Moirang Phee

In Manipur it is the Meitei (Manipuri) women, rather than the men, who traditionally took up weaving as part of their domestic chores. The art is introduced to girls at a young age, but in some Meitei clans it is taken up extensively by married women, while in other clans it is practiced only by unmarried girls.

While the Moirang Phee is now woven throughout the state, it was originally woven in the Moirang village in Manipur, 'Phee’ means cloth in Meitei. Weaving of the saree was derived as an extension of the wrap ‘Innaphi’ that is paired with the traditional sarong ‘Phanek.’ It takes 2 skilled artisans to simultaneously weave a saree with intricate extra weft motifs and the distinct temple border designs.