Elements
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Manage No, Sortation, Country, Writer ,Date, Copyright Manage No EE00002099 Country Bhutan ICH Domain Traditional craft skills Address Thongsa is one of the villages where the Kam thag-ma is manufactured. It is located under Chongshing Gewog (block) under Pemagatshel Dzongkhag (district). Particularly 10 households of the village practice the production of Kam thag-ma as it is one of the sources of income for them. Some of the well-known producers of Kam thag-ma are Abey Nim Daza, Nim Gyalmo, Aum Dohmo Namkha Lhamo and Tshering Peldon. Nevertheless, the other village women too weave but they prefer the yarns and threads imported from the India. Yonten Zangmo, 35 siad that compare to Kam thag-ma readymade yarn imported from the India is much easier to weave whereas Kam thag-ma required lots of steps and procedure to come up with final products.Year of Designation 2005
| Description | Colloquially, Mo-ngan kha-mung (Cotton Woven Cloth) is also called as Kam thag-ma in Dzongkha (Bhutanese national language). It is one of the practices in this locality which is the main source of income for most of the household. This has been practiced for many years but when and who had started this practice was not known. The clothes woven out of cotton are found thick and warm compared to the one which is imported. It‘s cost is also high compared to the one which is woven in ordinary yarn and threads. The products are of different colors and patterns. The cost depends upon the color of the cloth and the patterns used. The cost for the men’s clothes is higher than that of women’s. They used local materials for dying for different colors. With the support from the APIC, the people in the village from a small group to uplift and keep the Mo-ngan kha-mung production alive. According to the Chiwog Tshogpa (Community representative), annually a group of people from Japan and other part of the nation used to visit, however due to prolonged lockdown the group is been affected as not so many products are able to sell. Nimin daza also shared her worrisome feelings of dying such age-old method of producing Mo-ngan kha-mung since not so many youths take interest in learning, nevertheless with the support from government (APIC) she is very optimistic that young women may develop interest, unlike the past they need not have to sit for long to separate seed and Mo-ngan. |
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| Social and cultural significance | The age-old Mong-ngan kha-mung is one of the sources of income for more than 50% of the households in this village. The geographical climate of this village is suitable for the cotton plantation. People of this village encourage their children for the production of Kam thag-ma. The Kam thag-ma products are mostly worn during the functions and celebrations as it is considered to be Zang-gho (expensive/high quality one). The dzongkhag officials used to buy the products of Kam thag-ma to offer it as Choem (gift) to their outgoing staff. Such indigenous way of producing locally available Ghos (Bhutanese male dress) and Kiras (Bhutanese female dress) is one of the best ways to preserve and promote our culture and tradition. |
| Transmission method | The year of establishment of the production of this element was unknown as it had been practiced since their forefathers. The knowledge of the production has been transmitted to their children by the parents and children during the school breaks and children also show interest in this practice as it yields a good income to meet their school expenses. The people in the community are very positive now that their age-old tradition of weaving may reach its height as the communities are being supported by the Agency of Promotion of Indigenous Crafts (APIC) with machines to separate seeds and cotton which takes less time for the people to do separation. Nim Gyalmo said, when the rural people are given support by such organizations and agencies, not only the elder one grow interested but also youth come forward to learn their age-old tradition of weaving. Processes 1. Plantation. They cultivate the cotton plant in their field. Mostly they practice shifting cultivation for the plantation as it results in a good harvest. 2. Separation of cotton and seeds. They separate the seeds and cotton using a tool called Kre-shing. It usually takes one day to separate one kilogram of cotton in the past. Now with the development, the government has provided them with a machine which can separate 30 to 40 kilograms in a day. 3. Gathering: to gather the cotton together, they used a local tool called Li-khang which looks like a bow. 4. Making of thread. After gathering the cottons together, they make it into thread using a local tool called Son-daring (Spinning wheel). 5. Dying: After making the threads, they dye it for different colors using local materials. The colors are made from locally available materials like Jung (Yonga in Dzongkha), Yang shaba (Yang leaves), and Zim shaba (Zim leaves). They boil the cotton with those materials and ashes. The weavers apply the ideas and knowledge of the primary color and mix to result in other desired colors. Such knowledge has been instilled from their ancestors. Weaving: The Kam thag-ma products are wove using the old Bhutanese traditional method of weaving clothes using looms. The materials required to weave Mo-ngan Kha-mung is similar to that of any clothes weaving except Thri-thag. Women gather together to weave clothes, as they feel bored while they weave alone at home. They used to sing Tsang-mo (Ode) to do away with the boredom. The team has also learnt that there are no such songs and Tsangmo associates to the elements, nevertheless the women perform as per the interest and mood among themselves during weaving time. |
