Mekhela sador
A two-piece Assamese dress: a wrapped skirt and a drape, woven in muga, eri or pat silk
The mekhela sador is a two-piece outfit worn by women in Assam: a cylindrical skirt called the mekhela and a long drape called the sador. It is handwoven, mostly by women, from Assam silks such as muga, eri and pat, with patterns of flowers, creepers, birds and diamonds drawn from nature and Assamese culture.
- A two-piece dress: a pleated tube skirt (mekhela) and a long drape (sador)
- Woven in Assam silks, mainly muga, eri and pat
- Patterns are woven, never printed, and are called phul
- Mekhela pleats fall to the right, the reverse of a saree's pleats
- Cheaper sets blend cotton with muga or pat plus synthetic yarn
What is Mekhela sador?
The mekhela sador is what women in Assam wear as a two-piece dress. The lower part, the mekhela, is a wide tube of cloth folded into pleats and tucked in at the waist. The upper part, the sador or chador, is a long length carried around the chest and back, one end tucked above the navel. Both are usually made of Assam silk, muga, eri or pat, and the patterning is woven by women rather than printed. Designs come from nature, from Assamese culture and from myth, and include flowers, creepers, birds, animals, diamond shapes and human figures. A fitted blouse goes with it.
Where does Mekhela sador come from?
The sources give no founding date and no single place of origin. What they describe is a dress of Assam, worn by Assamese women and closely bound to local culture, its patterns celebrating the region's natural world. One older layer of the outfit is the riha, a separate piece once worn either as the drape itself or underneath it; today it survives mainly in the Assamese bridal trousseau and at indigenous events such as Bihu. The mekhela sador is woven by tribal and non-tribal weavers alike, and the sources treat it as the traditional clothing of the state.
How is Mekhela sador made?
Weaving is done mostly by women on handlooms, and the ornament belongs to the cloth rather than sitting on top of it: the sources say the designs on a mekhela sador are woven and never printed. A woven band called the paari may be stitched along the two sides of a chador or along the lower edge of a mekhela. Silk is the usual fibre, muga, eri or pat, and each behaves differently at the loom: pat and muga take fine floral and creeper work, eri and cotton take bolder geometry. Cheaper sets mix cotton with muga or pat and with synthetic yarn.
Mekhela sador, drawn
Colours, motifs and borders
The motifs are known as phul. They range from flowers and creepers to animals, birds, human forms, diamonds and things seen in the sky. Diamond shapes in bright colour are read as a sign of fine workmanship and as a traditional feature of Assamese textiles. How delicate the drawing looks depends on the fibre: pat and muga carry slender flower and creeper lines, while eri and cotton take strong geometric forms.
How Mekhela sador is worn
The mekhela is folded into one or two pleats, pleated towards the right and tucked in at the waist. That is fewer pleats than a saree has, and they fall the opposite way. Nothing ties the mekhela itself, though a stringed underskirt is often worn beneath it. The sador is a long piece: one end is tucked into the top of the mekhela above the navel, the cloth passes round the chest and back, and the rest is pleated and tucked at the belly. A fitted blouse is usual.
When Mekhela sador is worn
It is worn by Assamese women at festivals and at weddings. The riha, once a working part of the outfit, is still kept in the bridal trousseau and appears at Bihu and other indigenous traditional gatherings. The sources do not describe it as everyday or mourning dress.
Styles of Mekhela sador
The main split is by fibre. Pat and muga give fine, delicate patterning; eri and cotton take bolder geometric designs. Muga, called the golden silk of Assam, is the costliest, and demand for it is low, partly because of the price and partly because tussar looks very much like it. Lower-budget sets blend cotton with muga or pat and with synthetic yarn. In the market, pure pat is much asked for, and pat and polyester sell in the largest numbers.
What Mekhela sador means
The cloth carries Assamese identity. Its motifs are drawn from the region's wildlife, its culture and its myths, and because the weaving is largely women's work it is also a livelihood. Tribal and non-tribal weavers both contribute the patterns described as indigenous. Muga is spoken of as the golden silk of Assam. The sources mention no Geographical Indication or other official tag for the mekhela sador.
Questions people ask about Mekhela sador
Where does the mekhela sador come from?
It is traditional clothing of Assam, in northeast India, worn by Assamese women. It is made from silks of the region, muga, eri and pat, and its patterns draw on Assamese culture, local wildlife and mythological themes.
How is it made?
It is handwoven, predominantly by women, with the motifs worked into the cloth at the loom. The sources stress that the ornament is woven and never printed. A woven paari band may also be stitched along the chador's sides or the mekhela's hem.
What is the difference between the mekhela and the sador?
The mekhela is the lower piece, a wide cylindrical cloth folded into one or two pleats and tucked at the waist. The sador, also spelled chador, is the upper length, tucked into the mekhela above the navel and draped around the chest and back.
What is a riha?
A riha is an older Assamese garment once worn as the chador itself, or as an inner piece beneath it. It is still part of the Assamese bridal trousseau and is sometimes seen at Bihu and other indigenous traditional events.
Is it the same as a saree?
No. A saree is one long cloth, while this is a skirt and a drape worn together. The mekhela's pleats are fewer than a saree's and are folded to the right rather than the left, and no string is used to tie the mekhela itself.
Good reading and sources
- Mekhela sador on WikipediaEncyclopedia
- More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
- Wikidata recordOpen data
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Mekhela sador", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryPallu rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Traditions, weaves and prices differ from one weaver, town or shop to the next, and it is not buying advice. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-11-07.
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