Report

Kutch Embroidery
Shachi Sheth Foundation Programme. Batch 3

Table of Content
Title Introduction About Kutch Embroidery Different styles of Kutch Embroidery I. II. III. IV. V. Conclusion Bibliography Appendices Ahri Embroidery Rabari Embroidery Mochi Embroidery Soof Embroidery Jat Embroidery Page Number 2 5 6 6 6 7 7 6 8 9 10

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Introduction
Art is the product of man's natural admiration for beauty awakened by what he sees, feels, and experiences. Art can be seen in everything that man does, ranging from his everyday duties and tasks to complex art forms and fields. Embroidery is the fascinating techniques to embellish clothes it involves the use of needles and thread. The earliest forms of embroidery that survived the tests of time are to be found in ancient Egypt. Embroidery was originally done manually by hand. It is basically done for decorative purposes by sewing various types of materials into a layer of cloth or fabric to create patterns and designs that are usually a reflection of the beauty of nature. It is a laborious threadwork, especially for starters since it requires not only the use of fingers but creativity and imagination as well. There is a need to critically choose the type of fabric or cloth, needles and threads to come up with a successfully embroidered product.1 In India, Kashmir has a long tradition of embroidery introduced possibly during the reign of Zain-ul-Abdin. The art of working raised designs in threads of silk, cotton, gold or silver upon the surface of woven cloth with the help of a needle has been known here since very early time. From 16th century a professional style of courtly and trade embroideries emerged from Gujarat. Intricate art of embroidery adds hue to the dusty deserts of Rann of Kutch. An indispensable element of Gujarati culture, embroidery is an art of perfection and detail. Region from Bhavnagar to Rajkot is well known for embroidery work. Artisans, mainly women, are wives of herds men, nomads and farmers working for an extra bite. Embroidery done in metal wires by kalabattu or zari as it is popularly called is in a class by itself. Kutch, a generous state of India, and the largest district of Gujarat. It is a drought-porn area situated at the border of India and Pakistan. A great range of ethnic communities live in the region, most maintaining traditional dress and crafts of many sorts, including weaving, dyeing, printing, bandhani (tie-dye), embroidery, leather work, pottery, woodwork, and metalwork. This district is famous for its heritage monuments and also its traditions and rituals. Kutch embroidery was practised from the 16th and 17th century in Patan, a little town in the state of Gujarat. It is believed that this art was taught to the Mochis by a Muslim who came from Sindh. The embroideries of Sindh, Kutch and Kathiawar are very similar and almost identical. The embroidery is very pictorial and original, the mirror work and interlacing stitch set it apart from any other kind of embroidery. Some of the really famous embroidery styles are Mochi embroider. It is a style of embroidery done by mainly Mochis2, they have developed the art of embroidering with fine silk chain stitch using ari. Some of other famous embroideries are Banni embroidery, Jat work, Rabari3 embroidery. The aim of this report is to understand different types of Kutch embroidery

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Text quoted from http://ezinearticles.com/?An-Introduction-To-Embroidery&id=251578 Mochis are traditional cobblers, who work for the courts, merchants and landowning castes. 3 Rabari is a tribe in Kutch, whose men or male members are mainly shepherds and herders.

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About Kutch Embroidery

Kutch is world renowned for its mirrored embroideries. Most of these were traditionally stitched by village women, for themselves and their families, to create festivity, honour deities. While embroideries contributed to the substantial economic exchange required for marriage and fulfilled other social obligations which required gifts, unlike most crafts, they were never commercial products. Embroidery also communicates self and status. Differences in style create and maintain distinctions that identify community, sub-community, and social status within community. The "mirror work" of Kutch is really a myriad of styles, which present a richly textured map of regions and ethnic groups. Each style, a distinct combination of stitches, patterns and colours, and rules for using them, was shaped by historical, socio-economic and cultural factors. Traditional but never static, styles evolved over time, responding to prevailing trends. All these embroidery styles belong to different tribe or community. Each style has a distinct combination of stitches, patterns, colours and motifs. There are many different types of stitches that exist in the Kutch embroidery. Some of the famous ones are chain stitch, buttonhole stitch, Rabari tanka4; herringbone stitch, feather stitch and double feather stitch etc. The kind of material that these Kutch embroiders used is mainly cotton, as it a natural fibre which provides coolness to the body in the dry and hot regions of Kutch. Other materials like silk, wool, fabric with tie and dye5 are also used. As mentioned earlier, colours play an important role in India, hence it also has importance in embroidery. In the Kutch embroidery colours such as yellow, purple, red, orange, brown, green on black cloth are mainly used. The reason of choosing such colours is mainly because in Kutch area people believe that these colours protect them from evils. There are many other reasons as to why these embroider chose such colours.In the Kutch embroidery not only do colours have symbolism but also the patterns. The motifs which are used in Kutch embroidery are mainly considered to bring fertility or prosperity, or protection from evil spirits. Here many of the motifs relate to the Hindu beliefs. Basically Kutch embroidery is mainly associated with symbolism in colours and patterns, where each of the tribe doing this embroidery has different combinations of these colours and patterns. These embroideries have also played a huge role in transforming the western clothing of India. There are several different styles of Kutch embroidery which are discussed in detail as the report progresses.

