The Mizoram puan: a single garment, a hundred lives

The puan, the woven wrap of the Mizo people, is worn at every ceremony and in every season — a wardrobe, a uniform and a family record folded into one garment.

Each design family has its own patterns, and the finest puans are heirlooms, woven once and kept for generations.

The market now extends beyond the community, and Mizo weavers are deciding how much of the pattern to share.