Jamawar

What is Jamawar?

Jamawar is a woven shawl cloth from Kashmir, also called a gown piece. The name joins two words: jama, robe, and war or var, yard, because the fabric was once sold by length. The best jamawar is built in pashmina, a fine wool, and its brocaded parts are woven with silk or polyester threads that match the ground. Today the designs are mostly floral, led by the kairy motif. Every early piece was made by hand, and some shawls took decades to finish, which is why original jamawars are so valued. Newer machine-made versions, printed rather than woven, cost far less. In the past, owners wore the cloth as a gown or kept it as a wrap.

Where does Jamawar come from?

The cloth reached India as Chinese silk, carried by traders from Samarkand and Bukhara. It caught on quickly with royalty and the aristocracy. Kings and nobles purchased it by the yard, dressing in it as a gown or folding it into a wrap or shawl. Weaving centres grew in holy cities and trading towns across India, and the best known are Kashmir and Punjab. Because the raw materials were fine and costly, the cloth belonged to wealthy merchants and noblemen, who could commission weavers to make it for them, as the Mughals did. Emperor Akbar was among its greatest patrons, and he had many weavers brought from East Turkestan to settle in Kashmir.

How is Jamawar made?

Traditional jamawar is handwork. The finest cloth has a pashmina ground, and its brocaded areas are worked in threads of a similar kind, silk or polyester, so the pattern is woven in rather than printed on. Because every piece was made by hand, some shawls kept weavers busy for decades before they were done. That slow pace is one reason original jamawars change hands at high prices now. Machine-made jamawar prints are produced today in Kashmir and elsewhere in Himachal Pradesh. They cost much less to buy, but the handmade cloth remains expensive.

Colours, motifs and borders

Today's jamawar is mostly floral, and the pattern that leads the cloth is the kairy, its predominant motif. The brocaded areas are worked in threads akin to the ground, so the ornament is woven in rather than printed. The finest cloths take a pashmina base. Little is recorded about borders or decorated ends for this fabric; its identity rests on brocaded florals and on the costly fibre beneath the pattern.

How Jamawar is worn

This is not saree cloth, and no drape is recorded for it. Historically, kings and nobles purchased the fabric by the yard and had it made up as a gown, or used the length as a wrap or shawl across the shoulders. In that sense it belongs with wrapped cloth: one length could dress the body or fold around it. The cloth is classed as a shawl, and that remains its familiar form.

When Jamawar is worn

No festival or rite is specially tied to jamawar. Its setting was courtly. The cloth found favour with royalty and the aristocracy, and rich merchants and noblemen commissioned weavers directly, as the Mughals did. Akbar's patronage placed it at the centre of Mughal taste. Cloth this slow to make and costly in fibre marked the standing of whoever wore it as a gown or wrap.

Styles of Jamawar

Two kinds of jamawar circulate now. Handmade pieces are very expensive and highly prized, and original shawls, some decades in the making, count as valuables. Machine-made jamawar prints, turned out in Kashmir and elsewhere in Himachal Pradesh, cost far less. Production is not tied to one town: besides Kashmir, Punjab is the other well-known weaving centre in India, and such centres historically grew up in holy cities and trade towns.

What Jamawar means

Jamawar's story is one of patronage and price. Emperor Akbar, counted among its greatest patrons, settled weavers from East Turkestan in Kashmir, helping seed the craft there. Weaving centres took root in holy cities and trading towns, with Kashmir and Punjab the best known. Because a single handmade shawl could absorb decades of work, original jamawars are treasured and costly, and the gap between handwoven cloth and machine prints now shapes the trade.

Questions people ask about Jamawar

Good reading and sources

• Jamawar on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data