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Tanka is a Gujarati word for stitch Tie and dye is a technique in which thread is tied to the cloth and then dipped in dye.

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Different styles of Kutch embroidery

Several different casts with their distinct styles of embroidery are habituated in the region of Kutch. These casts pass on their skills from generations to generation, but still the style remains unchanged. The color, range of stitches and distinct styles form the major visual part of the castes cultural identity. Ahir Embroidery The Ahirs, who migrated from Gokul Mathura settled mostly in Kutch and Saurashtra. They are mostly engaged in agriculture. Women of the Ahir community do needle work, when they get time from the work the house and fields. This embroidery resembles Rabari stitches but only round mirrors are used with geometrical and floral motifs. Their dresses are embellished with embroidered articles. Kotay, Dhori, Sumraser, Habai, Lodai, Dharempur, Padhar, Dhanette, Mamuara, Nagor, Cheperedi are main centers of Ahir embroidery. They embroider in white, yellow, green, and red and sometimes a little blue, mainly in cotton on red, orange, white, black, or green cotton or satin. Motifs are mostly floral with accompanying parrots or peacocks, although human and animal figures are represented with women dancing, churning butter or carrying water pots on their heads. Rabari Embroidery Rabaris are mainly settled in postural Kutch. Rabari women are known for their gorgeous and very impressive embroidery that is emblematic of their nomadic life. Ornamentation in Kutch is done by using minute close chain stitches whereas in the Mehasana district cross stitches using "Abhla" are used. Their embroidery is similar to Saurashtra style. The Rabaris liberal use of mirrors of various shapes triangular, round square and almond shaped for example. The embroideries when completed are given to the groom as dowry. The Rabaris are a wandering group of people who are recognized for their extraordinary capacity for endurance and adaptation in the arid areas of Gujarat and Rajasthan. They are also widely recognized for their distinctive arts, particularly embroidery, mirrored mud sculpture and beadwork. However, amongst all these, Rabari Embroidery stands apart boasting of a class of its own. In fact, Rabaris embroider an extensive range of garments, household decorations, bags and animal trappings. The objects that these people embroider highlight significant events, rites and values of their lives. Girls of Rabari community traditionally embroider skirts, veils, blouses, wall hangings, purses, pillows and Kothalo-the dowry sacks. Married women adorn children's clothing as well as cradle cloths. These embroideries

