Assam is one of the seven (or arguably eight) states in North East India, set in the Brahmaputra basin, tucked away just south of the Himalayas, attached to mainland India only by a thin strip of land. Textiles here hold more similarities with neighbouring North Eastern states and with other countries further east and in South East Asia, which they are geographically and culturally close to, than woven textiles in mainland India which have distinctly different traditions and cultural approaches. The tribal textiles of Assam are woven predominantly by women for whom learning to weave and becoming a proficient weaver is a rite of passage and a required attribute to be…