Backstrap Looming: Sarmoli

Backstrap looming in the Himalayas is an intimate and body-led form of weaving, where the loom is held in tension between a fixed point and the weaver’s own waist. Around Munsiyari, weaving has long been tied to wool, migration, trade, and mountain life. Women have used simple looms and hand-spun fibres to make shawls, blankets, carpets, and everyday textiles, carrying forward patterns and skills shaped by the cold climate, pastoral movement, and the old Indo-Tibetan trade routes.