Why Angocha is Important to wear in Rural Area
Gamcha – a word often associated with towels – is a handloom textile woven in north eastern India. Thrown on the shoulder, wrapped around the head or waist, the cotton cloth with a mix of checks and stripes, mostly in red and white, it quintessentially works as a towel, a shield against the sun, even a bedsheet for most people.
Much like the lungi, the gamchha has been central to the lives of India’s male working class. Of course, the elite class doesn’t look twice at it because it’s the ‘poor man’s cloth’ after all.
– Jaya Jaitly –
handloom expert and founder-president of the Dastkari Haat Samiti, an association of Indian craftspeople
Gamchha and Indian Prime Minister
In April 2020, when India’s prime minister Narendra Modi delivered a televised address extending the country’s coronavirus lockdown, he began by lowering the piece of red-and-white cloth wrapped around his nose and mouth. This seemed like a gesture of solidarity with the millions of poor Indians who, unable to find or afford a mask, have had to improvise one. What he had around his face was the checked cotton towel—long as a scarf, thin as a napkin, cheap as a bag of potatoes — known as a Gamcha.
Why is this love for Angocha so strong with the Indian people?
This love for the gamcha maybe is because the cloth stands for many things: devotion (when you present it in a worship hall), love and affection (there is no greater gift than a hand-woven gamcha for a loved one, as seen in the Assamese culture) and respect (when you honour elders).
Farmers keep the gamcha on their shoulders to wipe away the sweat while toiling in the scorching sun, the whole day long. Sometimes, they also spread it out on the ground like a mat and take a nap on it. In ancient India, travelers used the gamcha to carry food in it while journeying.
It also forms one of the essential items offered to Indian deities during religious ceremonies. Perhaps, the best thing about a gamcha is that being thin, it does not take long to dry and thus can be used many times during a day.
GAMOCHA - Symbol of Assamese Culture
The Gamusa/Gamosa/Gamocha is an article of great significance for the people of Assam and the very symbol of Assamese culture. It is generally a white hand-woven piece of cloth of cotton or silk of around 2 feet in width and 5 feet in length, with red woven patterns or motifs on two sides and red stripes on the long border.
5 FACT YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT ASSAMESE GAMOSA
1 ) Origin of The Name
Literally translated, it means ‘something to wipe the body with’ (Ga=body, mosa=to wipe) however, interpreting the word gamosa as the body-wiping towel is misleading. The word gamosa is derived from the Kamrupi word gaamasa (gaama+chadar), the cloth used to cover the Bhagavad Purana at the altar.
2 ) Origin of Usage
The gamosa has a very old history. Its for sure that this is not something which was incorporated from any other part of the India. According to Dr. Lila Goigoi, Gamosa has been used since the Ahom Kingom. According to the book “A History Assam” by Edward Gait the price of one gamosa during 1739 was around 6 paisa.
3 ) Origin of Gamosa
Though it may be used daily to wipe the body after a bath (an act of purification), the use is not restricted to this. here is the other main usage of gamosa
- It is used to cover the altar at the prayer hall or cover the scriptures. An object of reverence is never placed on the bare ground, but always on a gamosa.
- It is used by the farmer as a waistcloth (tongali) or a loincloth (suriya)
- A Bihu dancer wraps it around the head with a fluffy knot.
- It is hung around the neck at the naamghar (prayer hall) and was thrown over the shoulder in the past to signify social status.
- Guests are welcomed with the offering of a gamosa and tamul (betel nut)
- Elders are offered gamosas which referred to as bihuwaan in this case, during Bihu.
4 ) Cultural Significance
Significantly the gamosa is used equally by all irrespective of religious and ethnic backgrounds. At par with gamosa, there are beautifully woven symbolic clothes with attractive graphic designs being used by different cultural sub-systems and ethno-cultural groups as well.
5 ) The Relation of Gamosa with Bihu
There is a special relation of Gamosa with Bihu. The boys wrap Gamosa around the head while performing Bihu dance. Also, it’s used at the time of giving respect to the elder one. This kind of Gamosa is called Bihuwan.
