One of the most endangered and ancient knowledge in the world textile skills is the making of the colour Red from the ‘Aal tree’. There are only 30 families in village Kotpad, District Koraput, who hold the knowledge of this ancient technique and they are situated in the extreme interiors of a tribal region in Central India, completely unscathed by urban influence. Locally known as ‘Pata’, Kotpad was traditionally created by the Mirgan tribe for the Koraput Raja and subsequently for different tribes in the area – like the Muria, Gonda and the Bhatra among others, highlighting their respective motifs, making the fabric a visual code for that community.
The Dye: In the Indian forests, several variant species of “Morinda Citrifolia” are found such as “Achu Pindre” and Togran Maddi”, the root, bark and also the woody portions of which yield a “Red Dye” of different intensity.
These trees are identified by the keen eye of a certain Indian tribe. The trees are usually found at high altitudes in the mountains, and have to be 15 - 20 years old before the roots are ready to be harvested. The roots are cut, keeping 3 to 4 feet distance from the tree, so that the growth of the tree does not get affected. The roots are dried and they crack open on their own, making it easy for the harvester to separate the valuable core of the root, which is known as ‘Aal’ from the hard exterior coat. The Aal is extracted in a flake form and sold to a dyeing and weaving tribe, which pounds the ‘Aal’ flakes in to fine powder and the dye stuff is then ready for dyeing and further processing.
Preparation of Dye bath and Dyeing
Pounded Aal powder is mixed in boiling water in an earthen pot and kept on a fire wood stove. After it reaches its boiling point, the yarn is dipped in, squeezed and mixed thoroughly a number of times. It is then removed from the stove and left standing over night in the same pot. Next day the excess dye is squeezed out of the yarn and hung dry under a shed. The yarn is dusted and the colour is checked to see if it needs to be darkened, in which case the process is repeated by adding more dye in the existing dye bath. When desired dye shade is achieved, the yarn is kept exposed to air under a shed for 2-3 days and then washed thoroughly in clean water. In order to obtain a burgundy or a brown, iron mordant is added to the dye bath. Note: Clay pots are used in hot dying processes so as to avoid burning and damaging the yarn.
The Yarn
In India, spinning of yarn is traditionally done by hand, and this yarn is locally called “Khadi”. In and around the “Kotpad” region, one can find women artisans spinning wild cotton and silk into yarn. Cotton yarn, which is locally available, is not only handspun but also unprocessed. This yarn is known as uncooked “Katcha Suta” yarn. It is not heavily twisted naturally and so is very absorbing and after mordanting with some natural ingredients, it takes up ‘Aal’ Red colour evenly and brilliantly. This yarn is used as warp and weft while weaving fully coloured textiles. Handspun “Wild Silk”, locally called “KOSA”, is used as a weft which comes from non-cultivated silk cocoons collected from the surrounding forest region. Uneven texture and
shades combined with uncooked cotton wrap yarn creates a distinct hard feel. However, this silk yarn does not take up ‘Aal’ dye intensively even after mordanting, and is always used without dyeing, in its natural colour.
Mordant and Sun Bleaching
Hand spun cotton yarn is soaked in a pasty mixture of castor oil, cow dung, and alkali (made of wood ash, water and slaked lime), oil is expensive and a small quantity of oil cannot be applied evenly on the fine yarn, and therefore it is mixed with the cow dung which is abundantly available in the village. The alkali helps in the bleaching process. After keeping the yarn overnight in a big clay / cement pot, the yarn is squeezed and hung dry in open air on a rope tied across the court yard of the weaver’s house. Twice a day the yarn is removed and water is sprinkled on it. The women of the house then knead the yarn using their feet. This is a routine activity for them, as mundane as any other day to day household chore. One often finds woman singing songs or brushing their hair while kneading the yarn. After repeating this process of cow dung nearly 7 times, the yarn is ready for dyeing in ‘Aal’ dye.
Loom
These weavers have traditional basic pit looms of standard width (44”) on which maximum 40” wide and 10 meters long fabric can be woven. It is a two treadle, leg operated loom made of country wood, available in the local forest. Due to the small size of the weavers’ huts, each can house only a maximum of two such looms.
Weaving on the treadle loom, as it is usually known, only a plain weave can be woven. Exceptionally though, these weavers possess such skill that they have incorporated into their weaving “extra weft motifs and interlock/ cut shuttle techniques to create charming contrasting borders with the “temple” design on either side along the “selvedge” of saris, dupattas, stoles and shawls. Authentically, they only have two colours: Deep Red/Maroon and Brown/Coca Cola colour, which are juxtaposed with Ecru “KORA” shade of cotton, making their textiles vividly unique from product to product.
Design and end products
The weavers derive their inspiration straight from their immediate surroundings, and their weaves depict certain socio-religious concerns, folk culture, and also peasant motives such as fish, crabs, scorpions, birds, animals, trees, pots, umbrellas, huts, daggers, etc. Their saris were initially as short as 4.5 metres but since the last two decades they are making what the markets demand, thick shawls known as “Odhani” are 2.5 meters long and they also weave plain fabric/yardage. These are their traditional textiles which they have been making for centuries.
They have an unusual if not unique tradition wherein a range of textiles are created to celebrate a specific life event or festival. The celebrations relate to either life events such as marriage and birth, or to seasonal events that impact their interactions with the earth. Below are certain weaves that are woven for specific traditions.
The Dus Gajee Bridal Sari
Dus Gajee translates to ten hands. Yards or ‘hands’ is the metric used to measure the dimensions of fabric. The custom associated with this textile, generates fun and good cheer between the families of the bride and the groom. (Marriages in India – create deep connections not just between two individuals but between two families and clans). The custom is that the groom’s family gifts a Dus Gajee sari to the bride with the assurance that it is indeed ten yards’ long. This assurance becomes the crux of traditional custom. The bride’s family now, measures it for accuracy. If the sari is longer or shorter – demands of compensatory fines ensue. And the groom’s family must pay the fine. Negotiations for the fine are conducted in good cheer and in the worst case the groom’s family pays for an additional feast!
The Baccha-ka Tuval
The imminent birth of a baby invokes another textile ritual – that of weaving a solaah haath (16 hands) sari. This textile has a pallu on one side, small motifs across the body at intervals of 4 hands but unusually, no border. This extremely long weaving, at the time of birth, is split into two weavings – one that is twelve hands long for the mother and one that is 4 yards long for the baby. The baby’s textile is first used at the naming ceremony, in which the four corners are held by four people to create a hammock-like swing in which the baby is placed. Amidst singing and swinging, the baby is given its name.
The Aath Haath Naach Sari and the Hunting Shawl
The full moon of the Paush lunar month – sometime in January – marks the start of the Hunting season and is associated with the weaving of unique dance saris and hunting shawls. On the full moon night the festivities begin, expressed in the form of food, music and dance. For the dance, women wear a ‘pant-ki-dhoti’ – an Aath Haath (8 hands long) sari in which the draping of the lower half resembles the draping of man’s ‘dhoti’ and reaches the knees. This sari has the unique format of a pallu on both ends – so that when it is draped as pants, the panel that forms the pleats between the legs is decorated. The next morning, the hunting troop sets out for the jungle. Women accompany the men up to the edge of the jungle. Before they set out, the men are presented with symbol of good omen – the coconut, and of course, a textile – the Hunting Shawl. This shawl is embellished with motifs of fish, peacocks, crabs and other creatures.
