Kotpad handloom fabric

What is Kotpad handloom fabric?

Kotpad handloom is a family of cloths rather than a single design: sarees in cotton and tussar silk, plus shawls, stoles, dupattas and dress lengths, all coloured with dyes drawn from plant roots. It comes from Kotpad, a village in Odisha's Koraput district, where weavers of the Mirgan community produce it on handlooms. Colour is its signature. The yarn keeps something close to its unbleached off-white, and against that stand shades running from deep maroon to dark brown and black. Small extra-weft motifs, taken from the life of the tribal communities nearby, sit across the body, while the border stays solid. The cotton is easy to live in: the record notes it wears comfortably in both summer and winter.

Where does Kotpad handloom fabric come from?

The weave is anchored in Kotpad, a village in Odisha's Koraput district, and in its Mirgan weavers. They work largely for the tribal communities around them: designs such as Bhotada and Dharua are woven to suit these neighbours, so the patterns belong to the region's tribes as much as to the loom owners. Official standing arrived in 2005, when the fabric became the first product from Odisha to receive a Geographical Indication tag. Interest has continued. A documentary directed by Biswanath Rath, produced with PSBT and Doordarshan and shown on DD National in March 2018, examined what makes the craft distinct and what threatens it. The same year, master weaver Gobardhan Panika was awarded the Padma Shri.

How is Kotpad handloom fabric made?

Cotton yarn and tussar silk form the cloth; the aul tree, a form of Indian madder that grows near Kotpad, supplies the dye from its roots. Turning root into dyed thread is slow: processing the colour and dyeing the yarn takes fifteen to thirty days. Two shades dominate, maroon and black, with the range running from deep maroon to dark brown; the shade shifts with the maturity of the root bark and with how much dye is used. Adding harikari, or iron sulphate, deepens the colour further. Because everything comes from natural, non-toxic sources, the dye is gentle on the skin, and the craft is presented as an earth-friendly way of working. Against the dyed portions, the unbleached off-white of the cotton yarn throws the pattern into sharp relief.

Colours, motifs and borders

The patterns are made with extra wefts, extra threads worked in by hand while the cloth is on the loom. They picture things from life around Kotpad: creatures such as the crab and the fish, objects of daily and ritual use like boats, axes, bows, fans and the conch, and the temple form. Designs named Bhotada and Dharua are woven for the neighbouring tribal communities. The border works differently: several shuttles are interlocked and thread is laid in pick by pick, one weft pass at a time, giving a solid, unfigured band. On sarees this sits beside the end piece called the Pata Anchal. The palette stays narrow: off-white, maroon, dark brown, black.

How Kotpad handloom fabric is worn

Kotpad cloth leaves the loom in many forms, each worn in an ordinary way: sarees with a solid border and the Pata Anchal at the end, dupattas dotted with small buti motifs, stoles, scarves and dress lengths. The cotton is noted for comfort in heat and in cold, which suits it to daily use. The sources name no special drape for it.

When Kotpad handloom fabric is worn

Nothing in the record ties the cloth to weddings or festivals. It is presented as everyday fabric, comfortable across seasons, and much of it is woven for the tribal communities who live near Kotpad, whose motifs the weavers carry onto the loom. Sarees and shawls are named the most important products of the village.

Styles of Kotpad handloom fabric

The range is wide for one village craft. Cotton sarees come with a solid border and Pata Anchal; dupattas carry scattered buti motifs; scarves, stoles and dress material round out the list, all through the same dye bath. The piece the sources single out is the tussar silk saree with tribal art, and they call the fabric in natural colours the craft's specialty. Silk and cotton thus share one tradition and one dye.

What Kotpad handloom fabric means

Official recognition came early: in 2005 the fabric became the first product from Odisha to hold a Geographical Indication tag, which ties the name Kotpad to cloth actually made there. The weave is also a livelihood for the Mirgan community, and its survival is not assured; a film made for public television in 2018 examined the difficulties facing the craft and the steps that might revive it. Recognition for the weavers followed: Gobardhan Panika, a master weaver of the tradition, was given the Padma Shri, among the highest civilian honours India awards, that same year. Because the motifs are woven for the neighbouring tribal communities, the cloth also carries their identity.

Questions people ask about Kotpad handloom fabric

Good reading and sources

• Kotpad Handloom fabrics on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data