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usually reflect the primacy of children. Besides that, the mirrors which are embroidered also guard their children against evil spirits that are believed to inhabit their world. Some of these Rabari Embroidery emphasize particular customs. Elaborately embroidered kothaliya, purses in which the bridegroom carries traditional gifts of supari and pan, symbolize the significance of exchange in maintaining familial ties. Rabari Embroidery done on ludi veils showcases the importance of laj, the conventional modesty that the women of Rabari community observe. The finest Rabari Embroidery with most intricate patterns is created by the needle of the craftsmen of Mutwa and Jat communities. The Mutwas, staying in Banni, stand out in all styles of embroidery. They work out the small mirrors with ease. Quality silk and fine handspun cotton is used in white, golden yellow, blue, black and red to develop patterns and booties which are interspersed with animal and bird motifs. Rabari Embroidery Technique is even thankful to the ladies from Lohana community in Banni. These expert women craft fantasy with silk thread that are thickly piled in golden yellow, deep orange, bright black and dark red color. The beautiful bootis are inset with mirrors, with the use of buttonhole stitch, chain stitch, etc. Mochi Embroidery The Gujarati embroidery tradition was maintained for many years by the Mochi embroiderers of Kutch and Saurashtra, who worked for the court and for the merchant and land-owning castes. The Mochis were traditionally cobblers and leather-workers by trade, who developed the art of embroidering in fine silk chain stitch, using the ari. This is a fine awl, which has a notch incised just above its point to form a hook, and is akin to the European tambour hook. The thread is held below the cloth to be embroidered and the point of the ari is pushed through the fabric to pick up and pull through to the surface a loop of thread. The point of the ari is then again inserted into the fabric through this loop and the process is repeated, so that a continuous line of chain stitch is formed. The ari is an adaptation of the cobblers awl and the Mochis would appear to have developed their methods of ari-work embroidery from the craft tradition in Sind of embroidering leather belts, shoes and bags. Until recently, the ari was being used for domestic embroidery by the Lohanas of Banni Kutch. The embroidered silk was imported from Europe or China, and the satin embroidered on was again either imported or produced nearby, in Surat, Mandvi or Jamnagar. The centre for Mochi embroidery was Bhuj, the capital of Kutch, but some Mochis worked elsewhere in Kutch and others moved to Saurashtra to work for the Kathi landowners there. The Mochis produced ari work for gaghra (skirt) pieces, chops (bodices), borders, childrens caps, chaklas (embroidered squares) and torans (pennant doorway friezes). They also
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embroidered the devotional pichhavai hangings for temples, illustrating the Lord Krishna, as manifested at Nathadwara, Rajasthan. The motifs usually embroidered were buttis (flowers derived from Persian or Mughal sources) often with parakeets perched on them. These were interspersed with figures of peacocks or putali (women), sometimes both. Their embroidery was known as chinai work and they made either garment pieces or shawls embroidered with fine floss silks, or saris, cholis (blouse), childrens dresses and borders, precisely embroidered with tightly spun two-ply silk. Long narrow border strips with interconnecting motifs of birds and flowers, predominantly in white against a colored silk background, were a favorite of the rich Parsee community, and many examples of this work can still be found in Bombay. Soof Soof embroidery is done by Sodha Rajput and Harijan women who migrated from Pakistan during the 1971. Indo-Fak war and who settled in Zura, Sumraser, Fragper and bordering villages of Banaskatha District (Bhabhar). It is also called "Sodha Bharat". Embroidery is done by using satin thread by inserting the needle from behind the cloth and the design comes to the front side. The outlined regions are filled with satin stitches. The designs are mainly geometric, with preference given to the chevron texture which is locally referred to as leher (wave). Stitching in the Soof Embroidery is done by inserting the needle from behind the fabric, with the designs appearing on the front side. This embroidery is used for adorning traditional clothes and decorative cloth items. Jat Embrodiery of Kutch Jats have migrated from Baluchistan via Pakistan and settled in Kutch. Chain and inverted chain stitches along with interlacing and buttonhole stitches are common in their embroidery. Mirrors of small dimension are inset with great care. Only the front of "ABHA" or "KANJAR uses embroidered designs with refined work. Embroidery is closely related to their life. Clothes of orange, red, blue and yellow color are used for this work. Mirrors are embroidered on the cloth in a grid-like pattern. Covering of the space around the mirrors is done using the chain stitch and creeper stitch. The Jat community in the Banni region of this district uses the pattern of medallions on the border of the clothes. They use red, white, yellow and golden colors in geometrical patterns. Images of dolls, birds and animals are created in an embossed manner, using interlace of buttonhole and chain stitch.

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Conclusion
In conclusion, Kutch has several distinct styles of embroidery. These styles and designs differ from each other because their creators come from different regions around India and Pakistan. Embroideries were initially done for personal use but now the creators sell the finished products. Fortunately, sophisticated urban markets have welcomed the concept of traditional crafts. However, traditional work must adapt to the new clientele. In addition, since the market has expanded, innovations must now be faster and less subtle. While enterprising, artisans do not always have adequate information about the tastes of new markets. For a myriad of reasons including social attitudes, they do not have access to the better markets. Commercialization in this situation has induced a downward spiral of declining quality. In efforts to revive quality, it has been recognized that new design is needed to make craft sustainable. But conventionally, this has been perceived as a need for design intervention, in the form of trained designers giving new designs to artisans. The implication is that designers have knowledge, while artisans have skills. When design, or art, is separated from craft, or labour, the artisan is essentially reduced to a labourer, reinforcing the low social status of craft. Further, most commercialized craft aims for quick, standardized and low cost replication. This emulates the factory model. The strength of hand craft, the personal, handmade quality, is forgotten. The net result is that even when artisans can earn a living by producing contemporary versions, most do not wish their children to be artisans. Surely, design input is needed for new markets.

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Hub pages. Indian Embroidery: Sindh, Kutch and Kathiawar. Accessed on 13th September 2011. http://vibhavari.hubpages.com/hub/Indian-Embroidery-Sindh--Kutch-Kathiawar

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Kala Rakshak. Preservation of traditional art. Kutch, craft and current situation. Accessed on 14th September 2011. http://www.kala-raksha.org/craft.htm Kala Rakshak. Preservation of traditional art. Embroidery: womens art. Accessed on 15th September 2011. http://www.kala-raksha.org/embroidery.htm

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