Assam’s traditional textile ‘gamusa‘ or ‘gamosa‘ has been listed under the coveted 124th Geographical Indications (GI) Registry Journal of 24 October, 2019.
The application for gamusa was filed to the GI Registry by the Institute of Handicraft Development in Assam’s Golaghat district on 16 October 2017.
A white rectangular piece of cloth with a distinctive red border and motifs, the gamusa is one of the prominent cultural identifiers of the Assamese community. It is made up of two words – ‘ga‘ which means body and ‘musa’ which means to wipe. But the cloth goes beyond its literal definition of a towel. It’s a representation of Assamese culture and is used on religious occasions, in weddings and gifted as a symbol of respect.
“This is a handloom product which has high esteem and wide usage in Assamese culture…Gamosa unites the whole Assamese people. It is the symbol of feeling & belongingness, welcoming people, respecting elders, love and care to loved ones,” the Journal stated.
It has also listed nine different types of gamusas — uka gamosa, phulam gamosa, bihuwan, tioni gamosa, pani gamosa, anakota gamosa, telos gamosa, jor gamosa and xadharon gamosa.
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