Acheik

What it is

Acheik is the Burmese name for a woven pattern of long waves broken by horizontal stripe bands, with arabesque detail added inside the curves. The fuller name, luntaya acheik, points to the tooling behind it: luntaya means a hundred shuttles, and a single length can call for 50 to 200 of them, each carrying a different coloured silk. The work takes at least two weavers at the loom. Acheik cloth is most often made into a paso, the wrap men wear, or a htamein, the skirt-like garment worn by women.

Origins and history

Weaving of acheik is traced to Amarapura, near the Pahtodawgyi pagoda. One account says the word comes from Letcheik Row, the quarter where the weavers lived; before that the pattern was called waik, after its zig-zag. According to some sources, Manipuri weavers brought the design in the late 1700s, though no Manipuri cloth closely matches it. Others link the waves to Neolithic motifs and to natural shapes such as clouds and water, or to gifts sent to the Burmese court. Designs of this family appear on Pyu pottery and on Bagan-era temple walls.

How it is woven

The loom carries many shuttles, and two weavers sit at it together, passing and locking the colours so the wave shapes stay continuous across the cloth. Because each shade needs its own shuttle, the work is slow and costly. Colour choices for acheik are bold and contrasting but drawn from a narrow range, which makes the surface appear to shift and shimmer in the light, what the sources call a trompe-l'oeil effect. Men wear the plainer versions, with zig-zag, cable or interlocking lappet motifs; cloth for women carries softer undulating waves with floral or creeper arabesques.

Today and change

Amarapura and Wundwin are still the main places where acheik is woven domestically. The trade is a cottage industry, meaning much of it happens in small workshops and homes rather than factories, and it has been shaken by cheaper machine-made copies produced in China and India. Under the Konbaung dynasty, before those changes, the pattern was restricted by sumptuary laws, rules that limited who might wear it. Only members of the royal court, officials and their followers were allowed acheik clothing. Those rules no longer apply, and weavers continue to make cloth for paso and htamein.

How Acheik is kept

Two weavers or more work the loom together. Each shuttle holds one colour of silk, and the weavers pass and lock them in sequence so that the waves and stripe bands stay unbroken across the width of the cloth. Because every shade needs its own shuttle, a single piece can call for 50 to 200 of them, which is why the work is slow and expensive. The finished acheik cloth is then cut and sewn into a paso for men or a htamein for women. Amarapura and Wundwin are the main centres where this continues.

When and where

Acheik belongs to Myanmar. Weaving is traced to Amarapura, near the Pahtodawgyi pagoda, and Amarapura and Wundwin are still the main centres of the craft. Older designs of the same family appear on pottery from the Pyu city states and on wall paintings from the Bagan Kingdom. Cheaper machine-made copies from China and India now compete with the domestic trade.

What Acheik means

For those who wear it, acheik carries a memory of the Burmese court. Under the Konbaung dynasty, rules known as sumptuary laws set out who was permitted to wear it, and the pattern belonged to royalty, officials and their entourages. Some suggest the waves draw on Neolithic motifs and on natural phenomena such as water, clouds and the plants around the weavers, though this is offered as one possible inspiration rather than a settled point. The shimmering surface, made by holding bold colours within a narrow range, gives the cloth a shifting quality.

Questions people ask about Acheik

See also

LongyiA tube of cloth worn from waist to feet in Myanmar, folded shut with no knotNat worshipVeneration of guardian spirits and nature deities alongside Buddhism in MyanmarYoke théA classical Burmese string puppet theatre performed with complex marionettes and music.KathinaA Buddhist season of offering new robes and gifts to monks after the rains retreat

Good reading and sources

• Silk Acheik-Luntaya | UnknownV&A, Article
• Silk Acheik-Luntaya | UnknownV&A, Article

• Acheik on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-09.