Pība is Karbi mother’s wrap. A Karbi mother weaves her own Pība. As a bride, sometimes she is gifted her Pība by her mother. When she becomes a mother, she uses it to tie her infant close to her body, giving her child protection, closeness and safety. Most mothers keep their Pība as a plain weave with coloured stripes. Sometimes, they add few running weave lines at the edges. But rarely, do they add complex motifs. This is considered an extra garment a mother wears over her dress.

Her main dress constitutes:
Pini: wrap around skirt
Pekok: The square cloth wrapped around right shoulder
Vamkok: belt to tie Pini
Jiso: a piece of fabric wrapped on the chest.

I wanted to accentuate the simplicity of Pība so I used the complexity of Kalamkari along with it. I enjoyed this emergence.

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Karbis are subdivided into clans classified by: TERANG—->INGTI—–>TIMUNG—–>ENGHI——->TERON——>TERANG

Terang and all its sub-clan should by custom marry an Ingti girl. A Teron should marry a Terang girl. A timung should marry an Engti Girl and an Ingti should marry a Timung Girl.

“They follow a strict rule of exogamy. Sexual or marital union between people belonging to the same clan is considered incestuous as they are considered as siblings, and any violation of this rule may lead to public banishment. Interestingly, a man and a woman will be regarded as brothers and sisters even if their mother’s clan is same, though they might belong to different clans. Hence they cannot marry each other.”

With a good fortune of having worked directly with Karbi artisans, I share with you a glimpse into a culture through this shawl.