Lotus Weaving

Lotus Weaving in Inle Lake- Myanmar Traditional Weaving

Inle Lake is a distinctive Myanmar tourist attraction that has been very popular with visitors. Apart from floating villages, leg rowers, fishermen, and magical landscape, lotus weaving is an exquisite handicraft of Intha people that will give you an exceptional experience in your Inle Lake tour. For a long time, the Intha has made their living from the beautiful lotus stems on the largest freshwater of Myanmar, and, day by day in the far-flung villages, skillful artisan sitting at their looms and creating the world’s most precious and finest fabric from lotus.

Legend & Origin of Lotus Weaving in Inle Lake

The birth of lotus weaving in Inle Lake is said to date back to more than century ago when an artisan named Paw Sar Ou started noticing at the fine fibers of lotus stems on the blossoming lotus growing on the lake. That when she cut the lotus stem and pulled the halves gently, the thread appeared. Additionally, the beauty of the lotus symbolizes of the purity in the Buddhist mind that inspired her to devote the elegant flowers into a special robe to the head Abbot at the Buddhist temple that she visited. Legend said that it took her a whole year to extract and weave lotus fibers into a robe and gave it to the Abbot as an offering. As one of Myanmar’s iconic textiles, one can only find lotus woven products in Inle Lake, Shan State. The material of lotus silk is unlike any other. It is known for its versatile functions, which the wearer will be kept warm in the cold weather, and cool when it is hot. It also never wrinkles. For decades, women of Inle weave lotus fibre into scarves and garments using traditional looms using knowledge and skill passed down by their ancestors and remembered by heart. The result? An elegant piece of handwoven lotus fibre fabric that is smooth and soft to the touch. The process of weaving this fine piece of art is complex and time-consuming — it takes up to an entire day to complete a single scarf. This exotic textile can be sold at a very high price, depending on its quality and detail.Lotus silk is not only a precious heritage that makes up part of Myanmar’s identity, but it also holds a traditional value to the people of Inle. Weavers believe that wearing lotus fabric wards off bad elements and brings good luck.