🌟 6 new Bodo GI tags under process — Maibra Mairong, Shamo Wngkhri, Thungri, Gambari Khamphlai, Sijou & Uwal GahenBodo cultural treasures now carry the Geographical Indication (GI) tagPreserving Aronai, Dokhona & Eri Silk — the living handloom of BodolandKham, Serja & Sifung — the traditional soundscape of the Bodo peopleNapham, Narzi, Ondla & more — heritage food of Bodoland gets GI recognitionPartner with us to empower artisan communities across the Bodoland Territorial Region🌟 6 new Bodo GI tags under process — Maibra Mairong, Shamo Wngkhri, Thungri, Gambari Khamphlai, Sijou & Uwal GahenBodo cultural treasures now carry the Geographical Indication (GI) tagPreserving Aronai, Dokhona & Eri Silk — the living handloom of BodolandKham, Serja & Sifung — the traditional soundscape of the Bodo peopleNapham, Narzi, Ondla & more — heritage food of Bodoland gets GI recognitionPartner with us to empower artisan communities across the Bodoland Territorial Region

Bodoland GI HeritageThe Living Heritage of Bodoland

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Digital Museum

The Living Heritage of Bodoland

A curated digital gallery of all the Geographical Indication registered treasures of the Bodo people — woven textiles, resonant instruments, heritage foods and traditional brews. Step through each collection and discover the stories they carry.

GI 607Textiles & Handloom

Bodo Jwmgra

Jwmgra; Zwmgra

Jwmgra is a traditional Bodo women’s scarf (264 cm by 107 cm) used to cover the upper body, worn all year round paired with the Dokhona. Woven in red, yellow and white with minor patterns of orange and black, it carries strong sociological significance.

GI 616Musical Instruments

Bodo Gongona

Gongona; Gonggwna; Gangana; jaw harp

Gongona is a Bodo jaw harp — a flat bamboo reed instrument (6–7 inches long) played by gripping the solid end with the teeth and striking the free end with the fingers to produce a distinctive twanging, resonating sound. It is mostly played by women and girls during Bwisagu and Domashi.

GI 605Textiles & Handloom

Bodo Dokhona

Dokhona; Dokhona Thaosi

The Dokhona is the main traditional dress of Bodo women — a 3 m by 1.5 m wraparound cloth covering the body from chest to legs, worn in two folds. It is central to festivals, the Bagurumba dance and wedding ceremonies, where the bridal “Dokhona Thaosi” (pure Dokhona) is worn.

GI 649Traditional Beverages

Bodo Jou Gishi

Jou Gishi; Zou Gishi; rice beer

Jou Gishi is the everyday traditional rice beer of the Bodo people — a transparent golden-yellow fermented drink (pH ~4.21, about 5–6.4% alcohol) that occupies a special place in the community for its taste, nutritive value and social and ritual importance.

GI 608Textiles & Handloom

Bodo Gamsa

Gamsa

Gamsa is the main traditional dress of Bodo men — a cloth (1.5–2 m long) worn wrapped around the hips, falling to the knee. Green Gamsa with a white border is worn as wedding attire and is compulsory while worshipping the deity.

GI 614Musical Instruments

Bodo Sifung

Sifung; Siphung; Shiphung; Ciphung

Sifung is a long Bodo bamboo flute (27–29 inches) — much longer than other flutes — with one blowing hole and five finger holes, in contrast to the seven-holed Indian bansuri. It produces a softer tone and is central to Bodo music and dance.

GI 617Musical Instruments

Bodo Jotha

Jotha; Zotha; cymbal

Jotha is a basin-shaped cymbal, a Bodo metal percussion instrument played in equal pairs to create a bell-like sound. It carries religious importance and is played during Kherai puja, Garja puja, Bwisagu and Domashi.

GI 647Food & Agro Heritage

Bodo Gwkha Gwkhwi

Gwkha Gwkhwi; Gwkha-Gwkhwi

Gwkha-Gwkhwi is an ethnic Bodo cuisine — a bitter, sour and pungent mixture of many wild plants — prepared during the Bwisagu festival. Bodos believe it acts as a medicine against various diseases for the whole year.

GI 651Food & Agro Heritage

Bodo Narzi

Narzi; jute leaf curry

Narzi is a semi-fermented/dried food product made from jute leaves — a bitter, uniquely flavoured Bodo delicacy with noteworthy nutritional and medicinal value, and a rich source of Omega-3 fatty acids.

