Fibre made from the edible banana plant is used in weavingthe traditional Japanese fibre cloth called bashofu. Thecloth is smooth, stiff and is used in making the kimono,the traditional Japanese dress.

The craft of extracting fibre from the banana plant,spinning the yarn, weaving it into cloth and patterning thecloth was a highly valued craft of the Okinawa Islands.

Japan has an ancient tradition of crafts that wererenowned throughout the world for their elegantsophistication. World War II, rapid industrialisation andurbanisation in Japan, in the last century, threatened thisartistic heritage. The younger generations were hesitantto continue the family traditions in the twenty-first century,the age of computers and television.

It was then that the government started a new schemeand great artists, who excel in the area of crafts andcreativity, are honoured with the title of ëLiving NationalTreasureí in Japan. Scholars, visitors and students areencouraged to explore, research and study with thesemasters. This is a wonderful example of how today theJapanese value their craft traditions and honour the greatpractitioners of crafts.

How This Craft StartedCommunities living in diverse climates and harsh terrainshave creatively responded to the challenges of theirenvironment by transforming locally available naturalfibres to create a large variety of objects necessary fortheir survival.

The ingenuity of community artists created a great varietyof natural fibre products. The products range in both scaleand form ó from large architectural creations of homesand shelters, suspension bridges and fences to smallerobjects: baskets, mats and hand fans.

The bamboo and cane crafts of the North Eastern regionof India represent a large storehouse of forms and traditional

6 NATURAL FIBRES

A traditional Japanesekimono

62 LIVING CRAFT TRADITIONS OF INDIA

wisdom. The forms of several baskets have evolved as aresponse to function, as seen in examples such as the open-weave baskets of Mizoram which are flexible and allow theperson to carry firewood, while the close-weave baskets ofGaro hills in Meghalaya are used to transport and storerice grains. Other forms of baskets have been determinedby culture or in responses of different communities.

What Is a Natural Fibre?Natural fibres made of cellulose or plant matter can beobtained from almost every part of the plant such as theroot, stem or shoot, leaf, fruit and bark from many treespecies (see following table).

Fibre can be extracted from a leaf which is fibrous,pliable, strong and green. If the leaf can be wound arounda finger without breaking, then it indicates a potentialsource for making fibre.

Fibre: filament or threadof a natural or syntheticmaterial that can bespun into yarn

Banana fibre

Khus fibre

Sisal fibre

BambooKora grassJuteHempWater hyacinthBananaKauna reedCane palmMoonj grassSarkandaWagoo reedSikki grassCannabis/pullaWickerBhindiNettleFlaxArhar/Pigeon pea

PalmyraPalm datePalm coconutArecanut palmSisalBananaPineappleScrew pine

Root Stem Branch Leaf Fruit/Seed

Willow CottonCoirArecanut

Khus

Beauty of Natural FibresNatural fibre products have certain distinctive qualities:they share a common language of colour, texture and ofbelonging to the earth. The appearance, feel, and texture ofa bamboo basket is clearly different from that of a plasticbag. No two bamboo baskets are of the same colour whilethey could have the same form. A woven surface, like areed mat, could have many shades of white or brown.Leading fashion houses today search for such beauty aslies in asymmetry, irregularity and natural warmth.

63NATURAL FIBRES

Qualities of Natural FibresDifferent fibres have varying physical properties of strength,appearance, pliability, colour, texture and fragrance.

Traditional skills and knowledge of working with thesematerials is an economic activity, often undertaken as anadditional activity, to earn a little extra income when thereis a break in the agricultural cycle of work.

RootsKhus or ramacham in Malayalam (Vetiveria zizaniodes) isthe aromatic root of a densely tufted grass. The grass hasa thick root system which helps in checking soil erosion. Itis thus an excellent stabilising hedge for stream banks,terraces and rice paddies. Khus grass grows wild in manystates but is cultivated in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab,Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

Khus is known for its fragrance and cooling properties.The roots are used for making mats, beds, and pads fordesert coolers. The dried stems are used for making brooms,fans, hats and footwear, and for thatching.

StemsA great variety of baskets, mats and floor coverings aremade from grass and reed fibres which are referred to inlocal languages as moonj, sarkanda, kora, sikki, chipkiang,madur kathi, rice straw, kauna reed. Reeds grow naturallyin marshy land and in ponds.

Kauna is the local name for a reed or rush belonging tothe family Cyperaceae which is cultivated in the wetlandsof the Imphal valley. It has a cylindrical, soft and spongystem which is woven into mats, square and rectangularcushions and mattresses by the women of the Meiteicommunity of Manipur. The raw material for the craft isobtained by simple processing wherein the reed is cut nearthe base of the plant and dried in the sun. It is also smokedif it is to be preserved and stored for a longer time. Themats are woven by interlacing the stalks with jute threadsusing basic and simple tools. The mats and cushions havea unique edge finishing which is done by hand.

