The Mizo Thangchhuah Puan

Abstract: The highest status mantle of the Mizo Chin people is the thangchhuah puan , which traditionally could be worn only by those who had attained merit, as by hosting a prescribed series of feasts. This article describes three early thangchhuah puan and compares them to more recent examples. Those mantles suggest that the earliest examples have a grid of fine warp and weft red or white lines on an indigo field of homespun cotton, whereas later examples may add elements from other Mizo cloths, differ in the color of lines or ground, use commercial yarns, or dispense with the grid.