KASHIDA OF KASHMIR

                  Introduction 

Jammu and Kashmir is the Northern most state in India. The locality is embedded with enchanting and beautiful flora and fauna, lakes, hills and streams all around. This has inspired many writers, poets, artists and craftsmen.  A  legend  reveals  that  a  Semitic  tribe  “kash”  including  Herbews,  Arabic  Jews, inhabited Kashmir much before 541 AD. This might be one of the reasons for the title Kashmir. 

 History of the Kashmir Shawl 

The  shawl  industry  in  Kashmir  was  introduced  by  Zair–Ul–Abidin,  the  ruler  from 1420–1470 A.D. It appears that he was taken into captivity at Samarkand (Persia). He got interested in the various crafts going on there. When he returned to India, he sent people in search of talented craftsmen. Thus the shawl weavers from Persia were brought to India.Reference to the Kashmir shawl is made in Ain–I–Akbar by Abdul Fazal where he says that the Emperor Akbar was a keen admirer of the shawl. It is Akbar who is responsible for introducing a new type of shawl called the „Doushala‟ meaning twin shawl. 

 The demand for shawls increased during the Mughal times. By the 18  century they thwere being exported to Europe, where it became a fashionable wrap by the elite. 

 By the end of 19  century the shawl industry declined due to many reasons. Cheap versions  of  exquisite  woven  shawls  of  Kashmir  were  being  now  made  on  the Jacquard loom in Europe. 

                          Technique Used 

Traditional woven shawls of Kashmir are called “Kanihama” or “kanihar” or “Kani” or “jamavar” shawls.These were made by a labourers and a slow process of weaving 2/2 twill tapestry weave. The raw material used was the fleece of a wild goat called  Capra hircus. 

 This  fleece  locally  called  “pashm”;  another  raw  material  called  „toosh‟  was  used, which is the hair of dead chiru antelopoe. This gave rise to Pashmina and Shatoosh shawls  respectively,  the  latter  being  very  rare  and  more  expensive  shawl.  [Note: The chiru antelope is on the list of endangered species and is thus illegal to process toosh.]

Types of Woven Shawls 

1.  Pashmina Shawls: Majority of the Kashmir shawls are made from the fleece of capra hircus. 

2.  Do–shala : Two identical shawls stitched together with their wrong sides facing each  other,  so  that  when  dropped  over  the  shoulder,  the  wrong  side  was  notvisible. 

3.  Do–rookha : Double sided work in which there is no wrong or right side. 

4.  Kasba Shawl: Square in shape and produced on amount of European demand. 

5.  Jamavar  Shawls  :  Woven  wholly  of  wool  or  some  cotton  mixed,  but  the  floral designs and brocaded parts are generally in the silk or pashm wool. 

 Evolution of Embroidered Shawls

An Armenian named Khawafa Yusuf came to Kashmir from Constantinople in 1803 to purchase shawls. He found that the price of the shawl  was  exorbitant and that there was heavy taxation on the looms. He got the idea of producing a shawl with the help of a „Rafoogar‟.  

The Rafoogars used to actually stitch up 2 shawls of smaller width with tiny stitches. These tiny stitches were so fine that it was difficult to make out the joint. Thus with the help of a Rafoogars, the jamavar pattern was copied in embroidery on a plain woven shawl. The cost of the shawl was much less as they were exempted from the taxes  imposed  upon  the  loom  shawls.  These  shawls  came  to  be  known  as  Amli Shawls. 

To  begin  with,  the  purpose  of  embroidery  was  to  imitate  the  designs  of  woven shawls; but later the embroiderers created their own style. 

 Process:   The  plain  shawl  is  placed  on  a  smooth  flat  surface  and  rubbed  with  a piece of polished agate [Type of stone] till it becomes perfectly even. The design is drawn on a paper and outlines are pierced with a needle. 

 Charcoal powder is rubbed on the paper. It perforates through the holes to transfer the design on to the fabric. The design is them outlines with „kalam‟ the pen. 

 Fabric Used:  The  base  fabric  used  for  embroidery  is  pashmina  either  in  its  natural  colours  of beige to off–white or dyed in dark colours of maroon, navy blue, dark green, peach and orange. Silk–pashmina or pashmina–wool blends are also used. 

Threads Used:

 Fine, single strands of silk and cotton threads are used for fine embroidery. Wool is also  used  for  embroidering.  Threads  of  white,  green,  purple,  blue,  yellow,  black, crimson,  scarlet  colours  are  used.  Inexpensive  artificial  silk  (rayon)  thread  is  also used. 

Stitches Used: 

Stitches commonly used in the Kashmir embroidery are chain stitch, darning stitch, stem stitch and sometimes a knot stitch called doori. Kashida has 3 main styles of needle work. 

a) Sozni and Rezkari: Done on shawls and long dresses. Very intricate work with its main stitches as stem, Rumanian and satin stitches. 

 b) Ari Work: This is also called Zardozi which is done with the help of an „ari‟ or rook. Floral designs are worked in concentric rings in chain stitch. 

 c) Kashmiri Couching: This is done in both metallic and non–metallic threads. 

 Motifs used: 

The  designs  in  the  embroideries  are  evenly  balanced. Animal  and  human  figures are not seen in the Kashmiri embroidery, because of the Muslim influence. Motifs used  are  parrot,  wood–pecker,  canary,  king–fisher,  iris,  lotus,  lily,  saffron,  gopis, plums, cherries, almonds and apple. The Chinar or the maple leaf is considered to be an important design. Another important motif is the tear drop or the cone motif. This motif has been found as early as the Babylonian civilization and is believed to have represented the growing shoot of the all nourishing date palm. It is he symbol of the tree of life, one of the oldest and most powerful of all motifs; and is symbolic of growth. It was a popular element of the Persian design designs and is thus seen in the Kashmiri shawls. It is also called the almond mango or the paisley motif. 

The  embroidered  shawls  are  known  by  different  names,  depending  on  the  area where the shawl is embroidered. 

a) Kashida  –  Border  design  which  runs  all  along  the  length  of  the  shawl  on  both sides. 

b) Phala – Embroidery is done both ends of the article, popularly known as pallu. 

c)  Tangir or Zanjir – is the border done with chain stitch. 

d) Kunj buta – is the cluster of flowers in a corner. 

e) Buta is the generic name for a floral design. 

 When  buttas  are  in  two  rows  it‟s  called  dokad;  in  five  rows  it‟s  called  sehkad;  in more than five rows it‟s called Tukadar. Matan Bagh consists of floral sprays.