Historically, the great Bodos were known as the Mech. Even today, the Bodos living in West Bengal, Nagaland and Nepal are called Mech. The Bodo-Kacharis have settled in most areas of North-East India, and parts of Nepal.
Weaving is an integral part of Bodo culture. Many families rear their own silkworms, the cocoons of which are then spun into silk. Bodo girls learn to weave from a young age, and no Bodo courtyard is complete without a loom. Most women weave their own Dokhonas (the traditional dress of the Bodo women) and shawls.
Since ancient times, the indigenous people like Bodos were accustomed with the production of clothes from the thread of Eri and Muga. The Eri cloth is of dub colour and is durable. It is light but warm … in ordinary cold season, the wrap of the Assamese (referring to the people of ancient Assam including all tribes) is generally made of this cloth. Bodo women are expert in rearing the “Endi Emphou ” ( Eri worm ) and “ Muga latha ” ( Muga worm ) and pulling out threads from them. They weave different kind of clothes like “ Dokhona “ (women’s dress for covering the whole body ), “ Jumgra “ ( chadar or orna or scarves), Gamusa (cloth for covering the lower part of the body and also a s a substitute for a towel), “ Phali “ or “ Rumal ” (handkerchief ), “ Shima “ (big and wide cloth used as rugs during the winter season ) etc. out of the threads of Eri and Muga. Traditionally Bodo menfolk used to wear “Gamsha “ (Gamusaa in Assamese ) to cover the body from waist down
to the knee. There was no use of shirt in the past. They only used a type of cloth known as “Jumgra “made of Eri thread and a small cloth on the shoulder during the winter and summer season respectively.
A Bodo woman wears her “Dokhona “covering the body from the chest down to the ankle. Its length and breadth are made in such a way that it can be tied one round at a time at the waist. Dokhona is made of varied colours and “Agor” or (phul in Assamese) . The Dokhona without agor or phul is called “salamatha “ or “ matha ”. “Dokhona Thaosi “ (pure Dokhona) is generally used as bridal attire, “boirathi” and “doudini”
Bodo women wear various colours of scarf full of Agor (handworked design) to beautify themselves. The favourite colours of the Bodos are generally Gamo (Yellow), Gothang (Green) and Bathogang (the colour of parrot’s feathers).
