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Kui-tha: Himalayan Nettle Fabric
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  • Manage No, Sortation, Country, Writer ,Date, Copyright
    Manage No EE00002188
    Country Bhutan
    ICH Domain Traditional craft skills
    Address
    Lhuentse Dzongkhag stands out as a place of religious and geopolitical importance. It is the place visited and blessed by Guru Padmasambava in the 8th century and Terton (treasurer) Pema Lingpa (1450-1521). It borders Bumthang to the west, Tashiyantse to the east, Mongar to the south and China to the north. The Dzongkhag covers an area of nearly 2,854 square kilometers and lies at an altitude of 600 to 5800 meters above sea level. There are eight gewogs, of which Gangzur is one of the gewogs. The village is located in the north of Lhuentse Dzongkhag under Gangzur Gewog in the mist of towering snow-capped mountains. The village was accessed by a dirt road located about 30 kilometers from the Dzongkhag. The dirt road extends on the left side of Kurichhu. Ney village is originally known as Ney Pema Choeling. Ney means that it is near the eastern gate to Baeyul Khempajong, or that the key to a secret place can be found in this village, which is why it is also called Ney. Pema means that the village looks like a petal of Meto Pema (lotus). It is located in the middle of four mountains and the mountains in four different directions look like the petals of a flower. To the east is Khochungpang ri (mountain ridge), which resembles a jewel called Norbu wangyen. To the west lies Khenjey ri, whose elevations resemble the lifting of an open hand in the air. To the north is the Zhugthri ri, which resembles the Lha-tsok (assembly of deities) sitting on a throne. To the south is the Phagsi ri, which resembles a wild, large boar running through the sky. Choeling means that in this special place Dharma and Buddhism flourished. The sacred site of Baeyul Khempajong had four gates. And the people of Ney consider the eastern gate to the secret land of Khempajong from their village and the path to Ney Tsachu (name of a hot spring) blessed by Guru Rimpoche, also known as Guru Padmasambava, which was later discovered by Torten Pema Lingpa. Khampalung Ney Tsachu and Yoenten Khuenjung Tsachu are also considered to be part of Baeyuel Khempajong. It is also believed that the Khempajong region was once inhabited by King Khikha Ratoe when he was exiled from Tibet by King Trisong Detsen (rn. 775-797). The other is called Pasamlung Tsachu and is a 4-day trek from Ney village. There is also another route from Bumthang Chhoekhor Toe (Upper Bumthang).
    Year of Designation 2002
Description The different species of nettle grow at different altitudes between 1200 and 3000 meters. The tradition of weaving cloth from nettle yarn, which was practiced for decades by the women of Ney village in Gangzur Gewog (block) in Lhuentse Dzongkhag (district), had once disappeared from the village. According to them, it has been more than 40 years since they saw their grandparents weaving cloth from the nettle plant. People used to make thak-pa (rope), khor-ga (bag), shing-ka (old women's clothes), pha-tsa (sacks), bra-gar (old men's clothes), etc. Nettle fabrics are still used for traditional bowstrings in different parts of the country. Nettle plants are readily available in villages, but a series of processes are required to turn them into a fine yarn. It is said that making yarn from nettle plants lost popularity after cotton became readily available. This is also because it is available as a finished product, which reduces the workload. An elderly resident from Ney, Tenzin Wangmo, tells how they use nettle fiber for weaving. She tells that they used to use a different process. First, a hole was dug in which the nettle bark and the hardwoods needed were placed to heat the stone. Then ash mixed with water was applied to the nettle bark and it was placed in the previously dug hole. The bark coated with ash and the hot stone were alternately placed in the hole and covered with thick ash to prevent the fibers from being destroyed by combustion, and kept for 2 to 3 nights. The last process was washing the fibers in a draining river by continuous beating until they were white.
Social and cultural significance The community agreed that community cohesion and identity should be preserved by reviving the weaving tradition. They believe that reviving the tradition of weaving could help boost tourism in their community. This is because their village is on the way to the sacred Ney Tshachu (hot spring) and Baeyel Khempajong. Many people from other villages visit Tshachu every year, but there are very few foreign tourists visiting them. With the help of Gewog administration, they have opened a village inn to promote tourism. People are concerned that this art may disappear in the future because not many young women show interest in the art of weaving from nettle yarn. The supply of other fabrics, the low demand for the products and the small market discourage them from keeping the tradition alive. Today, this composite culture is considered a source of identity and a national asset.
