SHAWL IS AS OLD AS HUMAN CIVILIZATION

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SHAWL IS AS OLD AS HUMAN CIVILIZATION

• Kashmir Pashmina shawls and embroidery are certainly a unique gift to the world but the story of shawls as apparel is as old as human civilization. It never begins from  Kashmir. This author has seen shawl-like apparel in paintings, sculptures, stories and fables from ancient Rome, Greece, India, and Egypt. Even the ancient Chinese and Zoroastrian women wore a drapery that came close to a shawl. This author has seen many ancient Egyptian paintings and stone carvings where women are shown wearing shoulder drapery like a shawl. Some paintings depict women wearing shawl-like drapery to cover their necks and chests. We have the story of Queen Nefertiti (around 1350 BC) who wore fashionable shawl-like apparel to cover her head or neck and chest which became a status symbol of women belonging to the royal families in ancient Egypt. Maybe for this reason, the Kashmir Pashmina shawl had its first overseas market in Egypt wherefrom it travelled to France and England. In ancient Rome, only married women wore a stola. In addition to that, Roman women also wore Palla, a versatile shawl that was long, wide, and rectangular. The Palla was a draped shawl that was placed over the outer tunic. It was pulled across the shoulder or over the head like a veil. It could be worn as a cloak or head covering. The more brightly coloured, decorative, and elaborately folded, the wealthier the woman was. It was a status symbol. The Statue of Ashurnasrpal II from the 9th century BC features the emperor wearing a shawl. Bolton’s collection of ancient Egyptian artefacts is arguably one of the most important in a British museum, and numbers around 12,000 objects from over 65 ancient sites in Egypt. The petticoat skirt and the cape shawl are important items in this collection.
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• Shawl weaving with designs and patterns has a recorded history of more than 1000 years in many parts of the country. In this context, I need to mention the shawls of Nagaland. These shawls are made from wool with a unique colour palette of black and maroon with designs in red, white and yellow. The designs consist of abstract as well as figural representations of humans and animals and even have variations from the various tribal communities of the state. The Bhujodi shawls in Gujarat have a recorded history of more than 700 years. These shawls were woven by the Rabari tribe in Kutch using rich shades of natural colours. The designs used are mostly geometric and have a unique, aesthetic arrangement. The women of the Dongria Kondh tribe of Odisha have been weaving shawls for many centuries that represent their unique culture. The Kantha shawl weaving of West Bengal is again more than 1000 years old.  Kantha is a brilliant example of the intricate embroidery traditions of India. The running embroidery style is done on silk shawls to suit the moderate winter temperature of the state. In the South, we have preserved the ancient tradition of Srikalahasti or the Machilipatnam hand-painted or block-printed shawls known as Kalamkari. The ancient Kulu shawl survives to this day. Also called ‘Loi’, Kullu shawls are one of the most popular exports of this Himalayan state, second perhaps only to its apples.  These Shawls are made with the wool of Angora rabbits or local ‘Deshkar’ and ‘Bygani’ sheep with a slit tapestry technique. From down south, Himroo shawls from the Aurangabad and Hyderabad regions still give a feel of royalty. Made from silk, these shawls have a glazed appearance.
• There is a miniature painting in the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the US that shows a scene from the Ramayana where Sita is shown throwing her shawl. This painting illustrates an episode from the fourth section of the Ramayana, the Kishkindha-kanda, which describes the politics of Kishkindha-the monkey kingdom-and tells how the monkeys helped Sri Rama in his quest to rescue Sita. Hoping to give Sri Rama a clue to her whereabouts, Sita threw down her shawl and jewellery, which the monkeys picked up and hid in a cave. So, in India, a shawl is as ancient as the Ramayana.
• ( Avtar Mota)
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• CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
• Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.