unit 03 -Tribal embroidery

Introduction
The art of decoration of fabric or other material with threads, wires or leather using a needle may be defined as embroidery. With the advent of sophisticated machines, embroidery is possible by machines also, especially for repetitive volume work. But, it is the hand embroidery that continues to fascinate mankind for thousands of years. Traditionally, women have been practicing this art from time immemorial. But in the last few decades, men have pickup tis craft in a big way. There are scores of embroidery stitches practiced by various communities . Embroidered fabrics are not only used for apparel. It is widely used in furnishing and to create unique decorative pieces too. India is country which has a rich culture, tradition, art music, literature, and sculpture and e hibit university in diversity through various charms of festivals, rituals, art music, costume and languages. Embroidery is no e ception. The !edic literature of "### B.$. makes reference to embroidery work. The remains of %ohen&odaro of the Indus valley civili'ation reveal embroidery work as a manifestation of the artistic creativity of the people there. It is observed from ancient time, even the primitive man did decorate them self through bodily decoration. (rimitive man worshipped nature and it was one of the sources of inspiration from which he picked up motifs of floral, bird and animal kingdom available geographically. The emperors and the kings of different periods used embroidery work as a symbol of wealth and status. Even today also the form of this art prevails. Embroidery encompasses many different types of fabric decoration, some so beautiful and detailed that it is difficult to believe that a needle and thread can create them. India is world famous for its rich heritage and traditional te tiles, magnificent workmanship. It is symbol to identify the groups of people religion wise, culture wise and designates the role, rank and community at large. Each state in the country is unique by itself as far as te tiles and embroidery is concerned. This is mainly because of the difference in the made of the people, availability of the indigenous te tile material, ground fabric, influence of ecology, custom, festival, deity, occupation, skills, various motifs, technique of stitch and threads. Today embroidery as a form of art is universal. The impact of for foreign influences figuratively speaking, the globali'ation of the embroidery art is manifested at a level of technical details.

Tribal Textiles of Nagaland)noth east

traditional influence
The dress adorned by a person reveals his*her standing in the tribal hierarchy. %en are permitted to wear certain patterns and colours only after establishing a record of feats and achievements. Even within each tribe, the classes can be distinguished on the basis

of the shawls they wear. Elaborately designed shawls are used by the warrior classes or the rich segments within the tribe. + number of traditions and beliefs are associated with the weaving and wearing of the traditional dress. + chang cloth requires all the 'ig)'ag lines to fall uniformly, or else the young warrior may die a premature death. Besides declaring victory in wars, a te tile may also announce the wearer,s record of participation in raids, his history of offering feasts of merit, his wealth, his clan, his seniority within the clan and his place within the family.

techniques
conch and beads attached for decorations

symbols
-agaland symbols and designs on te tiles are the identification mark of the different -aga tribes and it also reflects their social status. Te tile in general and of lines to elaborate patterns of diamonds , grapical designand tablet shape. .imple straight lines, stripes, squares and bands, varying in width, color and arrangement are the most traditional design and motifs.

color combination
traditionaly black, red and white, in combination with other color such as green yellowuse, blue varying from tribe to tribe .uperstition and belief also dictates the selection of colour./ed dye is considered harmful for the young, believe that if a young woman dyes her cloth red, she is sure to die a violent death and hence only old women dye yarn red. red, white, green, yellow and black. This is used only in marriages and in the /engma festival of -agaland black, red or white stripes represent a rich and brave man0s acquisitions and achievements

fabric used
1ouble ply yarn of cotton and nettle fibre, is used to create the thick -aga fabric.

application
shawls, head gear, loin cloths, mekhlas, sarongs, kilts2+ knee)length pleated tartan skirt 3, sashes, shoulder bags and of course beaded &ewelry design and pattern symboli'e a specific tribe and the wearer,s status in the society. Each -aga tribe has its own signature shawl. The -aga4ne of the common feature of -aga shawls is that three fabric pieces are woven separately and stitched together. The central stripe is more

decorated than the other two, which generally is hand embroidered with traditional motifs and patterns.

Embroidery of Manipur
This area has a unique type of embroidery that uses one stitch, in deference to the weavers in the area.

thread )This is done in dark matching shade with untwisted silk thread on the border
of the phanek 2a lungi or lower body wrap worn by women3.

colors used)$olours in dark red, plum or chocolate are usually used. technique-The embroidery is so artistically done that it does not clash with the
weave and is often mistaken for it.

symbols
+koybi embroidery is done in an elegant snake)like pattern or design, derived from the legendary snake, pakhamba 2killed by the husband of a goddess, who later tried to atone for this act by imitating the pattern3. +koybi means circular and the design involves one circle &oining the other, each broken further with a significant motif in shades of shades of red along with black and white. 5i&ay is another pattern where black and white, along with shades of pink thread are used in a continuous pattern. +ngami -aga shawls have animal motifs in black. This was previously called sami lami phee 2which means warrior cloth of wild animals3 and was given to brave distinguished warriors by the royalty, in recognition of their prowess and ability. The colours are bright green, red, yellow, and white. +bhala or mirror)embroidery work is done only on ras dance costume. The indigenous inhabitants of %anipur are the meithei community. Their designs, called tindogbi, are inspired from a silk caterpillar sitting on a castor leaf and eating it. (ossession of .hamilami fabric, which is a combination of weaving and embroidery, is considered a status symbol. %aibung is a natural design inspired from the natural finish of the wood.

