The Tradition of Textiles in India
The Tradition of Textiles in India | | India has a diverse and rich textile tradition. The origin of Indian textiles can be traced to the Indus valley civilization. The people of that civilization used homespun cotton for weaving their garments. Excavations at Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, have unearthed household items like needles made of bone and wooden spindles, suggesting that the people would spin cotton at home to make yarn and finally garments. Fragments of woven cotton have also been found at these sites.
The first literary information about textiles in India is available in the RigVeda, which refers to weaving. The ancient Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata mention a variety of fabrics in vogue during those times. The Ramayana refers to the rich garments worn by the aristocracy, and the simple clothes worn by the commoners and ascetics. Information about ancient textiles of India can also be garnered from the various sculptures belonging to the Mauryan and the Gupta ages as well as from ancient Buddhist scripts and murals. Legends say that when Amrapali, a courtesan who lived in the kingdom of Vaishali (in present day Bihar), went to meet Gautama the Buddha, she was attired in a richly woven sari, which testifies to the technical achievements of the ancient Indian weaver.India had numerous trade links with the outside world and Indian textiles were popular in other countries of the ancient world. Indian silk was popular in Rome in the early centuries of the Christian era. Several fragments of cotton fabrics from Gujarat have been found in the tombs at Fostat (older areas of Cairo city, the country’s capital). Cotton textiles were also exported to China during the heydays of the silk route. Silk fabrics from south India were exported to Indonesia during the 13th century. India also exported printed cotton fabrics / chintz to Europe and the Asian countries like China, Java and the Philippines, long before the arrival of the Europeans. In the
The first literary information about textiles in India is available in the RigVeda, which refers to weaving. The ancient Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata mention a variety of fabrics in vogue during those times. The Ramayana refers to the rich garments worn by the aristocracy, and the simple clothes worn by the commoners and ascetics. Information about ancient textiles of India can also be garnered from the various sculptures belonging to the Mauryan and the Gupta ages as well as from ancient Buddhist scripts and murals. Legends say that when Amrapali, a courtesan who lived in the kingdom of Vaishali (in present day Bihar), went to meet Gautama the Buddha, she was attired in a richly woven sari, which testifies to the technical achievements of the ancient Indian weaver.India had numerous trade links with the outside world and Indian textiles were popular in other countries of the ancient world. Indian silk was popular in Rome in the early centuries of the Christian era. Several fragments of cotton fabrics from Gujarat have been found in the tombs at Fostat (older areas of Cairo city, the country’s capital). Cotton textiles were also exported to China during the heydays of the silk route. Silk fabrics from south India were exported to Indonesia during the 13th century. India also exported printed cotton fabrics / chintz to Europe and the Asian countries like China, Java and the Philippines, long before the arrival of the Europeans. In the