The village of Bomkai in the Chikiti tehsil in Ganjam District, near the Andhra border lends its name to the Bomkai sari. The Vaishnava Chikiti ruler patronized, along with theatrical dance and stilt opera, the Bomkai sari. Bomkai represents one of the weaving traditions of Odisha that combine different techniques.
Created with the three-shuttle weaving technique and the extra healed shaft design on primitive pit looms, it is a labour- intensive product, and hence expensive. Bomkai saris combine Bandha and supplementary threadwork. This is called ‘Kapta Jala’ which refers to the dobby mechanism (jala). The Bomkai sari was traditionally worn by high-caste Brahmins during rituals and ceremonies. Certain saris have specific religious purposes: The white Badasaara sari is used by the Saura and Kandha tribes to wrap the statues of their deities whereas the kala Badasaara is draped behind the image of the goddess Thakurani.
Field: The Bomkai saris are always brightly dyed (often black, red, or white/offwhite bases). The body of the sari is ‘accented with a single butta or motif of a bird on a tree’.
Border: For the border, popular motifs are dalimba or pomegranate corns and saara or seeds topped with a row of Kumbha or temple spires. Both the dalimba and the saara are diamond shaped beads where the former has a dot within and the saara is halved vertically.
A broad band of supplementary warp patterning, creating a latticework of small diamond shapes is the usual design.
This is known as Muha-Johra or ‘end-piece with joined threads’ (muha = face; johra = join). To achieve a solid colour effect in the pallu, two different coloured warp threads are twisted with starch and joined at the junction where the pallu and body meet. (A muha-johra bada-saara is a sari that is ‘blood red in colour and has dotted diamonds [saara] in the border.)
In the Bomkai sari, on a bright background, the weavers create panels of contrasting motifs in the anchal or pallu. The motifs are many: karela or bitter gourd, atasi flower, kanthi phul or small flower, macchi or fly, rui macchi or carp-fish, koincha or tortoise, padma or lotus, mayura or peacock, and charai or bird, being some of the more common ones. Motifs are freely composed. Like other traditional saris, the pallu is very intricate and ornamental. As only the rich Brahmins wore this sari, each piece was different, thus making each creation an exclusive one.
Traditionally, vegetable dyes were used: myrobalan for black, turmeric for yellow, lac for dark red/ maroon, girmati or ochre treated with ghee for light red, and acacia skin for chrome orange.
Dolabedi: Woven as a Bomkai on a Jala loom, it takes its inspiration from the Dol / Vasantotsav / Holi festival of Spring. The Deities are dressed inside the Sanctum Santorum on the Ratnavedi, in “Suna vesha” or cloth of gold - the “Rajavesha”.
Outside swings or Dola are set up, beautifully decorated in different colours. The sawari or chalanti murti of the deities are set up in these swings and the round-eyed Lord is worshipped as Dhol Gobindo and smeared with colours and flowers by devotees.
In ancient times Dola Utsav was celebrated on a pavilion situated in the Agni kona (South East corner) of the Jagannath Temple. The pavilion is called the Dola Mandap and the street is called Dolamandap Sahi. Once in a celebration, Shribhuja (hand) of Lord Jagannath broke due to an accidental breakage of the swing. After that incident, the representative deity (Chalanti Pratima – Bije Pratima) of Lord Jagannath has always joined the function (Dola Utsav).
The Dolabedi sari is woven in Tussar with a plain body and a pure zari border. It’s the pallu that is woven with the dolas that is breathtakingly beautiful. The body has small bootis and the border is woven with the rudraksha dobby and phoda kumbha or temple border. You can get it without the zari border too.
The Dolabedi is thus a modern sari woven with ancient images and techniques.