Fibres are obtained by shredding or peeling parts of plants, or poundingthem to make threads or by cutting them to make strips.

Fibres from plants pre-date cloth woven from yarn spun from cotton.Ancient communities must have used natural fibres to build sheltersand thatched roofs.

Unfinished reed mat,Manipur

64 LIVING CRAFT TRADITIONS OF INDIA

Korai (Tamil Nadu) or kora (Kerala) also of the Cyperaceaefamily is a sedge or wetland plant which is cultivated in thesouthern districts of Tamil Nadu. The stems are cut nearthe base of the plant, spliced vertically and dried in thesun. On drying the spliced stems curl into a smooth andtubular form. A large variety of matsówith stripes,geometrical motifs, natural and dyed coloursóare woven inseveral districts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The mats arewoven on horizontal floor looms. The ribbed natural colouredmats are popularly used as floor coverings.

In Midnapur District of West Bengal, another type of reedsimilar to kora called madur kathi (Cyperus corymbosus) iscultivated, harvested and processed. Finely spliced maduris woven into mats that have a central field enclosed bypatterned borders. The weavers ingeniously use two subtlydifferentiated natural colour splits or selectively dyed partsof the splits to differentiate the borders with dyed colour.Both the loom and the weaving technique used are verybasic but require the use of manual skills and craftsmanshiprather than sophisticated equipment and technology.

Unlike the woven mats, shital pati or ëcool matsí madeby the plaiting technique are made in Assam and Tripura.The mat has a smooth and lustrous surface. The murtaplant or (Maranta dichotoma) is harvested when green,washed in soda water and dried. It is then boiled and slicedinto strips for plaiting the mat.

In Uttar Pradesh and Bihar women make baskets usingthe technique of coiling. These compact containers are madefor local use with spliced moonj or sikki grass stalks. Thetrays and shallow containers are used to store foodgrainsand flour. Moonj baskets with multi-coloured fibres andbold patterns are made for a daughterís trousseau.

In the Madhubani District of Bihar, women makefigurines of deities, animals and birds for ritual andeveryday use with sikki or golden grass used in combinationwith multi-coloured dyed stalks. The imagery of these formsechoes the folk art of Mithila, the cultural region on thenorthern banks of the Ganges.

Strips obtained from the palm leaf are also used to makecoiled baskets and containers in Haryana. A bunch of moonjgrass fibres forms the core material of the coil and a palmleaf strip is wound over the coil and binds consecutiverows of coils in place.

Furniture items such as the mooda or stools are examplesof elegant products made entirely from natural fibres suchas sarkanda and moonj. Sarkanda is a wild grass found inHaryana and its long stems are used in making theindigenous mooda.

A kora mat weaver on thetraditional loom, Tamil Nadu

Shital pati, Assam

Mat weaver separating the stemof the sedge or kathi from theleaf stalk,West Bengal

65NATURAL FIBRES

Bamboo is a giant tree-like grasswhich mostly grows wild in the tropicaland sub-tropical regions of the world.Bamboo is significant as a renewableresource that is found abundantly inIndia. These tall grasses have straight,woody and cylindrical stems, whichhave nodes. Some stems are hollow andsome are solid. These cylindrical stemsor culms taper at the top. The nodes atthe top have branches with leaves andflowers. Bamboos grow closely inclumps. There are 136 species ofbamboo in India. The botanical name isbambusae. Bamboos grow quicklyó60mm to 200mm in a day and somespecies grow up to 900mm in a day. Itis a widely used material that is hardy,durable, economical and biodegradable.

Bamboo is used whole as well as splitin different widths to make a large rangeof products. Simple tools like a dao orbill-hook knife or wide-bladed knife arewidely used for making splits. Bamboohas long fibres running along its lengthand the bond between the fibres isrelatively weak while the fibresthemselves are extremely strong. Thisstructural characteristic affords easysplitting along the length.

Local communities use thischaracteristic in an appropriate mannerwhile devising different products.

Jute, a stem or bast fibre, iscultivated in West Bengal. Jute cloth isbrittle and deteriorates with exposureto sun and rain. It has been popular asinexpensive packaging material. In thecraft sector, today, there is a renewedinterest in finding innovativeapplications of jute such as fashionaccessories, bags and wall panellingusing macramÈ, crochet, braiding andother non-woven techniques.

Detail of a contemporary wallpanel made with jute yarn using

macramÈ or knotting technique

Bast fibres are generallylong fibres. Consequentlythey are used in makingyarn and weaving cloth

66 LIVING CRAFT TRADITIONS OF INDIA

A large variety of baskets, containers, mats andfurniture are made from the leaves and stem of treesand plants belonging to the palm family.

