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Jaapi

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Jaapi
A jaapi
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Jaapi or Japi (Bodo: Khofri) is an Asian conical hat. It is made from tightly woven bamboo and/or cane and tokou paat (Trachycarpus martianus) a large, palm leaf. The word jaapi derives from jaap meaning a bundle of tokou leaves. In the past, plain jaapis were used by ordinary people in Assam and by farmers for protection from the sun, while ornate decorative jaapis were worn as a status symbol by the royalty and nobility. Decorative sorudoi jaapi are made with intricate cloth designs (primarily red, white, green, blue, and black) that are integrated into the weaving. The upper metal component attached to the top of a jaapi is known in Assamese as sula (Assamese: চূলা), described as a metal, cap-like ornament fixed to the top of the jaapi.[1]The Sula of Japis used by royalty and nobles were made of silver and gold.[2] Besides East and Southeast Asia, rain hats, similar to Jaapi, are spread throughout East India and Nepal, including Bengal, Terai, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. Tribes of Arunachal Pradesh like Mishmi and Adi also wear similar traditional headgear made of bamboo or cane.

Rain hat worn in tribal areas of Chattisgarh, similar to Japi.

History

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The first historical evidence of the use of the conical hat as a royal item is found in relation to the Chutia kingdom. The medieval Chutia kings used the jaapi as a cultural symbol. The last Chutia king gifted gold and silver embroidered Jaapis (Kup-ngiun-kham) to the Ahom king Suhungmung (1497–1539) as presents in his attempts for a treaty in the year 1523.[3][4][5][6][7][8] After annexing Sadiya in 1524, the Ahom king received a lot of treasure and bounty, which included Jaapis.[9] In the year 1525, the Ahom king gifted some of the silver Jaapis obtained from the Sutiya king and other items, to negotiate peace with the Mongkawng chief Phukloimung, a Shan state in present Kachin State of Upper Myanmar (called Nora in Buranjis) who had attacked Sadiya.[10][11][12] During the Ahom rule, Jaapi-hajiya Khel (guild for making Jaapis) was monopolised by Chutias, which indicate that they were experts in weaving Jaapis.[13]

Apart from this, the Baro-Bhuyans of Central Assam are also said to have used Jaapis. As per the Satsari Buranji, the Ahom kings adopted the Tongali, Hasoti and Tokou-patia Japi from the Baro-Bhuyans.[14] In the days of the Ahom kings, the ruling class used different japis according to their status. For instance, the Buragohain, Borpatra gohain and Borgohain, used Pani Japis' and Tupi Japis with gold sula, while the Borphukans used Japis with silver sula as well as Bor Japis.[15]

Regional context

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The jaapi belongs to a wider tradition of woven bamboo-and-leaf headgear used by agricultural communities across eastern and northeastern India. Among the Boros, a comparable rain protector is known as the khophri.[16] It is made from split bamboo, with dried wild leaves placed between the woven layers and its edges reinforced with cane or bamboo. Traditionally worn by both men and women, it is particularly associated with work such as tilling, transplanting rice and preparing paddy fields during the rainy season.[17] Among the Bodos, a Kherai ritual dance known as Khopri Sibnai involves a large headgear made from bamboo strips and dried leaves; the dancer also carries a shield and sword.[18] It is said that Bishnu Prasad Rabha introduced the Jaapi dance into Bihu through the film Joymoti, drawing from tribal dances including the Bodo Khofri Sibnai Mwsanai.[19]

Related forms are found elsewhere in Northeast India. The Monpas of Arunachal Pradesh use a shallow conical hat formed from two woven layers with dried banana-stem material inserted for waterproofing.[20][21] The Adi, including the Galo or formerly Adi-Gallong groups, also manufacture several forms of coiled cane headgear. The bolup, for example, consists of a sturdy semi-elliptical bowl surrounded by a horizontal, boat-shaped rim, although such hats function principally as protective or decorative headgear rather than as broad agricultural rain hats. The Mishmis of eastern Arunachal Pradesh likewise have a tradition of woven cane and bamboo hats. Ethnographic collections record hats belonging to the Mishmi and Idu Mishmi communities, while documentation supported by the Department of Tourism of Arunachal Pradesh identifies cane-hat making as part of the Idu Mishmis' wider traditions of bamboo weaving.[22]

Khumri Rain hat from Chattisgarh

Comparable agricultural rain hats also occur farther west and south in eastern India as well as the Terai region of Nepal. Among the Tharu people of the Terai in southern Nepal, a broad bamboo-and-dried-leaf field hat or parasol known as the chattri is worn while cultivating paddy. Resting on the head like a hands-free umbrella, it protects the wearer from both monsoon rain and the sun.[23][24] Nineteenth-century descriptions of Tharu material life also mention the use of umbrellas made from leaves as protection from the sun.[25] Among the Chuktia Bhunjia people of Odisha, the chhatel or mayer is a broad, flat conical rain hood made by enclosing layers of siali leaves between two interlaced bamboo frames; it was traditionally used while sowing and transplanting paddy.[26] Bamboo-and-leaf rain hats known as palari in Ganjam and chhatur in Kalahandi are similarly worn by farmers, labourers and herders; comparable forms have been reported across eastern India.[27] In neighbouring Bangladesh, a bamboo agricultural hat called the mathal is also traditionally used in farm work.[28] Comparable rainwear was formerly used among the Adivasi communities of Bastar in present-day Chhattisgarh. Local rain hats called chettris, together with leaf raincoats called sonas, were made from dried sal leaves and worn when travelling to village markets during rainfall.[29] In other parts of central India, ethnographic collections record the khumari or khumri, described as a traditional rain hat, together with related rain shields or raincoats known as khumri or chhateli.[30] Mahul leaves continue to be used locally in Chhattisgarh to improvise hats that protect cattle herders from heavy rain.[31]

These regional forms share the use of locally available bamboo, cane and leaves, layered construction for waterproofing, and an association with cultivation under monsoon conditions. The Assamese jaapi developed its own distinctive varieties and acquired additional courtly, ceremonial and decorative functions within Assam.

