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History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c23.s6: Notes

History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c23.s6

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English

Notes

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The term textile is derived from Latin, texere, to weave. It refers to woven (i.e. interlaced warp-weft) fabrics The term, fabric, is a generic term for all fibrous constructions (Emery, "The Primary Structures of Fabrics", 1980 p.XVI.) For definition of cloth see Emery, pp.86, 208-210.

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Usage of animal skin by ascetics is mentioned in the Ṛgveda. This text is dated by Kane between B.C.4000- 1000. Vedic texts refer to animal skins as ajina Macdonnell, and Keith, p.14, ajina, q.v. The bark cloth tradition which is so rich in Africa and the Pacific Islands, is relatively weak in India. Valkala, a bark cloth worn by ascetics, is mentioned in the Yājñavalkya-smṛti and the Mahābhārata (Monier Williams, p.928 Valkala q.v.; Sardesai and Padhya, p.61). The Yājñavalkyasmṛti and Mahābhārata have been dated respectively between A.D. 100-300 (Kane,) and between B.C. 4th century to A.D.4th century (Winternitz, p.465, Krishnamoorthy, p.272). Both these texts refer to a bark cloth, potti in usage in the districts of Ganjam in Orissa and Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. It is not clear if this has been confused with the woven bast fibre, pāṭa, which, according to Professor R.S. Singh (formerly of the Department of Rasa Shastra, Institute Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi), is derived from a plant of the Malvaceae family, the fabric being called Pāṭu (see below paṭṭa n.10).

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At a much later date, the Garo tribe of Northeast India receive notice for Phakram, Grewia (Leea) liliaefolia; Thewek, like Phakram, a leguminous tree; Phrap, a Ficus, and Chram, an Artocarpus jack fruit. See Walker, pp.15- 16. Mittre on p.46 notes that in South India bark of Antiaris toxicara is soaked and beaten into cloth.

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3. Namda, felt, is made from sheep wool in Kutch Gujarat, Tonk, Rajasthan and in Kashmir. The wool fibre is spread on some material which serves as a mat. The wool is moistened, rolled and pounded until the fibres adhere to each other and mesh into a fabric. Irene Emery ascribes its origins to the nomadic peoples of Central Asia. (Emery 1980, p.22). Wuff(p.222) identifies a date as early as B.C. 2300 to felt in Chinese sources). On the basis of the documentation of felt making described by Louis D. Levine (pp.203-211) at the Kurdish village, Seh Gabi, and equivalent field data available in India, it is clear that the same techniques are followed at Indian centres. Emery (1980) distinguishes between felt and felting as a finishing process in woven cloth. In the latter, woven woollen cloth in subjected to the same process as for felt, and the resulting fabric may present a similar surface appearance. Such a process should, however, be called fulling (Emery 1980, p. 23). India also has a tradition of felting. According to Sri Gangalal Weaver, Chitkul Village, Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh, after completion of weaving of local woollen material it is soaked in a large container. It is then foot pounded for one day in the same waterfilled container. After drying it is ready for use. Kharcha cloth woven in narrow width from inferior quality shawl goat underfur is fulled in the same way. Kharcha has a multiplicity of uses and is reputed to be waterproof.

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4. It is possible that Linum usitatissimum was introduced from Ferghana into China. However, in China as in India, It was only grown for oil, (Laufer, pp.293-294).

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5. Sandesara and Mehta p.27. The Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā and Taittirīya Saṃhitā are dated respectively to circa B.C.4000 (Kane), and B.C. 1600. (Satya Prakash, and Sharma, p.5).

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6. Mesopotamia had developed its expertise in wool, Egypt had traditionally been the centre for linen weaving. The decline of flax as an agricultural crop in Egypt is traced to the 12th century, A.D. Syria, 1935 Wiet, p. 279; Forbes, p.160; Frantz-Murphy, pp.245, 297.

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7. The *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa*, dated to between B.C. 4000-1000 (Kane, V), mentions hemp as *śaṇa*.

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8. It is of interest that in Bengal and Orissa, there is living memory of a cheaper variant of the silken ritual garment, called *paṭṭa vastra*. These are said to have been woven of a mixture of silk and hemp, or of hemp alone. In Maharashtra a similar garment exists, referred to as *mugaṭa*. In present times, with the help of modern technology, rayon *paṭṭa vastra* are being fashioned.

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9. The Bonds and the Gadaba are associated with the Korapat District and the Dudma Falls respectively in Orissa. Samples of Keranga cloth are displayed in the Department of Anthropology, Utkal University, Bhubaneshwar. The loom is a simple frame loom.

