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The weavers are struggling to survive in approximately 150 villages in Bangladesh. A village called ‘Rupshi’ of Rupganj Upazila is popularly known as ‘Jamdani Village’. Situated on the riverbank of Shitalakhya, it is about an hour drive from the capital city Dhaka to the village.

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Jamdani is considered as one of the most beautiful revelations of artistic talents of weavers in Bangladesh. It is included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2013. Only recently it has got the GI (Geographical Indication) registration.

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Jamdani is the only surviving variety of traditional muslins. In the Mughal period (1526–1707), the finest Jamdani was produced in Dacca, a Bengal state (now Dhaka, Bangladesh).

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Jamdani is derived from the Persian word “jam” (meaning floral) and 'Dani' that is a vase or container named after decorative floral patterns found in Dhakai Muslin.

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In the early 20th century, the home of this craft began shifting from Sonargaon to Rupganj. The bank of Shitalakkhya River that was also a part of Dhaka in the past still remains as a popular location for Jamdani craftsmen.

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In addition to the sarees, Jamdani motifs and designs are also used for male and female kurtas.

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The price of Jamdani varies from 2,000 to as high as 200,000 BDT depending on the vibrancy of motifs and time spent on stitching.

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Based on the variations of threads, four kinds of Jamdani are available: nylon, cotton, half-silk, and full-silk.

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Popular motifs of Jamdani include: panna hajar (thousand emeralds), kalaka (paisley), butidar (small flower), fulwar (flower arranged in straight rows), tesra (diagonal patterns), jalar (motifs evenly covering the sari), duria (polka spots), charkona (rectangular motifs), naksha, belwari, nayanbahar, toradar, hazartara mayuri, and others.

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Jamdani patterns are mostly of geometric, plant, and floral designs. The Jamdani textiles combine intricacy of design with muted or vibrant colors. The finished garments are highly breathable.

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There is no written document for the innumerable motifs used in Jamdani. The motifs are repeated with remarkable precision and time-tested consistency. Nothing is sketched or outlined. The weavers can easily estimate the time required for weaving a particular motif.

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Transmitted from generation to generation, the art of Jamdani weaving is a combination of creativity, imagination, and skills. Jamdani being hand-stitched is its main feature.

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As some Jamdani weavers are also mothers, so the presence of children nearby the looms are very common.

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In the looms, weavers are often accompanied by the close keens and relatives; husband with wife, father with daughter or sister with brother.

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Majority of the loom workers are teenagers. Both boys and girls work together on the same loom.

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A disciple is learning how to weave Jamdani from his master.

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Young people of the weaving community specifically get training through a hereditary system of apprenticeship. They start learning Jamdani weaving at a very young age.

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These weavers are locally called Tantees or Karigors. A village weaving community is generally composed of loom-dressers, dyers, spinners, and master weavers. All of them form a very closely-knit family bounded by enduring unity, distinctiveness, and unique character.

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Weavers set up looms inside a house according to space availability and economic capacity. For poor families that usually have only one living room, their looms are set up in it, too.

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In addition to looms for two weavers, there are small looms for one person. These looms are mostly used for making cheaper saree, salwar-kamiz, kurta, and panjabee.

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Two weavers can use one loom at the same time to make saree.

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The local weavers use bamboo in making the whole structure of the loom; it is locally called “tant”. Wood, jute, or plastic can also be used to make loom.

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During the weaving process, a small shuttle of thread called ‘Maku’ is passed through the weft. Two weavers sit alongside each other at the loom and add every discontinuous supplementary weft motifs separately by hand using a tool called ‘Kandul’. They interlace the supplementary weft threads into the warp with fine bamboo sticks in a zigzag manner using individual spool of thread.

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The weavers sell their furnished products to retailers. The exchange takes place in their house and local markets. The locally set markets are called Jamdani Haat. Haats sit on the river banks early in the morning, where small weaving families bring their sarees to sell at a whole sale price. Businessmen, retailers, and occasionally some urban families come to these Haats to buy Jamdani sarees.

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Artistic hands and touch of nature bring the finest Jamdani.

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Dyers use different types of colors to contrast the threads. Choice of color depends on design and motifs. The weavers have mastered Jamdani motifs.

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The weavers collect threads from their local shops. It creates a small scale market network among the weavers, service providers, and producers.

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House yards are used to prepare and arrange threads for weaving.

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Locally made, the spinning wheels are made up of bamboo sticks. Over time they have started adopting some wheels made by spare mechanical tools.

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Women members, in particular, of the weaving communities do the work involving the spinning wheel.

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The everyday life and dreams of the Jamdani weavers revolve around their craft. Traditional weaving is such an art made by passion, hooks, and threads. Motifs are woven on the loom, typically in grey and white. There is a particular number of threads used to perfectly bring a design into life. Muslin is made of at least 300 counts of thread, while Jamdani is made of 40 to 120 counts of thread.

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The art of Jamdani weaving is a time-consuming and labour-intensive form of fabric production by hand on a traditional loom built with wood and bamboo and with little use of metal. Jamdani weaving is based on the traditional knowledge and skills dating back to the fourth century BCE. The distinguishing hallmark of Jamdani weaving is that its designs are neither embroidered nor printed but created directly on the loom in the process of weaving. The product from this style of weaving is called Jamdani, a highly designed cotton fabric which owes its origin to Muslin, the finest and most transparent cotton cloth ever woven by human hand. Of classic beauty, Jamdani effectively combines intricacy of design with muted or vibrant colours. Jamdani is also a highly breathable cotton cloth which brings relief to its users in the hot and humid climatic condition of Bangladesh. The Jamdani weavers have remained in the weaving profession from generations to generations as a means of family livelihood. The element represents Bangladesh’s rich textile heritage, contains significant historic value and has been designated as a unique element of the intangible cultural heritage of the country. Jamdani weaving has survived and thrived due to growing popularity of Jamdani fabrics among Bengali women both at home and abroad. Almost the entire production of Jamdani is carried on in the form of sari, the principal dress of Bengali women. Sari is a long flowing piece of cloth, part of it wrapped around the waist, and the remaining climbs and flows over the shoulder. Women wear more charming or elaborately designed Jamdani saris during festivities and on formal occasions.