Transmission method The tradition of weaving fabrics from nettle yarn has disappeared for almost four decades. It is important for the community to preserve and protect this tradition. Therefore, with the support of the Tarayana Foundation, they have formed a women's group and revived the tradition of weaving. They are also trained in dyeing the nettle yarn with natural dyes. The foundation also supports them in marketing the product, and they weave tablecloths and shawls that help them generate income for their families. To this day, the women's group, led by Yangchen Tshomo as group secretary, continues and promotes the tradition of weaving cloth from nettle yarn. They weave with their native patterns and color combinations. They display their products during their local festival and when other people visit. The following are the procedures for making nettle fiber: Step 1: Making nettle fiber. I. Harvesting the stem and peeling the bark (Kui): Harvesting of nettle or kui was done according to the type of nettle plant. Ngoi Kuley (Green) was harvested in July-August, Ser Juley (Yellow) is ready for harvest in October-November. The outer green sheath of harvested stems is peeled off within 2 days after harvest. These are warped and stored in buds. II. sun drying: the green bark obtained after peeling is dried in the sun for 1 to 3 days, depending on the exposure to sunlight, to eliminate moisture. III. degumming: degumming is a process of removing heavily coated woody cellular tissue and separating the pectin present around the bark bundle from the stem. For this purpose, the dried nettle bark was boiled with the wood ash mixture in a metal bowl (chagong) for 3 to 4 hours and then washed out in running river or water. IV. beating and washing Usually, the cooked fibers were washed out in the running water of the river with frequent beating with a wooden stick (tha). The beating and washing was done 2 to 3 times to soften the fiber. The extracted fibers were dried on a sunny day depending on the weather conditions. V. Splitting and smoothing: The fiber was further split or broken down into a small size equivalent to the size of a normal double wire, and rolled into balls and bundled. Step 2: Making a yarn After splitting and bundling, the fiber was ready for spinning to turn it into yarn. This is done using a homemade shidang (hand spindle) made of wood or a spinning wheel called a yokpa. The fineness of the yarn depends largely on the skill of the spinner and also on the quality of the fibers. Dyeing (Zhe tse) In this process, the yarns used to make flowers (meto) are boiled in leftover water (ShurKhu) after making Cheese. There are also alternatives such as dyeing the fibers with different types of dried fibers. Step 3: Fabric making Weaving: The backstrap loom (tharbang) is used for weaving fabrics. Two people are needed to prepare the loom. The processing of yarn on the loom included laying down, picking up, battening down and picking up. There are two types of weaving patterns: without flower (karchang) and with flower (meto). Dyeing: - Zim (name of the tree)- Yellow color. - Khuchi Pakpa (walnut blanket)-black color - Tshuth (turnip weed)-Red color - Jatsho-Red color - Doma Pakpa (beetle nut cover)-Red color - Pes Pakpa (onion cover)-Red color - Dungmin Lampan (Mugwort leaf)-Green color - Rezang Meto (Meri Gold)-yellow color - Karma Cheki (plant)-Orange color Associated tools: 1. tha: wooden club 2. chagong: metal bowl 3. tharbang: wooden hand loom 4. yokpa: spinning wheels 5. shidang: spinning wheels
Community According to the oral traditions, no one knows when and how they settled. However, it is believed that they settled during the time of Guru Padmasambava. Once he was blessing the sacred places of Rinchen Bumpa (the vase of jewel) at Kurtoe, he saw a village while he was resting on the rock at utse and he named the village as “Ney Pemachoeling.” Due to the blessing of Guru Padmasambava today the Dru Na Ghu (nine cereals) are reaped in their village. Community is also blessed with the old temple. Ney Lhakhang (temple) was built by the Tibetan saint Lama Namkha and with the help of villagers in 1485. Other account believes that it was built by Lama Zhang. Lama Zhang had promised Tortoen Pema Lingpa to build 108 Lhakhang and the latter was one of them. The main statue of the temple is a Buddha Dodhenma. The unique feature of architecture is doors of all Lhakhang build by him are facing south. According to 2017 statistical report, Ney Chiwog has 325 inhabitants, of which 132 are men and 183 are women. Kurtoep is spoken by the community as their mother tongue. Since the start of Zhisar (rehabilitation project), a mixed language is spoken. On November 1, 2015, the day of the coronation of His Majesty the King, the rehabilitation project in Ney was inaugurated on the occasion of the 60th birthday of His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo. On behalf of His Majesty the King, His Highness the Gyaltshab (Regent) attended the inauguration of the rehabilitation project in Ney village. A total of 51 households from remote and distant villages in eight gewogs of Lhuentse district were rehabilitated in Ney Chiwog (sub block). Data collected by: Mr. Yeshey Gyeltshen, a graduate from Gedu College of Business Studies, Chhukha.
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National Library and Archives of Bhutan
https://www.library.gov.bt/archive/
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