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Manage No, Sortation, Country, Writer ,Date, Copyright Manage No EE00002052 Country Bhutan ICH Domain Traditional craft skills Address Tsirang is located in the southwestern part of Bhutan on the Wangdue-Gelephu highway. Tsirang is noted for its gentle slopes and mild climates. It is the main district where the Lhotshampas (Nepali-speaking Bhutanese) reside. The dominant language in Tsirang is Lhotshamkha, spoken by the heterogeneous Lhotshampa. The Dzongkhag consists of twelve gewogs. Semjong is one of the gewogs with an area of 14.5 sq. km with elevation ranging from 900-1600 meters above sea level. It is located on the eastern side 20km away from the Dzongkhag Headquarter. The gewog consists of five main villages (chiwogs) namely Trashiling Teod, Trashiling mead, Dzomling, Drangreygang, and dekidling. Mr. Singh Bir Pradhan shared the story regarding the history of the villages. Before 1970, the name of the above chiwogs was different from the current one based on the Lhotshampa language. Trashiling Toed as Bararay means the name of a tree that is mainly eaten by the cow. Trashiling Maed as Saraley means a place that grows many cypress trees. Dzomling as Kartikey which means when the sun rises, it falls first in Kartikay and due to the heat, the first harvest of rice is from the Kartikay village. He also added that Kartik means the first 8th month in the Lhotshampa calendar. Although some people are still unaware of the old name and the elderly still use the old name to share their stories about the past. It has been more than half a century since changing names but the reason for changing the name is not known to many people yet few said that it was the government’s order.Year of Designation 2022
| Description | Gunduri is a straw mat, an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. The temporary biodegradable products are made of natural material from the cereal crops such as barley, maize, oats, rice, rye, and wheat. It is used in villages and is locally made by the woman who has the skill to put it in a place. Whereas it is made of rice straw mostly in Tsirang, part of Dagana, Sarpang, and Samtse Dzongkhags. The making of the straw mats is carried out during the autumn season after the harvest of rice. It is also known as Gunduri in Lhotshamkha. The Gunduri making in Semjong gewog under Tsirang dzongkhag is still one of the unique cultures and traditions they have been practicing for so long. They prefer to use Gunduri because of their culture and tradition which have been preserved for so long. Mr. Singh Bir Pradhan, 81 years old from upper Dzomling shared that they had used the Gunduri mat during the involvement of many people like marriage ceremonies, funeral rites, and when there was a celebration in the village. Due to the change in time, the practice of making Gunduri is declining because of available cheap carpets in the market. People prefer to use the Gunduri mat because of its comfortableness and convenient in many ways but it takes time, patience and lots of practice. These days people hardly practice the Gunduri making in Semjong gewog but however they still use the Gunduri mat that are woven aforetime which are in a good condition. |
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| Social and cultural significance | Before, Gunduri used to be the basic and the most necessary tool in any home. It has various uses and is handy in every home. People can sit, chat, and use it as an extra mattress to sleep. They are also used to dry pulses and grains in the sun. Over and above, the following uses are as per the traditional way of practicing. 1. Funeral rites Gunduri is the basic necessity during the funeral rite as per the lhotshampa culture. Mrs. Singh Bir Pradhan shared the uses during funeral rites. The bereaved family member offers an offering for the Pundits, (gelong or gomchen in Dzongkha) who came to do the death ritual in the following process. Firstly the clean bed, they keep Gunduri mat, then rari ( a woolen mat), on that they keep the money covered with a bedsheet and offers to Pundits as an offering. In addition to the above one, during the funeral rites, there are more gatherings and they use the Gunduri to sit and use as a mattress. Mr. Santa Bir Tamang, 48 years old man shared that they had a culture of collecting the Gunduri from every household and hand over to the demised family as condolences. But now they do not practice collecting the Gunduri because of available cheap carpets in the market. 2. Marriage During the marriage ceremony in the village, they use Gunduri as an important item. Mrs. Lok Maya Bhandari, a 62 years old woman from Trashiling Maed shared that the marriage mostly happens in the winter season. So to protect from the chilly weather, they use the Gunduri mats. Moreover, the Gunduri is offered by the bride's parents to the bride groom's family and they call it Logantey. After the marriage ceremony, they can carry the Gunduri mat and use it while resting on the way home. But nowadays they do not use it since they mostly travel by vehicle. |
| Transmission method | As of now, there were no written or video records of the transmission but up to now, people learned by watching step by step. The size and patterns differ from person to person based on their skill and knowledge. Mrs. Pabi Maya Tamang said that she learned the Gunduri making from her mother who is currently in Sarpang. Her mother learned from her Grandmother which means the transmission is from their forefathers. She supplemented that most of the people in Sarpang use to weave Gunduri even in this 21st century. After harvesting rice, the straw is used as grass and fed to the animals but to weave the Gunduri they separate the straight and long straw as a material. They collect the useful ones and keep them for making Gunduri whereas the others are fed to animals. Most of the interviewees, said that there are two types of Gunduri, namely Gunduri and Gajara are woven by them. Gunduri types usually need a long and strong thread to hold the straw. With the help of a thread, it shows the different patterns and uses the locally named Hataso (shed stick or reed or loom and Tam in Dzongkha). This type uses a different size that is called