The Rabha people of the Goalpara belt: weaving the shawl that tells a story

The shawls of the Rabha people, woven in the villages of the Goalpara belt, carry bands of geometric patterns that are more than decoration — each sequence has a meaning, passed down in the weaving itself.

A women’s cooperative has documented the patterns, registered them, and begun selling the shawls beyond the community’s own festivals.

The documentation is as important as the sale: ‘If we lose the meaning, we keep only the cloth.’