Muga: Assamese Gold!

Submitted by aurora on

A silk from Assam that shines like Gold! Muga silk is a wonderful gift of nature extracted from a species of insect not to be found any where in the world except in the North Eastern region of India. Muga Silk is the pride of Assam.The silk produced is known for its glossy fine texture and durability. Due to its low porosity the Muga yarn cannot be bleached nor dyed and its natural golden color is retained. This silk can be hand-washed with its luster increasing after every wash. Very often the silk outlives its owner.

Muga is obtained from semi domesticated silk worm called Aantheraea asamenisis. Antheraea assamensis are raised outdoors primarily on two trees - Som (Machilus bombycina) and Soalu (Litsaea Polyantha). The caterpillars are placed on a tree and when they have stripped the tree of foliage, the caterpillars will make a mass exit down the trunk. They are collected by the keepers and placed on another tree. When ready to spin their cocoons, thesecaterpillars once again exit the tree where they were feeding.

This behavior allows the keepers to collect and control the caterpillars. Each caterpillar is placed into a container made of dried twigs. The peduncle (silk that anchors the cocoon) is very weak; thecaterpillars prefer a low place with numerous twigs to protect them while in their cocoons. The silk is called muga, the Assamese word for the rich amber colour of the cocoon. The muga cocoon has a very weak peduncle and is golden yellow. The cocoons are boiled in soap and soda solution and are reeled in reeling machine.

Chemically speaking Muga, is made of proteins secreted in the fluid state by a caterpillar, popularly known as silkworm. These silkworms feed on the selected food plants and spin cocoons as a protective shell to perpetuate the life. Silkworm has four stages in its life cycle viz. egg, caterpillar, pupa and moth. Man interferes this life cycle at the cocoon stage to obtain the silk a continuous filament of commercial importance used in weaving of the dream fabric. The Muga mekhela-chador is a traditional dress of Assamese women for bihu dances and weddings. It is in demand in Japan to make kimonos, and in countries such as the U.S., Greece, Germany, South Africa and France.In August 2007, The golden-yellow Muga silk of Assam has been granted Geographical Indication (GI) registration by the GI Registry in Chennai. It has been identified as a silk of given quality, reputation and characteristic, attributable to the geographical area of Assam since time immemorial.GI marks out a designated product of a definite geographical territory and is used to identify agricultural, natural or manufactured goods originating from the territory. Such registration confers legal protection in India and the world over, prevents unauthorised use, boosts exports and benefits producers in a given geographical territory.