Maan Jayong

MR21052
Weaves made by Tai Khampti artisans of Arunachal Pradesh | Ikat | cowries
Spoken for

Maan Jayong is loosely translated as “ten thousand illusions” in Cantonese and is my favourite phrase from the language.

One became two

Two became three

From three come ten thousand things!

The ten thousand illusions.

While learnings this phrase in cantonese, my notes lacked phonetics and I scribbled:

Yuht sang yih

Yih sang saam

Saam sang Maanmat

Maan mat is ten thousand things.

Then I came across the wonder phrase Ten Thousand Illusions- Maan Jayong.

This phrase helps me keep balance of reality and illusion. When I am stuck in illusion, I come out of loop calling it Maan jayong!

 

About Tai Khampti weaving:

My association with Tai Khampti tribe began in 2012 when I expressed my wish to work with weaves of their community. She said she would involve her family- her own mother, mother-in-law and sisters-in-law to experiment making some weaves together. She mentioned that since they had not woven saris before, this would involve some trial and errors. Her family started to weave the more intricate patterns after about two years of trials. What started out among the family members in the year 2012, soon extended itself to about 30 homes of Namsai district.

In 2013, we brought about 500 kgs of cotton yarn to Arunachal Pradesh and took it as a drive to sensitise weavers towards using cotton over synthetic yarns for their indigenous weaves. Amla has championed the work we carried out with Tai Khampti weavers for more years than I could ever imagine. She began engaging untrained weavers, single mothers, and older women to engage in weaving plain, checks and striped fabrics. Rather than buying plain handloom fabrics from mainland, we began creating livelihood opportunities by weaving less intricate weaves as a medium of training new weavers and convenient income for trained ones.



All textiles in this Sari are woven by Tai Khampti weavers of Arunachal Pradesh, except the Ikat aspect.

Blouse fabric

Buyer Empowerments

Intrinsic
Value
Involves traditional Tai Khampti handloom weaving.
Creative
Aspect
One of a kind wearable textile. I enjoyed giving form to the textures of Tai Khampti weaves with gentle beadwork. The weave highlights the boota/ motif in colours that explore possibilities beyond the conventional usage. Tha contrast of Ikat brings playful geometry with a creative use of colours.
Heft-Feel
Moderate to Substantial
Weather/ Mood
Pleasant-not warm not cold.
Longevity
Not fragile
Care
Dry Clean only; Needs “Airing” in shadow, not direct sun. Do not wring.
State
Sari is ready to wear. All saris come with blouse fabric(s). No fall/ beading required. The blouse used in photoshoot is for representation only and may not be the same blouse available with the sari. The blouse fabric given with the sari will be more in alignment with the aesthetics intended.
Soul
Mill spun mercerised cotton yarn with Azo-free dyeing.
Drape
Casual, elegant, comfort modern drape with traditional weaves.
Concerns
Addressed
Grassroots production-
Weaves made by artisan at home in available time- supporting farming lifestyle.
Training of untrained weavers
Livelihood opportunity for amateur weavers, single mothers, older women who cannot farm.
Design handling leadership training, inventory keeping, costing and parcel handling training with Amla
Collaborative design and decision making
Awareness drive to choose natural yarns over easily available synthetic yarns.
Cotton yarn for Sari weaves from Salem, Tamil Nadu.
Weaves made with support from Nang Amlavati, Arunachal Pradesh.
Stitched by Gurmel Singh, Jalalabad, Punjab.
Cowrie work by Param, Bathinda, Punjab.
Disclaimer:
Imperfections in the weaves reflect handmade
Irregularity in the dyes reflect natural process
Innocent spots in the textiles reflect being homemade
A work of nature cannot be sterile and error-free
A choice to still buy what we make is a step
Towards supporting original culture
Of people
Of nature
Of craft

A celebration of humanness.
Mora Collective 2025
designed by: MIDTOAN
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