| Community | Thongsa community, Chongshing Gewog (block), Pemagatshel. Data collected by: Mr. Pema Choizang, Teacher, Tsebar Lower Secondary School, Pemagatshel. |
Keyword
Information source
National Library and Archives of Bhutan
https://www.library.gov.bt/archive/Materials related to
Photos
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PI00007061
Kam thag-ma (Cotton Woven Cloth)
Colloquially, Mo-ngan kha-mung (Cotton Woven Cloth) is also called as Kam thag-ma in Dzongkha (Bhutanese national language). It is one of the practices in this locality which is the main source of income for most of the household. This has been practiced for many years but when and who had started this practice was not known. The clothes woven out of cotton are found thick and warm compared to the one which is imported. It‘s cost is also high compared to the one which is woven in ordinary yarn and threads. The products are of different colors and patterns. The cost depends upon the color of the cloth and the patterns used. The cost for the men’s clothes is higher than that of women’s. They used local materials for dying for different colors. With the support from the APIC, the people in the village from a small group to uplift and keep the Mo-ngan kha-mung production alive. According to the Chiwog Tshogpa (Community representative), annually a group of people from Japan and other part of the nation used to visit, however due to prolonged lockdown the group is been affected as not so many products are able to sell. Nimin daza also shared her worrisome feelings of dying such age-old method of producing Mo-ngan kha-mung since not so many youths take interest in learning, nevertheless with the support from government (APIC) she is very optimistic that young women may develop interest, unlike the past they need not have to sit for long to separate seed and Mo-ngan.
Bhutan Sat -
PI00007060
Kam thag-ma (Cotton Woven Cloth)
Colloquially, Mo-ngan kha-mung (Cotton Woven Cloth) is also called as Kam thag-ma in Dzongkha (Bhutanese national language). It is one of the practices in this locality which is the main source of income for most of the household. This has been practiced for many years but when and who had started this practice was not known. The clothes woven out of cotton are found thick and warm compared to the one which is imported. It‘s cost is also high compared to the one which is woven in ordinary yarn and threads. The products are of different colors and patterns. The cost depends upon the color of the cloth and the patterns used. The cost for the men’s clothes is higher than that of women’s. They used local materials for dying for different colors. With the support from the APIC, the people in the village from a small group to uplift and keep the Mo-ngan kha-mung production alive. According to the Chiwog Tshogpa (Community representative), annually a group of people from Japan and other part of the nation used to visit, however due to prolonged lockdown the group is been affected as not so many products are able to sell. Nimin daza also shared her worrisome feelings of dying such age-old method of producing Mo-ngan kha-mung since not so many youths take interest in learning, nevertheless with the support from government (APIC) she is very optimistic that young women may develop interest, unlike the past they need not have to sit for long to separate seed and Mo-ngan.
Bhutan Sat -
PI00007059
Kam thag-ma (Cotton Woven Cloth)
Colloquially, Mo-ngan kha-mung (Cotton Woven Cloth) is also called as Kam thag-ma in Dzongkha (Bhutanese national language). It is one of the practices in this locality which is the main source of income for most of the household. This has been practiced for many years but when and who had started this practice was not known. The clothes woven out of cotton are found thick and warm compared to the one which is imported. It‘s cost is also high compared to the one which is woven in ordinary yarn and threads. The products are of different colors and patterns. The cost depends upon the color of the cloth and the patterns used. The cost for the men’s clothes is higher than that of women’s. They used local materials for dying for different colors. With the support from the APIC, the people in the village from a small group to uplift and keep the Mo-ngan kha-mung production alive. According to the Chiwog Tshogpa (Community representative), annually a group of people from Japan and other part of the nation used to visit, however due to prolonged lockdown the group is been affected as not so many products are able to sell. Nimin daza also shared her worrisome feelings of dying such age-old method of producing Mo-ngan kha-mung since not so many youths take interest in learning, nevertheless with the support from government (APIC) she is very optimistic that young women may develop interest, unlike the past they need not have to sit for long to separate seed and Mo-ngan.
Bhutan Sat