The colors most commonly used in embroidery are white, black, red, green and yellow. The motifs used are butterfly, elephant, cockerel etc, but more commonly used is the 6+kyobi7 design which is worked in two shades of red with a bit of black and white. It is a circular design, one circle &oining the other, with each circle being further broken up into patterns, each with a significant motif and special name.

The central round motif like a dot is believed to be e bee which flies around the lotus flower sucking its honey. The four petals on the side of the dot are known as the 8moil, the most tender part of the lotus bud. The half open circular designs are known as the khoi mayek which means a fishing hook. The W shaped design in the bow. The border is called the tendwa. 5i&ai mayek is embroidered in black and white, and is worn by widows, elderly women and at funerals. It shows running lines and circular movements. 4ther motifs used are battle scenes, swords etc. 4ther fabrics to be embroidered besides the phanek are9 :3 ;amphie ) war cloth worn by warriors at the time of war, used by a few people. It was honored by the king. <3 -ingthoupee ) kings cloth =3 .ai&omba ) long coat worn by trusted courtiers of the king, which had special embroidery >3 (hirananba9 These are the small flags delicately embroidered and used by the warriors as plumes on their turbans, each designated the rank. "3 ?umil or ras shirt The stitches used in embroidery are the satin stitch and the /omanian stitch.

Toda Tribal Embroidery of Nilgiri, Tamil Nadu

Indian culture, art and traditions depict 01iversity and @et Aniversity0. In India there are

various state having their own particular embroidery. 4ne of which is Tamil -adu famous for various embroidery and arts. The southern parts of Tamil -adu are surrounded by very beautiful -ilgiri 5ills. Within these hills lives a Tribal $ommunity called Todu. They are e pert in embroidery called Toda which is famous in the world. It is distinct style of embroidery locally called (ugur, which means flower. This fine and intricate embroidery is done by tribal men and women on shawls. The shawl adorned with the Toda embroidery is called (oothkuli. This particular shawl has alternate red and black stripes at the gap of si inches. The embroidery is done on the stripes of red and black colour. %otifs are worked, by counting the threads. The embroidery is so fine that it looks like weaving. Embroidery is reversible and Todas use the rougher under side of the fabric as the right side. This embroidery is carried from one generation to other generation. The embroidery is basically on cotton fabric by counting the thread by counting the thread. The various facts of this embroidery are) Babric Ased) $otton fabric is used to do toda embroidery. The fabric should be loosely woven because the embroidery is done by counting the weaves. $olours)$olour of the ground fabric is off) white. The colours of the threads are red and black. %otifs) Basically all the traditional embroidery inspiration is taken from nature, day to day life activities, mythological stories and reflects the colours of flaura and fauna of that particular region. The embroidery of the particular region tells the story of the particular region. In this case also the motifs are inspired from local surrounding. Buffalo horn is the most important motif because the tribals worship buffalo. 4ther motifs used are I'hadvinpuguti, which is a motif named after their priest, mettvi kanpugur is a bo . .un, %oon, stars, flowers, snakes and rabbit are the other motifs. +long with the famous toda shawls various other items made from this embroidery are traditional drapes, puthukulis, dupattas and Table cloth, stoles, kurtis, py&amas, skirts, pants, salwar)kurta etc. To sum up embroidery is basically an e pression of beauty, aesthetics which an artist portrays with a needle and thread. This tribal embroidery of Tamil -adu is very distinctive and it should be preserved as this embroidery is dyeing. We should use this embroidery in different articles as purse, pouches and retail it in International and national market. In this way we can revive and save the rich cultural heritage India.

Lambanis or Ban aras

Cambanis or Ban&aras who have an origin of %arwar, are semi)nomadic people who dwell mostly in .outhern and %iddle India. There is a tendency with nomads to cut off from the rest. The Ban&ara women still are resolute to their antique style of dressing,

which is conceivably the most vibrant and sophisticated of any tribal group in India. The Cambani women practice a unique mirror and embroidery craft, which they mostly use for making their own traditional dresses or for giving to their daughters for their weddings. .pecial Beatures The Cambani embroidery is a fusion of pattern renovation, mirror work, cross stitch, and overlaid and quilting stitches with borders of D?anguraD patchwork appliquE. Cambani embroidery is often flawed as ?achhi embroidery because of mirror work, but shells, coins and stitches are distinctive to the Cambani. The :> types of stitches characteri'ing a Cambani dress are ?ilan, !ele, Bakkya, %aki, .uryakanti %aki, ?ans, Tera 1ora, ?audi, /elo, Fadri, Bhuriya, (ote, Gollya, -akra. (roducts made with such embroidery have a bohemian style and are complete tourist attractions. Cambani embroidery generally makes use of := colours and red and blue are used mostly. The base cloth used is either cotton khadi or power loom fabric which is dyed with vegetable dyes of ?attha, /athan&ot, $hawal ?udi, (omegranate peel, etc. The traditional costume of the Cambani woman glitters with small pieces of mirror, coins and outfit &ewellery. The Cambani women0s costume containing of Cehenga, $holi and 4dhni are embroidered with intense rainbow)coloured fabrics covered with a montage of mElange mirrors. Their work is sought after for its vivacity of pattern and colour, and for the unusual technique of sewing hundreds of small mirrors into the compositions. Each piece depicts an aspect of the Cambani conceptions. +pplications of Cambani Asing intricate methods of embroidery, the mirrors, shells, &ewellery piece etc are affi ed to cloth, which is made into dresses, bags, pillow cases, wall hangings, table mats etc. E quisite purses, dresses, bed spreads and wall hangings are made with intricate needlework. These articles come from the e perienced and deft hands of traditional craft women.