AO NAGA WARRIOR'S HANDWOVEN BODY CLOTH/TEXTILE/SHAWL

Description

Great for the northern climates as winter approaches, this newly made Ao Naga’s warrior shawl will keep you warm as well as decorate a table, sofa or bed. Completely hand woven of acrylic fiber, now used by the Nagas instead of wool, this textile is a reproduction of an original, traditional Ao tribe man’s body cloth worn only when warrior status was achieved. It was absolutely distinctive of the Ao tribe Naga; only the Tankhul Nagas of Manipur wore figurative cloths as well. Costume was one of the main ways in which the headhunting tribes of Nagaland distinguished themselves from each other.
The strip in the center is embroidered with assorted figurative and other tribal designs in color and black and white, with no two strips being exactly alike; traditionally, the strip was in black and white only, and was hand painted with tree sap. Such methods are still being used sparingly, but result in much more expensive textiles. The cloth measures approximately 84” x 42” (varies slighty among same style cloths) and has substantial weight as well as beauty.
Available pieces will vary slightly in size, tightness of weave and the overall layout, but not extent of work, of the figurative strip.