Shawls and Woolen Weaves
Pashmina Shawl, Kani Shawl, Jamewars, Tooji, Amli, Dhussa, Jama, Jal, Dorukha, Aksi, Kalu Shawl...
by Jasleen Dhamija, Illustrations by Minoo Sarin
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Updated On: 3/23/2007

The Kasmir shawl is known all over the world for superfine quality of wool, its intricate designs and remarkable craftsmanship, a reputation it has had for centuries.

Sometimes a shawls was offered as a ransom for the king or as offered as tax in recognition of the suzerainty of a powerful ruler. Even today Kashmir makes a vast range of shawls like the kani shawl woven in kanihama, which is only a shadow of what was woven earlier, the double colored pashmina, dhussa, the men's long shawls with its woven border, and the very fine amli or embroidered shawls.

The kani shawls, which are woven pashmina shawls, are also called jamewars and have an all-over pattern originally used in making the jama, the coat worn by men. They are woven on a fame-loom using countless needles called tooji, which have woolen thread colors attached to them. The master weaver and his helper use written instructions known as talim to weave the shawls. The talim indicate the color and the number of warp threads to be covered. The weavers throws the weft across and after that he calls out the design on the basis of which the different colored threads are woven in. Even today intricate patterns are woven using this technique in the village of Kanihama, which lies on the road to Gulmarg. The technique used earlier was similar to the tapestry technique, which had non-continuous weft threads and is different from the one used today.

Kashmir has been famous for kani shawls for many centuries. Ain-e-Akbari written during the time of Akbar, mentions them. In the 18th century they had become so popular that merchants from all over the world used to come to Kashmir to purchase them. They were then worth their weight in gold. Later cheaper Imitations of these shawls were woven in Ingland and France, thereby ruining the market for the original handiwork of Kashmir.

Originally, the embroiders were rafugars, darners. During the 18th century and early 19th century the designs of the shawls became so complicated that the shawls began to be woven in small pieces by different weavers. One set of weavers would produce the borders, another would prepare different sections of the cross border, and yet another set would prepare section of the central portion; these were then carefully matched and stitched together by the rafugar. In fact, one of the methods to test whether a shawl is an original Kashmir kani is to check from its back whether it has been woven in separate pieces or Is in a single piece. It was in the 18th century that to cope with the growing demand for kani shawls, embroidered shawls known as amli, which imitated the woven technique were introduced. Later the embroidery workers projected their skill on them and produced a variety of motifs and techniques.

All-over embroidery designs worked in either a trellis pattern known, as jal or hunting scenes known as shikargah were very popular. The all-over patterns worked with delicate fill-in stitches are produced even today and can stand well against the finest products of the world.

Embroidery has been developed in to a fine art in Kashmir. One proof of it is the dorukha, double sided shawl. The right side of it can not be easily distinguished from the wrong side. There are also doranga-dorukha, which are double-sided and in two colors, the design on one side being reproduced in another color on the other side. The finest variety of all, however, as the aksi reflection, in which the design is produced on one side by splitting the warp threads into half, leaving the other side plain or embroidered with another pattern.

The Himalayan, zone produces other varieties of shawls and tweeds too, but the local people make them primarily for their own use. There are shawls woven from local wool carrying checks, with cross borders woven in bold colors and using motifs inspired by Buddhist traditions. The chorten commemorative building, vajra, thunderbolt, and the swastika are the common motifs. These shawls have come to be known as Kalu shawls though they are woven all over the Himachal region.

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