garay in lhotshamkha. The garay should use only the odd numbers that are 3,5,7,9,11 and more. If the Gunduri needs to weave in the bigger size and length, they use the bigger number of garay. This means for dewan-sized Gunduri, they use the number 3 or 5 garay. Likewise, to weave as mattresses, they use 7 or 9 garay. A person with skill can weave different patterns and arrangements. The equipment required is a rectangular framework of wood known as "Taan", a rope to stack hay into, a top and bottom wood structure with holes for rope to run between them, and most importantly a woman with skills to put it all into place. Gajara mat is woven without the use of hataso and it shows the same pattern. These types of mats are all similar even with different sizes. Most probably the Gajara mat looks good and exact if it is woven with a maize cover. Mrs. Suk Maya Tamang from upper Dzomling said that she used to weave both Gunduri and Gajara when she was young and energetic. But now she does not weave the mat and had to buy it for her own use. |
| Community | The history of Gunduri weaving in Semjong is unknown to many folks yet it has other stories to be shared. As per Mr. Singh Bir Pradhan, the story is related to the time during British rule in India before 1947. Two centuries ago, before getting the Indian country independence, there was a mix of people from Britain, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal in India. The people started to construct industries, roads, and railways. Most of the people involved in the construction work are British labourers. So that's why there were many people residing in the place including Indian and British. Because of innumerable numbers of settlements in the place, people make different kinds of handmade items and sell them for a living. Likewise, there was another place called Gunduri Bazer (mat selling town) in Darjeeling, a northeastern Himalayas in India where the people of Darjeeling weave Gunduri and make a living by selling Gunduri. The laborers found the Gunduri mat comfortable to use as a mattress, it was easy to carry when shifting the house and cheap to buy. So the British laborers and other residents in nearby places use Gunduri compared to other mats. He continued, “later some of the people from part of Sikkim, Nepal, Bengal, Kalimpong, and Darjeeling migrated to the southern part of Bhutan after India got independence.” So they practiced the making of Gunduri even after migrating to Bhutan. So that's how the southern Bhutanese learned the process of making Gunduri which was the Indian or Nepalese culture. One of the interviewees, Mrs. Pabi Maya Tamang, a 36 years old woman currently settled in upper Dzomling, shared that her family still practices the making of Gunduri mat which is in Sarpang Dzongkhag. She highlighted that their parents still weave about 9-10 pieces every year. But currently, at her residence, she does not use the Gunduri, preferring the carpet which is available in the market. An old folk, Mrs.Jaga Maya Pradhan, 80 years old citizen said that she used to weave Gunduri mat when she was physically healthy and able to see properly. But now due to old age and being physically weak, she does not weave at present. Jaga Maya pointed to the Gunduri she had been sitting on during the interview and said, “those gunduri are all woven by myself, I still have some more in the store and take out only when necessary.” From this statement, I could find out that the villagers still use the Gunduri mat in their homes. Most of the villagers have a dewan outside with the Gunduri mat and Plastic carpets on the top. Mr. Singh Bir Pradhan said that Gunduris had been massively used all around the villages of Semjong but no doubt of continuity with the increasing lifestyles of people. Firstly, in this 21st century, everything deals with machines and industries. So there are other comfortable and cheap carpets in the market that are made with machines which are much more pleasant. Secondly, the making of Gunduri needs more time, effort, skill, practice, and patience but being a farmer has got no time to play with it. And finally, their young family does not take interest in weaving Gunduri because of their interest in other jobs. Data collected by: Ms. Jigme Wangmo, Teacher, Semjong Primary School, Tsirang |
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National Library and Archives of Bhutan
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PI00006792
Gunduri (Traditional Straw mat)
Gunduri is a straw mat, an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. The temporary biodegradable products are made of natural material from the cereal crops such as barley, maize, oats, rice, rye, and wheat. It is used in villages and is locally made by the woman who has the skill to put it in a place. Whereas it is made of rice straw mostly in Tsirang, part of Dagana, Sarpang, and Samtse Dzongkhags. The making of the straw mats is carried out during the autumn season after the harvest of rice. It is also known as Gunduri in Lhotshamkha.
Southeast Asia 2022 -
PI00006793
Gunduri (Traditional Straw mat)
Gunduri is a straw mat, an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. The temporary biodegradable products are made of natural material from the cereal crops such as barley, maize, oats, rice, rye, and wheat. It is used in villages and is locally made by the woman who has the skill to put it in a place. Whereas it is made of rice straw mostly in Tsirang, part of Dagana, Sarpang, and Samtse Dzongkhags. The making of the straw mats is carried out during the autumn season after the harvest of rice. It is also known as Gunduri in Lhotshamkha.
Bhutan 2022 -
PI00006794
Gunduri (Traditional Straw mat)
Gunduri is a straw mat, an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. The temporary biodegradable products are made of natural material from the cereal crops such as barley, maize, oats, rice, rye, and wheat. It is used in villages and is locally made by the woman who has the skill to put it in a place. Whereas it is made of rice straw mostly in Tsirang, part of Dagana, Sarpang, and Samtse Dzongkhags. The making of the straw mats is carried out during the autumn season after the harvest of rice. It is also known as Gunduri in Lhotshamkha.
Bhutan 2022