GUWAHATI: When Theyie Keditsu started wearing mekhala (a traditional sarong or wrap-around worn by women in parts of the Northeast), she was scolded by an elderly woman at work, saying she was too young to wear it. There were others who thought the outfit was “provocative”.
Three years later, there is a growing craze among young Naga women to try out mekhala the way the 37-year-old wears it. Theyie, a lecturer in Kohima College, took to Instagram last year to popularise the attire. With 5,000 followers and counting, her handle, @mekahalamama, has started trending. Young women write to her saying that inspired by her, they have vowed to wear mekhala on Sundays.
“When I started wearing mekhala, it was the reactions of people around me that prompted me to start the Instagram account. While many expressed appreciation, there were also snickers and questions from those who perceived this style choice as either regressive or provocative. It led to my conversations with older women, women my age and younger friends and students. I realised that instead of talking about my passion and belief that it was possible for women of all ages, shapes and sizes and style inclinations to wear mekhala regularly, I could show them by documenting my own looks and experiments,” she told The Sunday Standard.
Most women in rural Nagaland wear mekhalas. Its use is, however, shrinking in urban areas where it’s now become an attire meant only for special occasions such as weddings, Sunday church service etc. According to Theyie, that is because women feel it is uncomfortable, clumsy, expensive, dowdy and old-fashioned. Also, there is an elitist bias that it is worn by women who are generally uneducated, working class or villagers, she says.
However, she feels that it’s possible to be fashion forward and hold on to tradition at the same time and that’s what she is trying to show by sporting the traditional Naga weave.
“My Instagram account is my way of spreading awareness. The response has been fantastic. I don’t know if I would go to the extent of calling this a movement yet. But I have connected with so many women via Instagram as well as in person who say that this account has made them rethink their notions of mekhalas and they feel ready to wear it more often. They send me photos and it is great because it’s like a ‘mekhala sisterhood’ that I am now part of,” Theyie says .
When asked if mekhala has become a symbol of cultural revivalism, she says, “Most mekhalas are woven on the back-strap loom by local women. Indigenous weaving industry is a vital cultural institution... I try to show that mekhala can be relevant by incorporating global fashion influences in one’s looks. This is possible by experimenting with what you wear with mekhalas, as I do — colour/texture choices, accessories and playing around with wrapping styles.”