Ongoing Projects - Weaving

Socio-Economic Perspective on Weaving

Weaving began in Khunti and in nearby locations essentially as a domestic activity undertaken by certain families or villages to produce fabrics for personal use and ornamentation. Though in due course the finer skills of the craft started diminishing as the people engaged in weaving moved towards different occupations. The focus for weaving at that time mainly remained for more ritualistic reasons and off course in very interior villages.

This pattern did change in subsequent years with the decline of mainstream crafts associated with rituals; more emphasis began to be laid for economic reasons, on the commercial exploration of weaving. As a result of this mass production, the aesthetic and cultural values of these fabrics started deteriorating. Observing this erosion the natives decided to preserve their most significant creations from external influences and started making imitations. Presently authentic Jharkhand designs are not readily available in the market, and though the cultural significance of traditional Jharkhand fabrics have been re-established, the context in which they are used has been redefined.

The potentials of the selected regions

After looking at various tribes/villages involved in weaving in Jharkhad, the villages around Khunti were selected for study and exploration in relevance to the project objectives.

Although this region of Jharkhand’s most researched and ‘uplifted’ community through the efforts of various government and non-government organizations, the actual state of weavers and craftspeople is nowhere what it was ideally aimed to be. With the sudden rise in demand of Jharkhand artifacts in recent past, the craftsmen of the region were targeted to be mass producers to cater to these. In a hurried production schedule they started duplicating whatever artifacts were known to them and eventually lost out on the ability to harness potential new ideas and influences. This resulted in an unsustainable development of craftsmanship. Cottage industries and training institutes/centers were set up which trained groups of people to add to the machinery of production and a new breed of weavers and craftsmen emerged, who eagerly catered to commercial viability but were alienated from their cultural roots and the social context relevant to the weaving of fabrics. Though the process initially did meet up to the challenges of the moment, but in the long run failed to adapt to the constantly changing consume demands and world trends, and today faces the danger of getting completely sidetracked in impending stagnation. However, the positive effects that this distraction has produced remain and can be used to build a more sustainable and evolving system of craft development. The weavers, owing to the sheer quantity of weaving done, are masters of their craft. They are open to outside influences and possible design intervention and will readily undertake a challenging assignment if the ensuing benefits are outlined. Owing to the nature of their original fabrics and costumes, their excellence in making the discrete stripes and intricate motifs can be harnessed to global acceptance through even slight design intervention.

Research and development in this area therefore offers a unique opportunity to understand the relevance of weaving in its original social context, and hence implement a process of development, which is more sustainable and in congruence with Jharkhand lifestyle. The results of such pilot effort can be used to minimize the derogatory effects of the previous failed attempts at revival or upliftment of traditional crafts.

Current ShortComings

• There is no concurrent documentation of the textile tradition of ancient or modern Jharkhand, as a result of which:
  • With each dying weaver or craftsmen, a considerable portion/segment of traditional skills and knowledge is lost, un-revived
  • No record of progress or evolution in the field of weaving has been done, rendering the tracing of the reasons for deterioration impossible.
  • Loss of traditional wisdom ensue careless and unkempt attempts at development, clinging to the same old bound set of references which remain static and soon will exhaust to keep up with the modern day trends and implementation.
• There is no training center in present day Jharkhand that emphasizes on the application of intrinsic knowledge, borne out of age old customs and cultural patterns. Instead they all club the various individual ethnic styles under a common banner, which is made to sway under the pressures of market conditions. The natural evolution carried out by a craftsmen or artist’s instinct in interaction with his/her changing environment is hindered.
• Market demands lead the weavers to produce in mass quantity, products of low quality and negligible authenticity, to meet up with ever fluctuating demands. Even the physical qualities or products get irreversibly affected in addition to the aesthetics and intrinsic quality in such a hasty production system. Moreover, the weavers or craftsmen have little exposure to or understanding of the ultimate outlets of the products needed in order to be able to intervene during the design process.
• The customers or the end users are themselves seldom aware of the cultural significance of the products they buy; with no understanding either of the labor and resources involved in the production of it. Therefore, even though they demand more of the same, they are not willing to pay the right price for it. This leads to the slashing down of resources, time and dedication allotted to the craft by the craftsmen, resulting in a subsequent degradation of quality.
• Lots have been done for the wavers in the rush for a development drive, buildings erected, places constructed for weaving etc. but after a certain months/year, no follow ups in any manner has been done on previous work, resulting in a complete undoing of all the effort undertaken.