Palm trees are commonly found in the coastalregions of India and some varieties like the date palmgrow in semi-arid regions. While coconut, arecanutand date palm trees have feather like leaves, thepalmyra or toddy palm has fan-like leaves.

The local population of coastal Tamil Nadu isknown for judiciously using every part of the palmtree for a wide range of applicationsóthe trunk isused in local architecture and for making rafts; theleaves are used whole as roof thatch and wall panelswhile strips are woven into baskets, winnowing traysand for packaging fish and jaggery. Palm oil andpalm fruit are edible products.

Boxes made of palm strips for various uses

An artisan making strips of thepalm leaf by inserting a knifein the leaf fold and separatingthe leaf from the midrib

A palm-leaf craftsmanís house, Tamil Nadu

67NATURAL FIBRES

Cane is an important forest producefound mainly in north-eastern parts ofIndia. It is cylindrical and of uniformthickness, solid and brown in colour. Itsproperties of being tough, flexible andelastic have made whole cane suitablefor use in furniture, hats, walking sticks,fishing rods and baskets. In ArunachalPradesh even suspension bridges aremade of cane. Cane splits are used fortying and binding, and are especially usedfor finishing the rims and edges of basketsdue to their smoothness and pliability.

Canes are long slender stems ofclimbing plants which belong to the palmfamily. India has about 30 species of canegrowing in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh,the Andamans, Nagaland, Manipur,Mizoram, Meghalaya, Kerala, Karnatakaand Tamil Nadu.

Cane-and-bamboo suspension bridge over atorrential river in Along, Arunachal Pradesh

A shallow circular basketmade from whole cane

Cane furniture madeby skilled craftsmen,

Nagaland

FruitThe coconut palm tree alsohas multiple uses of itsstem, fronds, fruit and nut.Coir fibre extracted fromthe outer husk of greencoconuts is spun into yarnand ropes while the fibre ofbrown coconut is used asstuffing in mattresses.Coconut husks have to be

retted or steeped in water to loosen them from the toughhusks. Coir producing villages are located in the backwatershabitat of Kerala which abound in the skills of processingand spinning coir and of weaving coir floor coverings. Whitecoir extracted from the green husk is of superior qualityand withstands salt corrosion. It has wide-rangingapplications, for instance, in ship-building and for makingfloor coverings.

LeafThe screw pine is a tropical plant known for its soilconservation properties. It is grown as a hedge or as aboundary wall in Kerala. It is available in abundance andprovides a source of income to rural women who makestrips from the leaves to weave mats. The leaves are alsoused as roof thatches. Strips are interlaced diagonally to

weave mats and large surfaces that arethen cut and sewn to make containers,bags and hats.

There are male and female speciesof the screw pine. The female screwpine produces a finer quality of fibreused in weaving traditional mats calledmettha pai which are soft and cool tosleep on. The male screw pine producescoarser fibre. In Thazava in Kollamdistrict of Kerala, double layer matsare made which are edged with a vividcoloured strip used to stitch the layerstogether. The white mat is burnishedwith a stone that gives it a polish.

The coconut palm treegrows wild.

The pinnate or compound leavesbeing woven together

Coir fibre

All the World in a BasketA basket, that common object of daily use, canpowerfully affect the sense and mind ó somewhatas the contemplation of a grain of sand can leadto insights on the nature of the world.

What appeals first is the visual texture, thatdistinctive aspect of baskets, arising from thisdefinitive quality of being woven. We delight inthe patterns and textures made of rope, leaves,grass, rushes, sticks or twigs or other similarmaterial. We may instinctively run our hands overthe surface: an understandable reaction becausetexture, whether physical or visual, is a qualityof surface.

On seeing baskets we feel one with humanity:however rich or poor or highly formally educated or illiteratewe may be, from virtually any part of the world and, indeed,from almost any era ó we can relate to the basket. Togetherwith pottery, basketry is one of the oldest human crafts.Gathering material from the natural environment, and makingfrom it a receptacle useful for the storage and transportationof objects; a receptacle designed for ease and comfort of useas relating to the human anatomy ó what an act of creativetransformation this is!

However, our admiration of the quantities of the design isoften directed at a group rather than an individual ó whoknows which anonymous craftsperson added an innovationwhich was later refined, preferred and adapted by many?Particular types of baskets do gain associations with particularregions and cultures, such as the conical basket of the applegatherers in the Kullu valley, and the basket of the Kangri potwhich could even be regarded as a symbol of Kashmir.

