Tag: indigenousclothes

  • Traditional Khasi attire

    Kat ki jaiñsem, dhara bad muka Khasi ym don shuh ha pyrthei! ❤️❤️ Ngi nym lap ba ka rukom sem jong ngi ka syriem ïa kiwei kiwei ki jaitbynriew 😃😍 Ka riam Khasi ka long kynsai bad kaba i shongkhia shisha!

    We will not find anything like the Khasi jaiñsem, dhara and muka in the world! 😍😍 The way it is worn and draped around a woman's body is completely unique ❤️❤️ The traditional Khasi attire is something beautiful and grand!

  • “The Sun, the Peacock and I” by Badondor Diengdoh

    Spirited like the jaiñkyrshah

    flapping with the wind.

    Noisy like the sound of

    a bolbaring indenting tarmacs.

    The girls of summer

    The boys of winter.

    The blue rubber ball.

    targeting stacked rocks.

    Now

    still figuring out my life

    with unmatched socks

    Wish I could still be that

    kid from the block

    who daydreamed of

    the sun and the peacock.

    According to Khasi folklore, it is said that the Peacock and the Sun were together in heaven as lovers. But one day the peacock, while looking down on the earth, saw a garden full of mustard flowers. To him the garden looked like a beautiful girl in yellow and green clothes. He instantly fell in love with what he saw. The peacock left the sun and flew down to earth. The sun was heartbroken and her golden tears descended on his feathers creating the golden spotted pattern we all know.

    To the peacock's utter disappointment, upon landing on earth, he realised that what he saw was only a patch of mustard flowers. Now it was the peacocks' turn to cry. Full of regret he tried to fly back to the sun but could not. That is why the peacock is flightless to this day.

    "Bolbaring" is a wooden toy vehicle made out of small wooden poles and having rotating ball bearings as wheels.

    The rubber ball and stacked rocks refers to a traditional game known as "Mawpoiñ" in the Khasi language. It is like dodgeball, while introducing a new element into the game in the form of stacked rocks. It involves one team hitting their opponents with a ball or destroying the stacked rocks while the other team either dodges or re-stacks the rocks .

    "Jaiñkyrshah" is the traditional Khasi apron which is worn as a loop from one shoulder and its design is always a chequered one of different colours.

  • Ka Jaiñ-it by Careen J. Langstieh

    "Ka jaiñ-it" ka dei ka jaiñ bah ïa ki khyllung ne ki khun rit; ka dei ruh ka jaiñ kaba pynskhem haba bah ne kit.

    Ka jaiñ-it ka dei ka jaiñ ba pyndonkam da ki Khasi ha ka por ba ki bah ïa ki khunrit. Lah ban ong ba ka dei ka jaiñ ba jrong lynter ba la thaiñ na ki sai kynphad balieh bad don ruh ki jingthaiñ da ki ksai ba saw sha tduh jong ka jaiñ. Ha kylleng sawdong ka Ri Khasi bad Jaiñtia, ki longkmie ki ju pyndonkam da kane ka jaiñ ban kit ne bah ïa ki khyllung ne khunrit hadien met khnang ba kin lah ban trei ban ktah ruh ha kajuh ka por-lada dei hapoh ïing ne shabar, khlem da pynsepei ïa ka por.

    Ki kynthei Khasi ki dei kiba smat bad bunsien ngi ju ïohi ïa ki longkmie kiba bah khun da kaba pyndonkam ia ka "jaiñ-it" ha ka por ba ki trei ïa kano kano ka kam: lada dei ka kam shet, kam sait, kam khlieng ne haba ki leit sha la ki bri ban trei kam rep kam riang. Ka jaiñ-it ka dei ruh kaba ju ai sngewbha da ka Meikha ïa ki ksiew. Kane ka dustur ka dang im sah haduh ki por mynta ruh, tangba lehse ka jingpyndonkam ïa ka jaiñ-it ka lah kham duna ha ki thaiñ sor.

    Ïa ka jaiñ-it lah ban pyndonkam baroh shi snem lynter bad ka kham ïarap khamtam eh ha ki por tlang ha kaba i khyllung i ïohthiah ha syndah ka met jong ka kmie bad i ïoh ruh ka jingsyaid na ka met jong ka. Ki pyndonkam ruh sa da ka jaiñ-kup ha kaba ka kmie ka kup ïalade da katei ka jaiñ ban sop syaid ia i khyllung iba ka bah.

    "Ka jaiñ-it" is a traditional baby sling-wrap used by Khasis and Pnars which may be described as a long strip of cotton cloth made from big strands of white thread with red stripes at the ends. In the Khasi and Jaiñtia hills, mothers use this cloth to carry a baby on their backs, so as to be able to perform work in the house or outside.

    Khasi women are never idle sitters. We see mothers carrying babies securely and safely fastening them with the jaiñ-it while they go about their daily work, be it cooking, washing and sometimes tilling the field.

    The jaiñ it is traditionally gifted by the paternal grandmother to her grandchildren. This practise is still alive and well. However, the use of the jain-it is lessening in the urban areas. The jain-it can be used all year round and is particularly handy in the winter months when the baby is snugly fastened and then a "jaiñ-kup" (flannel shawl) is wrapped around the baby to keep it warm.

    Most of us have a picture of ourselves tied by a "jaiñ-it" on our mother's back when we were babies ☺️☺️

    Kudos to our mothers for being the symbolic "jaiñ-it" who bind our families together with their unconditional love 🧡🧡🧡

    Thank you Kong @careenjoplinlangstieh for allowing us to use your artwork! 🙏🙏