Elements
-
Manage No, Sortation, Country, Writer ,Date, Copyright Manage No EE00002058 Country Bhutan ICH Domain Traditional craft skills Address Dagana Dzongkhag (district) is one of the remotest Dzongkhags in the country. The Dzongkhag comprises of 14 Gewogs. The total area of Dagana Dzongkhag is approximately 1,389 sq. km with a population of 18,222 as per the 2005 census. People in Dagana derive their daily sustenance from farming activities. The elevation ranges from 600 m to over 3,800 m above sea level. The Dzongkhag falls within the temperate zone in the north and subtropical in south with hot and wet summers and cool and dry winters. 79% of the total area in the Dzongkhag is under forest cover with tree species such as Champ, Arguray, Chirpine and Sal. Therefore, few households in Pungshi (gathered together and died) village under Kana gewog still rear sheep and one or two women keep the culture of asanee weaving going on by buying wool from sheep bearer. And few households in Tsendagang village previously known as Suntalay (land of orange orchards) weave Asanne too to keep the culture going on. Weaving of the element is not very common even though the Lhotshampa community considered of having Asanee as prestigious. The weaving has become rare due to the shift in the economic status where rearing sheep is not very common.Year of Designation 2022
| Description | Asanee is a wool mat made from sheep wool in its natural colour. The wool is either black or white in colour. The name has come into existence from the honorific term of Lhotshampa (Southern Bhutanese) dialect Asaan, Garaan, Garnus which means please sit down. Therefore, Asaan is a respectful term for sit and nee is a mat for sitting and Asanee is a sitting mat. The patterns are made depending on the availability of the colour of the wool. The most common pattern of the element is white background with black checks and at times the white background is bigger than the black checks. It is determined by the demand of the customers and the availability of the wool. It is rectangular in shape and used as cushion covers for diwan and sofas as well as sitting mat. The origin of the element has begun in the community of sheep bearers. The wool mat saw its existence when the economy of the community was at its minimal where they wove various products from wool for the exchange of clothes and other basic necessities of life. The community bartered the wool mat and wool blanket called Raree for basic needs like kitchen stuff and clothing. However, all the sheep rearing community did not weave the element and also they did not have the right to own and weave by certain community. The weaving of wool mat spread to those women who were interested to learn to supplement the economic status of the family. According to informant (Dil Maya Gurung), the culture of weaving Asanee had come from parts of Sikkim, However, not very sure to state the origin clearly. Knowledge of weaving Asanee has deteriorated due to the change in the life style of people as it messes up the room due to the split of the wool being carried out every corner of the house in the process of brushing, combing and spinning the wool. And the women of the day do not take interest in weaving due to long hectic yarning process. While working, the wool gets tangled with the clothes which makes untidy. More so, with the rapid economic development and changed in life styles under the dynamic leadership of our great monarchs, the sheep rearing has extinct and weaving of the element must have pass down to younger generations if the sheep rearing practice is there in Tsendagang community. The other reasons for not taking the weaving of element on board is the opening of doors to education where everyone has obtained education and decent jobs. Though weaving of Asaanee culture is not so vibrant as of today but every household have the mat which they usually use it when honourable guests visit their house. |
|---|---|
| Social and cultural significance | Owning of Asanee has a social and cultural significance as it is considered prestigious and use it as sitting mat for honoured people. Those who knows the importance of Asanee will bow before they really sit on the mat. One should sit with discipline and not everyone will have the honour of sitting on the mat. It is also given as prestigious gift as long remembrance to honorable personalities and lamas. Moreover, it is gifted to daughters during wedding as daughters in Lotsam culture do not have the right to inherit land from their parents. It is also used when daughters and son in-law pay a visit after long time where son in-laws are respected and regarded as special guest. Furthermore, white wool is considered the symbol of purity and the black is the other way round. Asanee does not only poses prestigious value, it is also believed to cure allergies and used by sick person to get well soon. While conducting rituals and pujas, Asanee is used and offered to lamas considering as great offerings in their culture. The wearing or Asanee or Rarii by the sheep herder will let the herds follow after him/her as it is the symbol of recognition by the herds. If the sheep herder has worn the element, the sheep is believed to follow the herder. |
| Transmission method | Once the wool is sheared from the sheep, it is soaked in water for three days and washed like washing clothes however without using detergents until all dirts are gone. Then it is dried up in the sun and brushed and combed in a hand-made machine called Kharayso. After thoroughly combing, the wool is spun in a local made simple machine called charka (Spinning wheel). It turns into string of thread and it further needs to spun for two times. Once spinning is done to form string of thread it is put into weaving materials made from bamboo. The weaving materials are big and long and it has to be stretched and woven in the plain ground. Weaving of Asanee is not very vibrant as of today. Not all households who rear sheep weaves Asanee. They shear the wool twice in a year. They harvest in the month of March and April as the days get warmer and in the month of September before the winter really sets in. |
| Community | According to the informant, the culture of weaving Asanee belongs to Gurung and Ghalley community (ethnic group of Lotshampa). However, (Jit Maya Tamang) settled in Khamay in Kana Gewog (block) has learned from her mother where her late mother had learned from the Gurung community in Lower Tsendagang in Tsendagang gewog. According to informant Dil Maya Gurung, from Tsendagang shared that the weaving of the elements was common among sheep rearing community and Tsendagang village had many weavers then. The weaving of asanee as she shared can be learned and woven by all interested women to supplement the income of the family. Furthermore, another informant from Punshi, Mitralal shares that weaving Asanee was learned even by men. He stated that his late father used to weave the element. Data collected by: Ms. Kunzang Wangmo, Teacher, Daleythang Lower Secondary School, Dagana |
Keyword
Information source
National Library and Archives of Bhutan
https://www.library.gov.bt/archive/Materials related to
Photos
-
PI00006805
Charkha (Spinning wheel)
Any raw wool or cotton is spun in a simple hand-made machine called Charka (Spinning wheel) in Lhothampa (Southern Bhutanese) language, which produces fine wool thread for weaving any garments.
Bhutan 2022 -
PI00006804
Ms. Dil Maya Gurung, Asanee weaver, 63
Asanee is a wool mat made from sheep wool in its natural colour. The wool is either black or white in colour. The name has come into existence from the honorific term of Lhotshampa (Southern Bhutanese) dialect Asaan, Garaan, Garnus which means please sit down. Therefore, Asaan is a respectful term for sit and nee is a mat for sitting and Asanee is a sitting mat. The patterns are made depending on the availability of the colour of the wool. The most common pattern of the element is white background with black checks and at times the white background is bigger than the black checks. It is determined by the demand of the customers and the availability of the wool. It is rectangular in shape and used as cushion covers for diwan and sofas as well as sitting mat.
Bhutan 2022 -
PI00006803
Asanee (Wool Mat)
Asanee is a wool mat made from sheep wool in its natural colour. The wool is either black or white in colour. The name has come into existence from the honorific term of Lhotshampa (Southern Bhutanese) dialect Asaan, Garaan, Garnus which means please sit down. Therefore, Asaan is a respectful term for sit and nee is a mat for sitting and Asanee is a sitting mat. The patterns are made depending on the availability of the colour of the wool. The most common pattern of the element is white background with black checks and at times the white background is bigger than the black checks. It is determined by the demand of the customers and the availability of the wool. It is rectangular in shape and used as cushion covers for diwan and sofas as well as sitting mat.
Bhutan 2022