Mcb777 LoginAssam's Handmade Jewellery Receives Prestigious GI Tag: A Blend of Heritage and Craftsmanship

With the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, Axomiya Gohona gains cultural and regional recognition

Vibrant, timeless: Assamese jewellery secures GI tag

Representative photo. Image credit: @sarbanandsonwal

Jewellery steeped in culture

Axomiya Gohona, derived from the Assamese language, combines ‘Axomiya’ (relating to Assam or its people) and ‘gohona’ (jewellery or ornaments). Essentially, it’s a collection of handmade traditional Assamese jewellery, including necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and rings.
Crafted primarily from gold, each piece is adorned with gemstones and enamel in rich shades of red, black, green, blue, and white. Skilled artisans meticulously create these ornaments using time-honoured techniques, preserving Assam’s heritage of ﬁne jewellery craftsmanship.

Priyanka Chopra wore a traditional Assamese pearl-white sari, pairing it with junbiri and golpota style Axomiya gohona during the Awesome Assam campaign in 2018 (left)/Model and athlete Ankita Konwar, who married actor and model Milind Soman in 2018, wore traditional Assamese necklaces of lokaparo, junbiri and dholbiri style for her wedding rituals (right)

Reﬂects cultural symbols

Axomiya gohona’s designs are inspired from Assam’s nature, musical instruments, and cultural symbols. Motifs include birds like the fan-tailed pigeon (lokaparo) and hawk-eagle (hensor ai), musical instruments like drum (dhol) and hornpipe pair (juripepa), and animals.

Indian jewellery with GI tags

Payyannur Pavithra Ring Kerala (2004): A sacred handcrafted gold ring
Temple Jewellery of Nagercoil Tamil Nadu (2007): A traditional form of handcrafted gold jewellery known for its divine motifs, intricate designs
Thewa Art Work of Pratapgarh Rajasthan (2014): This 400-yearold craft is a unique Rajasthani jewellery-making technique that involves fusing intricately designed gold sheets onto coloured glass
Bead Jewellery of Varanasi Uttar Pradesh (2016): Also known as Kashi Beads Jewellery, it is famous for its colourful, handcrafted glass and wooden bead
Cuttack Rupa Tarakasi Odisha (2024): It refers to ornaments of silver ﬁligree
Bronze Jewellery of Gopalganj West Bengal (2024): It refers to the traditional craft of creating bronze ornaments
Hyderabad Lac Bangles Telangana (2024): The bangles are made from natural lac (a sticky substance) and studded with colourful stones
Kavdi Maal of Tuljapur Maharashtra (2024): It is a shell-bead necklace