Tangaliya weaving, also known as Daana weaving is practiced in Surendranagar district of Gujarat. Mainly practiced by the Dangasia community, this form of weaving requires high skill level and an eye for accuracy. Tiny dots of extra weft are twisted around a number of warp threads, giving an effect of bead embroidery to the fabric. This intricate process of twisting extra weft while weaving creates beautiful geometrical patterns and forms. The essence of #Tangaliya weaving is the compositions created by colourful dots, which is simultaneously created on both the sides of the fabric.
“Tangaliya is a rhapsody of dots woven so intricately in the cloth itself that makes the cloth stand out.”
History of the Weave
This indigenous craft has deep rooted origin and history of about 700 years embedded in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. #Legend says that a young boy from the Bhadwad (shepherd) community fell in love with a girl from weaver community and married her. This displeased his family, as a result the boy and his bride were not welcomed by the family. So he settled down with the weavers’ community and continued herding sheep. He learnt weaving from his in-laws and started using wool from the sheep he herd. Thus the art of Tangaliya weaving came into being.
Another version of the story says that the boy had a hard time earning bread and butter after he was disowned by his family. His parents were saddened seeing this and offered a proposal to him. They provided sheep wool and grains to him and in return he weaved shawls and other garments for the shepherd community. He took shawl weaving to another level by introducing thread beads thus developing Daana weaving.
The Dangasias have experimented with many different types of yarn over the years, ranging from wool to cotton to acrylic. #Cotton, #silk and acrylic yarn are the most important raw materials used to make contemporary Daana weaving #garments. Depending upon the orders and market requirements, combinations of these yarns are used.
Wool: Traditionally, Tangaliya weaving was done majorly in wool. It was hand spun in situ hence readily available. Due to the availability of readymade yarns of a variety of fibres, hand spun wool is not used anymore.
Cotton: Due to the change in market conditions in the last ten years, the Dangasias have started using cotton to produce a diverse product range. Cotton is bought from Ahmedabad and Surendranagar.
Acrylic: Now-a-days the Dangasias prefer acrylic yarn over wool since it is less expensive, easily available and comes in a variety of colours. Most consumers do not mind he change in texture. This yarn is mainly used for making the thread beads or dots in the Tangaliya weaving. It is also purchased from #Ahmedabad.
Silk: Silk yarn is used only for making products for high-end market. Eri and mulberry silks are the most predominantly used yarns. It is mainly purchased from Surendranagar.
The motif vocabulary of Daana weaving mainly constitutes of the elements present in the community’s environment. Some examples are peacock (mor), plant (jhaad), Naughara, and many more.
Traditionally, Daana weaving was used only to weave garments like Tangalia, Galmehndi, Dhablo, Dhunsu and Charmalia for the Bhadwad community. With modernisation and availability of less expensive printed textiles in the market, the Bhadwads slowly stopped wearing tangaliya. The Dangasia weavers started losing their only clientele.
Weavers of the fabric have their own design vocabulary passed down through many generations, and also get their inspiration from nature.
Designs like #squares, #triangles, #rectangles, and #circles are also emphasized. Vibrant hues of pink, red, blue, green, maroon, purple and orange is used. White is predominantly used along with other colors against a black background traditionally.
Despite their limitations, the tangalia weavers present one of the finest crafts of India. #Tangaliya is one among the five crafts picked by #NIFT under its special SGSY cluster development project. An association of Tangaliya weavers called #Tangalia Hastkala Association is being promoted under this project. This association has a membership of 226 artisans from five villages. NIFT designers and students provide design and other relevant inputs to these artisans.
Comments