Another human and social point is an economic one: whenone buys a traditional basket it is more likelythat the sale would benefit not a factory owneror company but an individual who is possiblynot wealthy and is working with a greaterdegree of autonomy such as by being a memberof a cooperative.

Baskets may be considered desirable todayfrom an ecological point of view, being madefrom fast growing plant materials usedwithout much processing (hence savingenergy). The production of baskets does notrequire energy ó and resource-rich factoriesor processes; and baskets are bio-degradableand hence less polluting.

ñ DEEPAK HIRANANDANI, The Times of India,28 May 2001

Traditional bamboocraftspersons, Orissa

Bamboo craft practised byboth men and women is atraditional and hereditarysource of livelihood forseveral people in the statesfrom Gujarat in the west toAssam in the east, andUttar Pradesh in the northto Kerala in the south.

69NATURAL FIBRES

Functional products made ofekra bamboo by the Khasis

of Meghalaya

70 LIVING CRAFT TRADITIONS OF INDIA

Worldwide Use of Natural Fibres

The importance of papyrus, a fresh water reed in ancientEgypt is evident from its primeval origins. Papyrus is a tallflowering reed and its use is functional and religious andwas part of the mythology of ancient Egypt. Papyrus hadmultiple usesófrom paper for manuscripts to papyrus boatsthat were the lifeline of the River Nile, sails were madefrom the bark, seams of the larger wooden boats werecaulked with papyrus, rigging was made of papyrus fibresand papyrus flower was a sacred symbol of the pharaohs.

The Mbuti Pygmies living in the Ituri forestsof Equatorial Africa are hunter-gatherersknown for their knowledge of plants formultiple usesóas food, shelter, medicine,furniture, weapons, poison for hunting, ascloth and dyes.

Eskimos in Alaska andcommunities in the islands of thePacific Ocean such as Tonga,Samoa, Hawaii, Papua NewGuinea, Fiji and New Zealand,produced bark-cloth by arepeated action of beating stripsof bark of the fig tree. When thestrips are thin, several strips aretaken together and beaten intoa large sheet. Sometimes starchwas applied in parts to join thestrips. Tapa or the barkcloth ofTonga is painted using a stencilthat is cut from the midrib ofthe coconut frond.

The grasslands of South Africaprovide material for coiled basketrywhile wetlands provide reeds andrushes for mats; deserts are the homeof agaves or succulent cacti, tropicsfor palms and cultivated land forstraw.

In Europe, North America andAlaska mats are made of grass, rushand sedge; baskets are made fromsplit wood, shoots of hard wood trees,willow, wicker and barks of trees.

71NATURAL FIBRES

In the tropical and sub-tropical regions ofAsia, Africa and South America, thejungles are a rich source of bamboo andcane, which provide bamboo and leavesfor building shelters, tools and implementsfor agriculture, fishing and the daily needsof settled communities.

In the cold and temperate forests of NorthAmerica and Europe, the barks of the birchtree and hardwoods of deciduous trees areused as slats in basketry.

Coiled basketry made of grassfibre or palm leaf fibre is foundin Morocco, East Africa, India,Ghana, Mexico, Bolivia,Guatemala and islands of thePacific Ocean. Ceremonialbaskets and headwear are oftenformed by techniques such ascoiling, twining, plaiting andare embellished with feathers,shells, coins and a bold use ofpattern and colour.

The use of bamboo in Bangladesh,Burma, South-East Asia, China andJapan is very extensive and is integralto the culture of the East.

Japan has a unique sensibilityfor bamboo that is reflected inthe forms of traditionalarchitecture, fences, craft, artand textiles. It is a crafttradition that values the pristinequality of nature, studiedsimplicity and excellence incraftsmanship.

72 LIVING CRAFT TRADITIONS OF INDIA

1. All cultivated plant materials as well as those found inthe wild in our forests are potentially renewableresources that can be used for a large number ofapplications if their use by humans is moderated in asustainable manner. Compare and apply the principleof sustainability in three craft traditions ó stone, metaland natural fibre.

2. In your opinion what differentiates plastic objects fromobjects made of natural fibres?

3. What are the qualities and properties of natural fibresand how have these properties been used in craft?Explain with examples.

4. Refer to the Internet and describe the use of naturalfibres in one Asian country.

5. The conversion of forest land into agricultural andindustrial areas has led to problems for the bamboocrafts community in India. Develop ideas that can helpsolve these problems.

6. Draft a scheme that you would like to start in India toelevate our craft traditions and honour the greatpractitioners of crafts.

7. What is the impact of the intrusion of plastic ware intorural and urban homes? (Think of the following: therural economy, traditional crafts and skills, environmentand health.)

8. Unlike clay and stone, basket-making is not a full-timeprofession. Compare and contrast and give reasons whythis is usually the case.

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