Chin Textile

In 2006, the first exhibition devoted to Chin textiles was organised by the Textile Museum, showing pieces from Mandalay to Chittagong

This man’s loin was exhibited in a landmark exhibition in 2006 Mantles of Merit: Chin Textiles from Mandalay to Chittagong at the old Textile Museum in Washington DC. It showed of textiles of the Chin peoples of western Myanmar (Burma), northeastern India and eastern Bangladesh. nearly 80 ceremonial mantles, tunics and other garments, along with contemporary and historic photographs as well as jewellery and accessories worn with the artefacts. It is the first major exhibition devoted to the craft of the Chin, an ethnic group comprised of some two million people speaking 44 languages. Textiles play a central role in their social life, illustrating an individual’s success in achieving merit in this life and the next through worldly activities such as hosting feasts and bagging big game.

Man’s loincloth, Khamau, Myanmar, circa 1800-1900, The Textile Museum