Jat embroidery

Dhanetah Jat women design and produce exquisite, labour-intensive embroidery.

In the Gujarat state of India, the Kutch region is renowned for its fine folk, colourful and mirrored embroideries. Traditionally stitched by village women, for themselves and their families, to create festivity, honor deities, or generate wealth, this craft has passed on for generations from mother to daughter. 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. Each community in Kutch , due to historical, socio-economic and cultural factors, has a distinct tradition, its own and unique style of embroidery, different motifs, combination of stitches, patterns and colours that give them a visual identity. The identity of every Kutchi person is woven in the stitches of these embroideries.

Jat embroidery

Kutch Embroideries: Detail of an embroidery panel showing different styles of embroidery Dastkari Haat Samiti. Many private collectors of antique textiles and museums acquired a large quantity of embroideries from Kutch during the last decades of the 20th century. By the beginning of the 21st century, progress and development had brought realization of the value of the embroideries of this region. Lovingly made for personal use, some had remained in the possession of their creators. Today, they serve as reference pieces for new work. The old work indicates designs, patterns, motifs and stitches that point clearly to the identity of the community to which the embroiderer belongs. There was no attempt at story-telling as in embroideries found in some other parts of India. However, in recent times, certain communities have begun to expand their narrative and depict stories of life and situations around them. Kutch Embroideries: Old embroideries help to create reference pieces for preserving styles and developing new designs Dastkari Haat Samiti. A sampler piece of Jat embroidery made in the 21st century, following traditional stitches. The Jats are said to have travelled from Halaf, between Iraq and Iran. They followed grazing lands for their herds of cattle, camels and goats, to eventually reach Kutch, in Gujarat.

Over time as a community grew too large for the environment to sustain, they would divide and a subgroup would migrate to a new region. The Rabari women jat embroidery for their children, churn milk into buttermilk and butter, and spend considerable time embroidering. Rabari are expert camel breeders, jat embroidery, cattle herders and shepards.

Kachchh Embroidery. See Kachchh Embroidery. In Maiwa staged an exhibition of Kachchh embroidery. Read about that exhibition here. Below, meet some of the communities Maiwa works with:. Rabari are expert camel breeders, cattle herders and shepards. Over time as a community grew too large for the environment to sustain, they would divide and a subgroup would migrate to a new region.

The Kutch Embroidery is a handicraft and textile signature art tradition of the tribal community of Kutch District in Gujarat , India. In certain patterns, it is also crafted over silk and satin. The signature effect of the colorful embroidery sparkles when small mirrors called abhla are sewn over the geometrically shaped designs. Depending on the tribal sub groups of Rabari , Garasia Jat , and Mutava involved with this craft work many hand embroidered ethnic styles have evolved. History of the Kutch Embroidery is traced to the 16th and 17th centuries when people migrated from the countries such as Afghanistan, Greece, Germany, Iran and Iraq to Gujarat. It became a generational art with the skills taught from mother to daughter. They embroidered clothes for festive occasions and to decorate deities and to create a source of income.

Jat embroidery

It is rightly said that Gujarat has given India the greatest heritage in embroidery work and craft through its famous and versatile Kutch embroidery. The hub of the Kutch embroidery work is basically located in the regions of Kutch and Saurashtra wherein the local artisans churn out the most creative and exquisite designs. From mirror and bead work to Abhala embroidery along with the usage of silk threads of bright colors, the Kutch embroidery basically ornate the entire fabric and embellishes it completely. The impeccable designs of Kutch embroidery is a tribute to Rabaris, a nomadic tribe that crafted the art of Kutch embroidery which is now an artwork of international repute. Kutch embroidery has been there for centuries and in the 16th and 17th centuries Kutch embroidery pieces were exported by western countries. It is also believed that mochis or shoemakers were taught Kutch embroidery years ago by a Muslim wanderer in Sindh and that is what started the tradition.

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Co-operative marketing brings them steady earnings. They were known by the name Dhanetah Jats, which means herder. This work done by a Debhariya Rabari uses both thread and patchwork but no mirrors. Using historic pieces from the Maiwa collection, the pieces receive only minor changes to make them irresistible to a modern audience. Rabari are expert camel breeders, cattle herders and shepards. It is learned in the same way a spoken language is learned; with children sitting beside the adults. Strict adherence requires women to be veiled in the presence of their husband, father-in-law, son-in-law and all unrelated men. Originally, Harijan Meghwars were weavers and leather workers who migrated to Kutch from Marwar, Rajasthan. Over the past years the Mutwa have fled Sindh to avoid disputes the the rulers. However, their social status and poor economic condition often forces them into the commercialized craft sector where a ruthless pace of production, low quality and low wages are the norm. Suf is counted on the warp and weft of the cloth in a surface satin stitch worked from the back. Maiwa works with embroiderers through many co-operative structures within India. Women embroidery artisans of Qasab partnered with camel herders to create the work. The largest group remained herders and retained the name Dhanetah.

Kutch Embroideries: Detail of an embroidery panel showing different styles of embroidery Dastkari Haat Samiti. Many private collectors of antique textiles and museums acquired a large quantity of embroideries from Kutch during the last decades of the 20th century.

The main ones in Kachchh are Dhebaria, Vagharia, and Kachchh i. Things seen in daily lives: flowers and bushes, peacocks and camels, women doing household chores and men tending to cattle, all these are inspirations for these beautiful designs. Strict adherence requires women to be veiled in the presence of their husband, father-in-law, son-in-law and all unrelated men. Rabari are Hindu and are devout worshipers of the mother goddesses. Share this. Meet the Artisans. Fiercely patriarchal customs and traditions characterize this traditional protector-warrior community. The men are herders who occasionally also settle to cultivate a patch of land while also leading a nomadic life when the output from the land dries up during a season of drought. The Mutwas are a small culturally unique group of Muslim herders who inhabit Banni, the desert grassland of northern Kutch. In this style, the artisan works out the structure of geometric patterns with an outline of black squares , then fills in the spaces with bands of satin stitching that are worked along warp and weft from the front. Five hundred years ago the Jats resided in the Halab region of present-day Baluchistan. Originally, Harijan Meghwars were weavers and leather workers who migrated to Kutch from Marwar, Rajasthan.