Neihunuo Sorhie

Neihunuo Sorhie is a craftswoman from Nagaland skilled in weaving, knitting, beadwork and making decorative items and dried-flower pieces. She was named for the Padma Shri in 2023 in the field of art, from Nagaland ^[1].

Weaving from the age of four

Sorhie was born on 23 September 1963 ^[2]. She started learning to weave from her mother at four, and by six could weave cloth, an important skill in a society where weaving has long been a main occupation of women ^[2]. Her father died when she was small, and as the only daughter, with two brothers, she wove alongside her mother ^[2].

Money troubles meant she could not finish school, and weaving became her daily work and then her passion ^[2]. She learned weaving, tailoring and knitting without formal training, and has no regrets ^[2].

Teaching and selling

She has trained about 300 Naga women in weaving on the loin loom, the traditional back-strap loom, along with smaller groups in knitting and beadwork ^[2]. She also teaches school dropouts, widows and students so they can earn their own living ^[2]. For forty years she has run a handloom and handicraft shop in a Kohima market, and she works to keep traditional Naga designs alive ^[2]. She has taken part in more than 120 exhibitions and fairs in India and abroad ^[2].

She received a National Award in 2007 and the Sant Kabir Award in 2018 ^[2].