Pathin

What is Pathin?

Pathin is a wrap skirt: a single rectangular length of cloth that a woman winds around herself, covering her from the bust down to the calf. It is worn by women of the Hajong tribe, a people of the Indian subcontinent who live in Northeast India and Bangladesh. The cloth is striped across its width, with bands of different shades set symmetrically between red stripes, and heavy borders running horizontally near the edges. Silk and cotton both appear as materials. No motif beyond the stripes and borders is recorded.

Where does Pathin come from?

The pathin belongs to the Hajong, whose homeland the sources place in Northeast India and Bangladesh, within the Indian subcontinent. No date, legend or founding story for the cloth is given in the material available. What the record does show is that length once marked social standing: women of the upper class wore a pathin that fell to the floor, while women of the lower class wore a shorter one reaching the ankle. The cloth also has a second use, since in Assam it is used to make mekhelas.

How is Pathin made?

Pathin is woven, not printed. The work is done on traditional looms the sources name as Sipni Bana and Sal Bana. These are operated by hand and need no foot pedals, so the whole rhythm of the weaving comes from the arms. The weaver builds the pattern into the cloth as it grows, laying colour bands in horizontal stripes and finishing the piece with the thick borders called chapa. Silk and cotton are the two fibres the sources give for the cloth.

Colours, motifs and borders

Stripe is the whole design. The cloth is rectangular and its stripes run across the width, so a wrapped pathin reads as a stack of horizontal bands. Red repeats through the pattern, and between the red stripes come layers of other colours, arranged so that they mirror each other. The borders are thick and horizontal too, and they carry their own name, chapa. The sources mention no woven figures, embroidery or printing, so the character of the piece rests on the order of its colours.

How Pathin is worn

It is a wrap, so there is no stitching to hold it on: the rectangle is wound around the body and kept in place there. The coverage is generous, from the bust to the calf of the leg, which is longer than many waist wraps. Length was the variable. A woman of the upper class wore hers to the floor; a shorter pathin, ending at the ankle, was worn by women of the lower class. The sources do not describe a blouse, a petticoat or a fastening.

Styles of Pathin

Two lengths are recorded: the floor-length pathin of upper-class women and the ankle-length one worn by women of the lower class. Beyond that, variety comes from the stripes themselves, since alternate bands of colour can be arranged in different orders between the red. The cloth has a second life as well, because in Assam pathins are used to make mekhelas, so the same woven rectangle serves more than one garment.

What Pathin means

The pathin is clothing that carries social information. Because length changed with class, with a floor-length version for upper-class women and an ankle-length one for lower-class women, the garment itself signalled standing. It is also shared material: in Assam the striped cloth is put to use making mekhelas. The sources name no Geographical Indication, no revival scheme and no ceremonial role, so the record is a plain one about a working wrap.

Questions people ask about Pathin

Good reading and sources

• Pathin on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data