PI00005123

During the regime (1605-1627) of Mughal emperor Jahangir, the plain Jamdani muslin was decorated with numerous floral designs. The emperor was seen wearing Jamdani muslin swatch around his waist in many occasions.

PI00005125

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.

PI00005124

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.

PI00005150

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

PI00005149

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.

PI00005148

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

PI00005147

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.

PI00005146

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.

PI00005145

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.

PI00005144

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.

PI00005122

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).

PI00005121

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.

PI00005143

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

PI00005142

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

PI00005141

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

PI00005140

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

PI00005139

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.

PI00005138

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.

PI00005137

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.

PI00005136

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.

PI00005135

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

PI00005134

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.

PI00005133

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.

PI00005151

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.

PI00005132

Artistic hands and touch of nature bring the finest Jamdani.

PI00005131

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

PI00005130

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

PI00005129

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

PI00005128

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

PI00005127

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

PI00005120

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.

PI00005126

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.