A Tangaliya Shawl is a handwoven, GI protected shawl and textile made by the Dangasia community in Gujarat, India. [1]
The 700-year-old indigenous craft is native to the Surendranagar district, of Saurashtra-region of the state. Traditional variations like Ramraj, Charmalia, Dhunslu, and Lobdi are woven in village clusters of Dedara, Vastadi, Godavari and Vadla in the district. [2]
The textile is usually used as shawl and wraparound skirt by women of the Bharwad Gopalak community of the Wankaner, Amreli, Dehgam, Surendranagar, Joravarnagar, Botad, Bhavnagar and Kutch areas. [3]
The shawls are woven in pit looms at homes and knot a contrast color thread with the warp, which are woven into the textile to create the effect of raised dots, which have become the signature style of the textile. Besides dots, several, geometric patterns like circles, straight lines, hyperbolic or parabolic designs etc.are also created. [2]
In 2007, with the help of National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), in Gandhinagar, the Tangaliya Hastkala Association (Tangaliya Handicraft Association) was formed, which included 226 Tangaliya weavers from five villages as members. Over the subsequent years, NIFT conducted workshops for skill building, quality control and design development. Eventually, the Tangaliya Hastkala Association (THA) received GI registration status. [1] [2]
These days, the textile is used for dupatta, dress material and home furnishing products like bedsheets and pillow covers. Instead of traditional cotton or sheep wool yarn, merino wool and eri silk are used. [3] [2]
Ikat is a dyeing technique from Indonesia used to pattern textiles that employs resist dyeing on the yarns prior to dyeing and weaving the fabric. The term is also used to refer to related and unrelated traditions in other cultures. In Southeast Asia, where it is the most widespread, ikat weaving traditions can be divided into two general clades. The first is found among Daic-speaking peoples. The second, larger group is found among the Austronesian peoples and spread via the Austronesian expansion. Similar dyeing and weaving techniques that developed independently are also present in other regions of the world, including India, Central Asia, Japan, Africa, and the Americas
Clothing in India varies with the different ethnicities, geography, climate, and cultural traditions of the people of each region of India. Historically, clothing has evolved from simple garments like kaupina, langota, achkan, lungi, sari, to rituals and dance performances. In urban areas, western clothing is common and uniformly worn by people of all social levels. India also has a great diversity in terms of weaves, fibers, colors, and the material of clothing. Sometimes, color codes are followed in clothing based on the religion and ritual concerned. The clothing in India also encompasses a wide variety of Indian embroidery, prints, handwork, embellishments, and styles of wearing clothes. A wide mix of Indian traditional clothing and western styles can be seen in India.
A shawl is a simple item of clothing, loosely worn over the shoulders, upper body and arms, and sometimes also over the head. It is usually a rectangular or square piece of cloth, which is often folded to make a triangle, but can also be triangular in shape. Other shapes include oblong shawls. It is associated with the inhabitants of the northern Indian subcontinent—particularly Kashmir and Punjab—and Central Asia, but can be found in many other parts of the world.
Jamdani is a fine muslin textile produced for centuries in South Rupshi of Narayanganj district in Bangladesh on the bank of Shitalakhwa river.
Khadi, derived from khaddar, is a hand-spun and woven natural fibre cloth promoted by Mahatma Gandhi as swadeshi (self-sufficiency) for the freedom struggle of the Indian subcontinent, and the term is used throughout India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The first piece of the hand-woven cloth was manufactured in the Sabarmati Ashram during 1917–18. The coarseness of the cloth led Gandhi to call it khadi. The cloth is made from cotton, but it may also include silk or wool, which are all spun into yarn on a charkha. It is a versatile fabric that remains cool in summer and warm in winter. To improve its appearance, khadi is sometimes starched to give it a stiffer feel. It is widely accepted in various fashion circles.
A Banarasi sari is a sari made in Varanasi, an ancient city which is also called Benares (Banaras). The saris are among the finest saris in India and are known for their gold and silver brocade or zari, fine silk and opulent embroidery. The saris are made of finely woven silk and are decorated with intricate designs, and, because of these engravings, are relatively heavy.