Cultural symbol

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Today the jaapi is an important symbol of Assam and its culture. It is used during Bihu dance, as protection against the elements, offered as a sign of respect in ceremonies, and placed as a decorative item around the house especially in the walls as a welcome sign.[32][33]

Types

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  • Sorudoi japi: Used by women, especially brides.
  • Bordoi japi: Used by royalty since ancient times (Kamrupa).
  • Panidoi/Haluwa japi: Used by farmers in fields.
  • Garakhiya japi: Used by cattle herders.
  • Pitha japi: Used as hoods, sometimes during cultivation.
  • Tupi/Varun japi: Used in rain as protective hats.
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See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "চূলা". Xobdo. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  2. ↑ Bhuyan, S.K, "Satsari Assam Buranji,p.199
  3. ↑ "Then the Sutiyâ king desired to send silver and gold lipped Jâpi (Kup-ngiun-kham), gold bracelets (Mao-kham), gold basket (Liu-kham), gold box (Khup-kham), gold foot bangles (Khu-tin-kham), gold pirâ (Kham-ku), horse (Ma), elephant (Chang-pai), and two Âroans (Phra-nun) and Xorais (Phun) to the Ahom king."(Jacquesson:12)
  4. ↑ (Barua 1939:56)
  5. ↑ Goswami, Hemchandra,Purani Asam Buranji,"সোণৰ খাপৰ চিকন জাপি এটা",p.41.
  6. ↑ Mahanta,S. Assam Buranji.D.H.A.S.,1945, p.9.
  7. ↑ Bhuyan,SK,"Deodhai Assam Buranji,"সোণৰ পাত বন্ধা জাপি ১ টা", p.17
  8. ↑ Khanikar 1991, p. 100.
  9. ↑ Mahanta 1945, p. 10.
  10. ↑ (Barua 1939:58)
  11. ↑ Bhuyan,SK, Deodhai Assam Buranji, "পাছে আমাৰ ৰজাদেৱে দিলে ফুক্লইমুং নৰাৰজালৈ নাংখামপই নামে কন্যা এজনী, ধন্যবাদ হাতী এটা, ৰূপৰ চূলাৰে জাপি দুটা।"
  12. ↑ Bhuyan 1960, p. 62.
  13. ↑ "The Chutias were engaged in all kind of technical jobs of the Ahom kingdom. For example, the Khanikar Khel (guild of engineers) was always manneed by the Sutiyas. The Jaapi-Hajiya Khel (guild for making Jaapis) was also monopolished by them."(Dutta 1985:30)
  14. ↑ Bhuyan 1960, p. 135.
  15. ↑ Bhuyan, S.K, "Satsari Assam Buranji,p.199
  16. ↑ Bodo tribe Khofri hat from Udalguri district
  17. ↑ Narzary, Sibisan (2019). Material Culture of the Boros: With Special Reference to Cultivation (PDF) (M.Phil. dissertation). Kokrajhar: Bodoland University. pp. 37–39. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  18. ↑ Hajowary, Tapasi (2022). "The Dance Forms of a Doudini in Kherai Festival of the Bodos of Assam: An Analytical Study from Religious Perspective". ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts. 3 (2): 24. doi:10.29121/shodhkosh.v3.i2.2022.148. This dance is also known as Khopri Sibnai dance. Khopri is a large head gear made of bamboo strips and dried leaves.
  19. ↑ Nayak, Arunav Kumar (20 June 2024). "Bishnu Rabha: The Man and the Legend". The Sentinel. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
  20. ↑ "Bamboo and Cane Culture of Meghalaya". Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  21. ↑ "Bamboo and Cane Culture of Arunachal Pradesh". Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  22. ↑ "Traditional Cane Hats of the Idu Mishmis". Google Arts & Culture. Banglanatak. 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  23. ↑ "7 Nepali topi types used in Nepal besides Dhaka topi". Onlinekhabar English. 2 January 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  24. ↑ "Tharu Essentials That Built a Culture: Inside Traditional Life in Bardiya". Bardiya Nature Lodge. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  25. ↑ Gazetteer of the Province of Oudh. Vol. 2. Lucknow: Government Press. 1877.
  26. ↑ Sabar, Bhubaneswar; Pradhan, Paramatap (2025). "Material Culture of Chuktia Bhunjia Tribes of Odisha: An Anthropological Interpretation" (PDF). Man in India. 105 (1–2): 60. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  27. ↑ Sainath, P. (6 July 2017). "Make in India – with bamboos and leaves". People's Archive of Rural India. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  28. ↑ Banu, Zinat Mahrukh. "Bamboo Craft". Banglapedia. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  29. ↑ "Tribal Life". Investment Opportunities in Chhattisgarh (Report). Government of Chhattisgarh. pp. 18–19.
  30. ↑ Mohanta, Basanta Kumar; Tripathy, Byomakesh (2016). "Role of Ethnographic Museum of IGNTU, Amarkantak for Conservation of the Tribal Cultural Heritage of Central India". Recent Researches on the Tribes of Central India. Vol. 2. New Delhi: Aayu Publications. pp. 484–494. ISBN 978-93-85161-18-6.
  31. ↑ Niyogi, Deepanwita Gita (16 September 2023). "Forest Dweller on Growing Up With Mahul Leaves". The Quint. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  32. ↑ Handoo 2003, p. 46.
  33. ↑ Assam General Knowledge. Bright Publications. p. 98. ISBN 9788171994519.
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