two words: lai, which means god and phadi, which means a shabby piece of cloth. The last syllabi, bi, denotes the feminine gender. So, laiphadibi is a feminine image of god, made from shabby clothes. They are treated as living spirits with…
in Overview
A resident of Na Shyam Gaon in Jorhat district of Assam, he traces his lineage to Pangyuk, one of the nine original Khamyang leaders who came to present-day Assam. Dr Shyam has worked extensively to conserve indigenous Tai Khamyang knowledge and promote studies related to the Tai people and…
in Interview
After the first Tai community crossed the Patkai Hills in the thirteenth century, numerous Tai groups of South and Southeast Asia have, since then, migrated to and settled in Assam. Of all of these Tai peoples, the Tai Khamyang group is one of the lesser documented. After leaving their home in Mong…
in Module
Sociologist Richard Sennett conceptualises the idea of craft to illustrate the intimate connection between the workings of the hand and the head.[1] He weaves a connection between knowing and working through the experience and action of craft. In Grundrisse, German political theorist Karl Marx…
in Overview
The Warlis are a settled tribe living in the tribal tracts of Palghar and Nashik districts of north-western Maharashtra. Besides their traditional agricultural practices, the Warlis depend on the surrounding forests for their daily livelihood demands of firewood, karvi sticks for wattle and daub…
in Module
‘If you do not put your laiphadibi back in the lubak (bamboo basket) after playing, they will cry at night under the banana plants.’ That was one scary imagery for child in a Manipuri household. Elders would use this imagery generously each time children would leave behind their dolls scattered…
in Module
Following is an edited transcript of the interview conducted on November 5, 2018, in Srinagar, Kashmir.
Sadaf Wani: How did your involvement with papier mache begin?
Niyaz Bhat: I have been associated with papier mache since my childhood. I learnt it from my father, who was deeply involved with…
in Interview
The term 'papier mache' derives from the French words papier mâché, which literally translates as ‘chewed or mashed paper’. The term has been used to refer to a variety of craft forms that involve use of processed paper. The term has also come to denote various elaborate art traditions that have…
in Module