• Risa is one of the three parts of a customary Tripuri female attire, the other two being the Rignai and Rikutu
• The Risa, which is essentially a customary handwoven cloth, is used as a head gear, stole, female upper cloth or presented to honour a distinguished recipient
• The Rignai is primarily used to cover lower part of the body and literally translates into ‘to wear’
• The Rituku covers the upper half of the body, wrapping it all around
• However, it is also used like a ‘chunri’ or a ‘pallu’ of the Indian saree. It is also used to cover the head of newly married Tripuri women

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• The Risa plays a host of crucial social utilities. Adolescent Tripuri girls are first given risa to wear when she reaches 12-14 years in an event called Risa Sormani.
• The event involves prayers to a Lampra god, where her elder women pray for her wellbeing throughout her life. Risa is primarily used as a breastcloth and is wove in different colourful designs
• However, it is also used in religious festivals like the Garia Puja, a customary festival of the tribal communities, or as a head turban by male folks during weddings and festivals, as a cummerbund over dhoti, head scarf by young girls and boys, muffler during winters
• The cloth is even used as a makeshift baby carrier on the mother’s back
• The government is trying to weave the Risa into its policy for self-employment
• As of 2018, Tripura had 1,37,177 handloom weavers, according to the National Handloom Census, with 60 handloom clusters
• However, only a handful of them exclusively work on traditional tribal handloom.