GI 611Food & Agro Heritage

Bodo Gongar Dundia

Gongar Dundia; Gongar Dunjia; spiny coriander; cilantro

Gongar Dundia (Eryngium foetidum, “spiny coriander”) is a valuable aromatic culinary herb of Bodoland containing 0.1–0.95% essential oil, with an aroma deeper and stronger than coriander. It is a prized substitute for coriander, rich in iron, carotene, riboflavin, calcium and vitamins.

GI 650Traditional Beverages

Bodo Maibra Jou Bidwi

Maibra Jou Bidwi; Maibra Zou Bidwi; rice beer

Maibra Jou Bidwi is the traditional rice beer of the Bodo community, brewed from the special glutinous rice “Maibra”. Sweet as honey with a strong flavour, it is used in cultural festivals and religious rituals and served as a welcome drink, carrying social status and prestige.

GI 613Musical Instruments

Bodo Serja

Serja; Serza; Sherja; Sherza

Serja is a traditional bowed stringed instrument of the violin family with four strings, producing intense, melodious music. It holds great ceremonial significance in marriage ceremonies and the Bwisagu and Domashi festivals of Bodoland.

GI 644Textiles & Handloom

Bodo Aronai

Aronai

The Aronai is the most iconic Bodo textile — a small sacred scarf (1.5–2.5 m long, 0.5 m wide) worn as a guard of honour across the chest and shoulders. It is used to felicitate guests, relatives and elders as a gift of honour, offered at the altar of Bathou Borai, and given to warriors to honour their valour.

GI 615Food & Agro Heritage

Bodo Khardwi

Khardwi; Kharwi; thalir; kolakhar

Khardwi is one of the most popular traditional foodstuffs of Bodo cuisine — an alkaline ash extract used as a natural food additive that acts like cooking soda and is the source of the distinctive salty taste in Bodo/Assamese food. It is now a star item in restaurants serving Bodo/Assamese cuisine.

GI 606Textiles & Handloom

Bodo Eri Silk

Indi Zi; Indi Silk; Ahimsa Silk; Vanya Silk

Bodo Eri Silk, locally called Indi Zi, is an “Ahimsa” or peace silk produced without killing the silkworm. The Bodos are considered among the first to introduce sericulture and silk rearing in India, and Eri is regarded as the very legacy of the community.

GI 612Musical Instruments

Bodo Kham

Kham; Madal

Kham, also known as Madal, is the most important Bodo percussion instrument — a large double-headed drum, small on one side and larger on the other, played with both hands and slung from the neck or hip with a jute band. No Bodo celebration is complete without it.

GI 610Musical Instruments

Bodo Thorkha

Thorkha; Owakhuang; bamboo clapper

Thorkha, also called the bamboo clapper or “Owakhuang”, is one of the eight classic Bodo musical instruments — a bamboo slapstick (2½–3 feet long) played by holding it in both hands and striking to create a rhythmic clapping sound, mainly during Bwisagu and Domashi.

GI 645Food & Agro Heritage

Bodo Napham

Napham; Nafam; fermented fish

Napham is a unique fermented fish preparation of Bodoland — one of the most important and favourite fermented fish cuisines of the Bodo people, consumed as a condiment or gravy with rice. It is a rich source of minerals and essential amino acids (about 32% essential amino acids).

GI 646Food & Agro Heritage

Bodo Ondla

Ondla; Onla; rice powder curry

Ondla (Onla) is a traditional Bodo cuisine prepared from pounded rice powder cooked with vegetables and spices into a thick, creamy curry. A staple of Bodo cuisine passed down through generations, it is served at weddings and festivals as a symbol of community and togetherness.

GI 609Food & Agro Heritage

Bodo Keradapini

Keradapini; Kheradaphini; Premna herbacea

Keradapini (Premna herbacea) is a rare edible aromatic herb of the Bodoland forests — an important non-conventional food source for indigenous Bodo communities, added to curry for flavour and valued as a nutritious diet for children, lactating mothers, pregnant women and adults.

GI 648Traditional Beverages

Bodo Jou Gwran

Jou Gwran; Zou Gwran; distilled rice liquor

Jou Gwran is a distilled Bodo rice liquor — the strongest of the community’s rice beverages, with an alcohol content of about 16.11% — producing a transparent liquid with the highest reducing-sugar and protein content. It is used in marriage, worship and all social occasions.