While the exact origin of the textile has yet to be determined, the earliest records date back to 1959, in an official document written by Verrier Elvin, an advisor for tribal affairs in the North-Eastern Frontier Agency (NEFA). In this document, he described the elaborate patterns woven by the Mishmis and the weaving process followed by the tribe. Further, he explained the individualism of the tribe, who weaved detailed designs that suggested certain social and religious concepts.

A folk tale told by the tribe called ‘Hambrumai’ speaks about the origin of weaving according to their ancestors. In this story, a fish named Hambru is caught in a trap laid by Kowonsa, a local fisherman. Hambru’s appearance delights him, and he decides to hide her in a gourd. The next day, when he returns from a routine fishing expedition, the next day, he’s met with an overflow of extraordinary fabric with a fish-scale pattern. This continued every day until Kowonsa decided to stay at home one day. Hiding in the corner of his hut, he was left astonished as Hambru got out of the gourd and transformed into a beautiful girl. She carried a loom and used it to weave the fabric that Kowonsa’s hut overflowed with each day. 

Unbeknownst to him, Humbru was the target of an evil witch’s curse that could only be broken if someone else saw her in her proper form as a girl. When Kowonsa appeared from his hiding spot, the curse broke, and they married each other. After their marriage, Hambru began teaching the village women how to weave. One day, Kowonsa’s carelessness led to Hambru’s loom breaking because of the harsh wind as he had left it out in the courtyard. The legend that follows this particular part of the story says that wherever broken pieces of the loom ended, the people there learned how to weave cloth. This unwittingly spread the word of this craft all around the country and even the world.

Like other communities that weave, the process starts from scratch – the yarn is extracted from the stem of a nettle plant, called ‘malu,’ which is grown in the wild. The dried yarn is shaped into a ball and soaked in hot water. After a while, soda ash is added to the mixture and thoroughly stirred.

 Plant-based dyes are added at this stage if the yarn needs to be dyed a different colour like green, red, or black. Around 15-20 minutes later, the yarn is removed from the mixture and washed with plain water. Once thoroughly dried, it is used in looms and ready to weave.