What helped vibrant, timeless Assamese jewellery bag the GI tag

For countless Assamese women and connoisseurs of Assamese culture, it is a welcome news that Assamese jewellery (Axamiya gohona) has received the GI (Geographical Indication) tag recognising its unique place in the rich Indian jewellery tradition spreading across the map.

Traditional Assamese jewellery is famous for its distinctive style using paat-son – gold leaf in 24 carats. They include earrings like Kerumoni, Thuriya (flower motifs), bangles and bracelets like Gam- kharu, Muthi- kharu, and necklaces with pendants like Doog-doogi, Bena, Jonbiri (crescent shaped), Dholbiri (drum design), Gol-pota (choker), Gejera, Mogor-dana, to name a few. Loka- paro, a favourite with Ahom kings, is an earring embellished with twin pigeons (paro), placed back-to-back. It may be in gold, ruby, minakari work, or even in plain enamel coating.

In contrast to these ornaments from upper Assam, in lower Assam centred around Barpeta are filigreed ornaments (rewai) without stone setting or minakari work. In this style, gold wires are turned and twisted into beautiful shapes of which ‘Sona’ earrings are the most famous.

“The charm of Assamese jewellery is that it reflects the beauty of nature in simple designs without much elaborate embellishments. When you see a Jonbiri pendant you immediately think of the crescent moon, the thuriya of a star-shaped flower, and so on,” says Mallika Kandali, well-known exponent of Sattriya dance of Assam.

She wears Assamese jewellery while performing Sattriya dance, which is also mandated by canons of this classical dance form that originated in the sattras (monasteries), during the rise of neo-Vaishanavism in Assam in the Middle Ages.

Kandali feels that simplicity reflects on the Brahmaputra valley’s verdant landscape with hills, rivers, flowering trees and rice fields spreading to the horizon. “Here natural beauty is so rich that it creates a mood of serenity and simplicity. Assamese women too incorporate them as motifs while weaving mekhela-sador, their two-piece ensemble.”

Writer Jugal Das in his book Gohona Gathori (Prakashan Parishad) draws attention to an important point, saying, “While in many parts of India jewellery designs seemed to make a distinction between the traditional or classical for the elite and those of the tribal people, and they could even reflect on caste systems [as to its use], in Assam it was not so. Rather it depended on the material used according to the economic affordability.”

For example, the gam-kharu heavy bracelet worn by the noble class during Ahom rule refers to ‘gam’, the chief of a village in tribal villages, who adorned it as matter of prestige. Gam-kharu is made of silver or gold and held together with a clasp. There was a clear distinction between jewellery for men and those for women. Lighter in weight Muthi-kharu were worn by women.

The peak of Assamese jewellery craft was during the 600-year-old Ahom rule. The royals patronised jewellers and also donned jewellery to embellish their dresses. In fact, they made it compulsory for officials to be suitably adorned.

Gold was abundantly available locally. Kautilya mentioned suvarnakundya (land of gold) to be in Kamarupa (today’s Guwahati).

The Brahmaputra, as also Subansiri, literally the Swarnanadi (river of gold) in upper Assam, was known to carry gold particles from its source in Tibet.

During the Ahom rule, there was a particular class of people with the title of ‘sonowals’, who were assigned the task of extracting gold from these rivers. They had to pay a certain amount of money or contribute parts of the extracted gold to the royal coffer. More than 20,000 sonowals were engaged in this gold mining locally called son-komowa.

There were whole villages called Sonari Gaon (village of jewellers) which produced beautiful ornaments. Today, only in pockets near Jorhat town, in Rathtoli near Nagaon are there families who turn out these traditional designs.

As gold was available locally through ‘gold-washing’, the metal was used abundantly, and then combined with stones and beads which also show the influence of tribes who sport multicoloured beads. The Mughal influence later introduced minakari work. Ruby from Burma (Myanmar), considered to be the best in the world, and emerald from the region, were widely used for embellishment. Assamese jewellers also do not use any ‘cast’ to fashion the pieces, Das says. Interestingly, unlike in other regions, typical Assamese jewellers do not mix copper with gold, but silver. Besides, they can be worn on both sides.

Most of the Assamese jewellery is hollow inside, filled with lac, and the outer parts are wrapped with gold leaf. Das writes that this particular style evolved only after the Ahoms came and combined different influences, including countries like Burma and Thailand. However, older accounts of Assam (Pragjyotishpura) show prevalence of pan-Indian designs in jewellery.

The designs have not seen any deviation till date lending them their authenticity. The value that Assamese women place is evident as they prefer to wear only this style matching their mekhala-sador on occasions like weddings, celebrations, etc. A set of Assamese jewellery in the trousseau of the bride is de rigoeur, both from the bride’s side and groom’s side. It can be noted that dowry as understood in most Indian societies is not practiced in Assam.

Anuradha Borooah, writer of Assamese food book Porompora, talks proudly about the ring her great grandmother presented. “It’s in the shape of a kite with pure rubies and emeralds. I treasure it.” Her mother-in-law o gave her a ring shaped like a lizard which would seem unusual till Das explains that in old beliefs a lizard falling on the body was supposed to bring luck. Anuradha also adorned her daughter at her wedding with a Siti-pati that frames the face around the hairdo with two chains going to two sides from the parting in the middle; a locket hangs from the parting.

Manisha Borthakur, Kolkata, also affirms, “During Rongali Bihu dance, the Spring festival, we only wear Assamese jewellery. I am a Kathak dancer, but I never coordinate them with a Kathak dancer’s ensemble as they won’t be authentic. To us, Assamese jewellery and mekhela-sador are a part of our tradition”

It is indeed a charming sight when Assamese women dance Bihu whirling round and round in their Muga mekhela sador matched with Assamese jewellery. Today, many new entrepreneurs have taken to designing Assamese jewellery as the demand is high. It is, however, not possible to use pure ruby or emerald as in olden days because it would be too expensive for every day use. But the designers have stuck to the age-old designs and thus continue to infuse life in an old art.