Gamosa, the Traditional Handloom Artefact of Assam: A Case Study

Abstract

Gamosa, the Traditional Cultural Expression (TCE) of Assam is a handloom cloth, which usually has a white background, withred stripes on its three sides and floral motifs on the fourth side towards its breadth, possessing a sacred value and is offered as asign of love, affection, and respect. Gamosa is also available in yellow, green, blue, and chocolate colour as per the regionalvariations in the state. This is a widely consumed product for its varied innumerable utility. Increasing demand of the productresulted in its rapid commercialization through power loom replicas affecting the social and economic output of indigenousweavers. This led to the present-day infringement of Gamosa, trademark violation and revenue leakage. This paper tries todiscuss about the current condition of Gamosa industrially and socially along with the importance of protecting this handloomartefact via quasi-legal tools such as IPR instruments. The methodology used in the study is ethnographical and select interviewsconducted with the subject matter experts and stakeholders. The research finding is about the gap which is acting as catalyst forthe present condition of Gamosa. The gap indicates on what the demand side (consumers) wants in the product and what thestakeholders are producing as per the common market demand which lacks the authenticity of the product. The limitation of thepresent study lies in the absence of the detailed ethnographic study of Gamosa which varies from district to district in the state,which can be done shortly soon.