Sikkim

The Lepchas are believed to be the original inhabitants of Sikkim and one of the three main communities of the state. In the past, the Lepchas used nettle fibre or Sisnu for weaving, but today the prevalent material is cotton.

Bright and colourful cotton textiles with motifs made of woolen yarn are woven on vertical looms strapped to the back of the weaver. The traditional color range consisting of red, green, black, white and yellow, is used for creating vibrant designs and patterns on the fabric. Locally, the Lepcha handloom products are known as thara, which include not just fabric for apparel, but also bags, jackets, carpets, blankets, belts etc.   

Thangkas are religious scroll paintings prevalent among the followers of Buddhism. Made usually on silk or cotton, these depict the life of Buddha and other important figures like Goddess Tara, or the different Bodhisattvas. The deity is always the central figure of the Thangka, while the depictions around it are symbolically relevant to the religious context. Besides this, Thangkas could also portray mandalas (visual geometric aid for meditation) or significant spiritual events. It is said that the last priest-king of Sikkim or Chogyal had ordered for a Thangka to be made depicting the creation of the kingdom of Sikkim with the blessings of the patron saint - Guru Rimpoche. 

For making a Thangka the fabric is first spread over a frame of bamboo, which again is attached to a wooden frame.  After cleaning the surface of the fabric it is coated with a layer of glue to make it smooth. The designs and figures, highly symmetric in nature, are made with pencil first, followed by careful application of colors from top to bottom. Usually, the painting follows the practice of filling colours in the objects of the background before the main figures. The required materials for making the Thangka include natural dyes, stone colours, gold dust etc. Once the painting is complete, it is mounted on heavily decorated brocade work on silk, mostly in red, yellow or blue colours. The beauty of the Thangkas has also made them popular among the Hindus of Sikkim with paintings of deities of the Hindu pantheon being produced similarly. Thangkas are a common possession in Sikkimese homes.  

The three major communities of Sikkim include the Lepchas, the Bhutiyas and the Nepalese. While the Lepchas are believed to be the original inhabitants of Sikkim, the Bhutiyas are said to have migrated to Sikkim from Tibet sometime in the 15th century. Though they are distributed throughout the state, it is in northern Sikkim that the Bhutiyas are mainly concentrated. The Nepalese community migrated to Sikkim supposedly after the Bhutiyas and soon established a strong base in the state. 

As people moved into the region from outside, they brought with them their techniques of making and wearing clothes, which interacted with the local ways of weaving and clothing.  Over the years these evolved into distinct styles of clothing laden with different cultural traces. The attire of the Bhutiyas of Sikkim, for instance, contains various similarities with the ways in which the people of Tibet dress. Each community has its own clothing patterns distinguished by the ways of wearing, the length of the clothes, colours, woven motifs etc. 
  

The plain and undecorated Koojo Vadoah is said to be the oldest type of dress for the Lepcha men. However, traditionally made of nettle, the Koojo Vadoah is slowly losing its popularity with the replacement of fibre with cotton. It is the robe known as Dumpra, made of cotton and decorated with floral designs, butterfly and geometric motifs etc. that is used commonly now by the men of the community.

The Dumpra is pinned on one shoulder and tightened at the waist. It is worn over a white upper garment, with knee length pajamas and a hat. The entire outfit is known as pagi.

Distinct from the pagi, the Nepalese men wear the Daura Shuruval that includes a long, decorated garment, with a pair of full-length churidar-like pants, a waistcoat and a cap.

The Bhutiya men, on the other hand, wear a loose cloak-like garment made of cotton or silk, called Bakhu or Kho.This sleeveless garment is tied around the neck and held at the waist by a band. 

The Bhutiya women pair the Bakhu with a full-sleeve blouse called Honju made primarily of silk. The married women distinguish their outfits by wearing a striped, multicoloured apron-like woollen cloth at their waist called pangden.The women of the Lepcha community wear a similar attire called Dumbun comprising a full-sleeve blouse and a long piece of solid coloured cloth put over one shoulder and pinned on the other.

At the waist, it is held together by a band. The Nepalese women dress in a long garment called chaubandi choli and a pair of trousers.To go with the attire, they use a cotton shawl called Majetro. The traditional colours used for Nepalese outfits are black, red, white and orange which have now diversified to include a much larger colour palette. 

The Bhutiya and Nepalese women also weave fine carpets and blankets of wool and cotton. These are woven on vertical looms, supported against walls. The wool is carefully washed, dried and carded before spinning.

During the weaving process, the wool is beaten into place with wooden hammers, and once the weaving is complete, levelling scissors are used to cut the unnecessary fibres in order to make the carpet finer.  The common motifs on the carpets produced by the Bhutiyas include Buddhist mythical birds, snow lions, lotuses etc., carefully made in the process of weaving. The Nepalese weaves contain motifs inspired by the local flora and fauna, besides various geometrical designs.