Embroidery in India includes dozens of embroidery styles that vary by region and clothing styles. Designs in Indian embroidery are formed on the basis of the texture and the design of the fabric and the stitch. The dot and the alternate dot, the circle, the square, the triangle, and permutations and combinations of these constitute the design.
The Ministry of Textiles is an Indian government national agency responsible for the formulation of policy, planning, development, export promotion and regulation of the textile industry in India. This includes all natural, artificial, and cellulosic fibers that go into the making of textiles, clothing and Handicrafts.
Naga shawls are traditional shawls with a distinctive pattern made by various Naga ethnic groups from Nagaland and its neighbouring areas in Northeast India.
The Kashmir shawl, the predecessor of the contemporary cashmere shawl, is a type of shawl identified by its distinctive Kashmiri weave and for being made of fine shahtoosh or pashmina wool. Contemporary variants include the pashmina and shahtoosh shawls. In the late 20th century, they evolved to middle-class popularity through generic cashmere products, and raffal, shawls woven in the Kashmiri style, but using thicker Merino wool. Originally designed as a covering for men in India, it has evolved in the popular cultures of India, Europe, and the United States as indicators of nobility and rank, heirlooms giving on a girl's coming-of-age and marriage, and subsequently, as artistic elements in interior design.
Weaving and cloth trading communities of Western India particularly of Gujarat are called Vankar/Wankar/Vaniya. The four major woven fabrics produced by these communities are cotton, silk, khadi and linen. Today majority of these community members are not engaged in their ancestral weaving occupation still some population of these community contribute themselves in traditional handloom weaving of famous Patola of Patan, Kachchh shawl of Bhujodi in Kutch, Gharchola and Crotchet of Jamnagar, Zari of Surat, Mashroo of Patan and Mandvi in Kutch, Bandhani of Jamnagar, Anjar and Bhuj, Motif, Leheria, Dhamakda and Ajrak, Nagri sari, Tangaliya Shawl, Dhurrie, Kediyu, Heer Bharat, Abhala, Phento and art of Gudri. Vankar is described as a caste as well as a community.
The crafts of India are diverse, rich in history, culture and religion. The craft of each state in India reflect the influence of different empires. Throughout centuries, crafts have been embedded as a culture and tradition within rural communities.
Bagh print is a traditional Indian handicraft originating in Bagh, Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh, India. The process is characterised by hand printed wood block relief prints with naturally sourced pigments and dyes. Bagh print motifs are typically geometric, paisley, or floral compositions design, dyed with vegetable colours of red and black over a white background, and is a popular textile printing product. Its name is derived from the village Bagh located on the banks of the Bagh River.
A Kullu shawl is a type of shawl made in Kullu, India, featuring various geometrical patterns and bright colors. Originally, indigenous Kulivi people would weave plain shawls, but following the arrival of craftspeople from Bushahr in the early 1940s, the trend of more patterned shawls came to rise.
The Toda Embroidery, also locally known as "pukhoor", is an art work among the Toda pastoral people of Nilgiris, in Tamil Nadu, made exclusively by their women. The embroidery, which has a fine finish, appears like a woven cloth but is made with use of red and black threads with a white cotton cloth background. Both sides of the embroidered fabric are usable and the Toda people are proud of this heritage. Both men and women adorn themselves with the embroidered cloaks and shawls.
A Kachchh shawl is a traditional shawl woven in the Kutch region of the Gujarat, India. These are largely woven with Kachchhi motifs in Bhujodi village of Kutch. Traditionally Kachchhi weavers belong to Marwada and Maheswari communities.
The Surat Zari / Jari Craft is a textile product of Surat district in Gujarat, India, which is made from yarns of silk and cotton mixed with gold, silver or copper. The zari threads are used to make intricate designs by weaving into generally silk fabrics. Its use is extensive in textile industries and handicrafts. The Surat Zari is either woven on cloth or hand embroidered to form fabric borders or used as part on the body of the cloth. The zaris are used in fabrics made in Varanasi and a few other places in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Banarasi saris made in Varanasi and Kanjivaram Saris of South India use Surat Zari extensively.
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