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10. A degree of confusion has emerged resulting from a common terminology, *pat/paṭṭa/puṭṭa* for silk as well as jute, Singh, B.N., has demonstrated that *paṭṭa* can be taken as a reference to a cloth woven from a variety of bast fibres. Initially it was dervived from plants of the Malvaceae, shifting later to the *Hibiscus cannibinus* grouping. However, after the 4th century A.D. the term *paṭṭa* was also imbued with the connotation of silk (Gulati p.3). It is possible that the Bengali term *pāṭ* for jute was coined because of the glossy appearance of the fibre.

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11. Royle notes that in Bengal Hindus were engaged in the manufacture of jute while Muslims turned to cotton, pp.248-249.

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12. The manufacture of rope from coir was restricted in earlier times to Kerala and the Lakshadweep Islands. Bast fibres served the same purpose elsewhere. However, bast fibre cordage could not substitute for coir when it come to the equipment of ships tackle in earlier times.

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13. Schou-me is equated with China grass. Royle describes this as *Urtica nivea*. Hamilton and Robinson concur with Royle and define its usage as exclusive to that of rope making. According to W. Robinson, it was another species of *Urtica* called *ban khua* in local parlance, which was used in weaving, Royle, p.241; Robinson, p.67; Hamilton, p.59.

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¹⁴ Master, Streynsham (p.136, Temple p.339) equates *herba/erba* with *tasar*, a wild silk. For *écorce d'arbre* see Savary II, p.239, *ecorce d'arbre*, q.v.

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¹⁵ Satya Prakash, R.S. Sharma, p.5, date the *Pāṇini sūtras* to B.C.

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⁵⁰⁰ For further references to wool see Ray, pp.208-210; Singh, and Ahivasi, pp. 1-7. Sangam classics such as the *Silappadikaram* contain references to usage of rats' hair in wool fabrication in the south but such production must have been of marginal importance. See Dikshitar, p.54.

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¹⁶ Wilson, pp.168-178; Gazeteer of Kashmir and Ladak reprint 1974, pp. 69-74; Khan, p.232; Khushi Mohammad, p.181; Barker p.318; Carroll, pp.25-26.

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¹⁷ With regard to the antiquity of the tapestry weave it is of interest to note that the earliest Egyptian tapestry was excavated from the tomb of Thotmes IV, B.C. 1405. Broudy, p.44. The tradition in Egypt is that of slit tapestry.

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¹⁸ For silk in *Arthaśāstra* see Kangle.II pp.104-105, 2.11 102-124.Prof.B.N.Mukherjee (Oral communication,30 Dec, 1981, Dept. of

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Ancient Indian History, Calcutta, dates Arthaśāstra to a point earlier than first century A.D.

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19. For further details refer to Yusuf Ali, pp. 1-8. The distinction between domesticated and will silk is based on whether the worm can be reared under controlled conditions or not, i.e. whether the worm is fed indoors or left to find its nutriment and complete its life cycle outdoors.

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20. Candolle, pp. 403-405. For the find of madder dyed cotton fibre in Mohenjodaro circa second millenium B.C. see Gulati, Turner, pp.1,4,9; Watson, pp. 356-357, 359- 360, n.7, 363-364.

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21. For further development of the argument see Varadarajan 1985, p.65; Varadarajan, 1984, p.234.

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22. For the technology of cotton dyeing see Varadarajan, 1982, pp. 46-59, 75-89; Varadarajan, 1983, pp.43-65; Varadarajan 1991, pp. 210-213.

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23. In Egypt textile dyeing is associated with the New Kingdom, B.C. 1570-1085. Funerary inscriptions indicate that red, blue and green were required by the gods and the deceased. However, with the exception of indigo, expertise in dye technology for linen was difficult to attain and dyes were very expensive. Upto the early 6th century A.D., therefore, clothing of the Egyptians in daily life tended to be monochrome. Carroll, p.32; Vogler, pp.162-163.

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24. For wool and silk dyeing see Muhammad Hadi, pp.35- 41,41-44.

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25. A variation of block printing restricted to silk guaze was the clamp resive method practiced in Gujarat. See Buhler, and Fischer, pp.3-7.

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26. Varadarajan and Patel, p.20. The reed not only maintains even spacing and tension but also serves to comb the warp ends in course of weaving.

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27. The item categorised as khes in Pakistan corresponds to the article in Fig. 9b. In India, however, there appears to have been two categories, khes and majnu. Khes is a rough quality off-white or checked handloom material used as wrapper in Punjab. According to Sri D.N. Vij, Panipat Textile Handicrafts, Panipat, majnu is a double cloth with a patterning as shown in Fig. 9b. The technique was ascribed by him to Multan.

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28. This problem has been discussed in greater depth in Varadarajan and Patel, pp.8-11.

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