Samaguri Satra is the most visited of Majuli's monasteries, famous throughout Assam for its centuries-old tradition of mask-making. The craftsmen here produce the elaborate bamboo-and-cloth masks used in Bhaona, the classical dramatic form Srimanta Sankaradeva created in the 15th century to spread Vaishnavite devotion. The masks — depicting gods, demons, and animals — are vivid, oversized, and extraordinarily detailed: Garuda with outstretched wings, Narasimha with a lion's head, characters from the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
You can watch the mask-makers at work in the open workshops beside the monastery courtyard. The process involves constructing a bamboo armature, layering it with cloth and clay, painting, and finishing — most masks take several weeks. Finished examples hang throughout the compound and are sold to visitors. The prayer hall itself holds regular Borgeet sessions (devotional singing), and the satradhikar is accustomed to visitors who want to understand the tradition rather than just photograph it.