Traditional and Modern Wood Craft of Assam
Traditional practice
The Assam-type house is the region's signature timber building: bamboo lath (ikra) panels plastered with mud, timber posts and beams, a light roof (now GI sheet), raised plinth - cheap, cool and earthquake-tolerant. The Mising chang ghar stands on stilts. Satra culture (Majuli, Barpeta) supports carving of door frames, pillars, lion and bird figures, and the wooden masks of Samaguri Satra, carved from light wood and painted. Naamghar halls use carved timber. Instrument making - khol drums from jackfruit wood, dhol - is a living craft. Bamboo and cane give the jaapi, mats, baskets, sieves, fish traps and furniture; common species are bhaluka (Bambusa balcooa), jati (B. tulda) and cane (Calamus). Institutions such as the Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre, Guwahati, and state bamboo policy support the sector. Species: sal for posts and implements, gamari for furniture, agar for incense and perfume, nahor for beams.
Modern practice
Mechanised furniture units, kiln drying, plywood/MDF/particleboard, modular kitchens, CNC routing, engineered bamboo, and hardware such as hinges and knock-down fittings. Steel and aluminium have replaced timber in many structural roles.
Worked example
A modern stool with a traditional cane seat: sal or gamari legs with machine-cut mortise-and-tenon rails, a cane mat woven on a frame, and a matt PU finish - traditional material, modern joint and finish.
Traps
Calling bamboo a wood; confusing the metal xorai with woodcraft; crediting the jaapi to cane alone; assuming sal is best for carving (it is too hard); describing crafts without naming materials and districts.