Himachal Pradesh is a snow-laden mountain state in northern India, that lies within the Western Himalayas. Within India, it shares borders with Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to the north, Punjab to the west and Uttarakhand to the south; and with the Tibet Autonomous Region in China to the east.
This is a beautiful valley state with diverse topography, breathtaking natural beauty and rich cultural heritage. The picturesque landscape of snow-capped mountains, five river basins, lush green deodar forests and blossoming apple orchards; alongside ancient Hindu temples and Buddhist monasteries; with harmonious folk music and thriving craft traditions; complemented by the warmth and simple living of the local inhabitants, encapsulates the beauty of this lovely place, rendering it one of the India's most bustling tourist hotspot.
Himachal Pradesh is also renowned for its multiple time-honored crafts, including wood and stone carving, chiselling, metalwork, miniature painting, embroidery and especially the craft of weaving. Weaving is one of the oldest Himachali tradition, with a history of over thousands of years. Due to the challenging high-altitude terrain, harsh weather, and limited transport, remote regions of the state remained inaccessible for trade for a very long time. Consequently, residents relied on weaving their own clothes from locally sourced sheep wool to withstand the extreme cold temperature. And thus, most households in Himachal have a pit loom, with both men and women equally adept at the craft, practicing weaving for both personal and commercial purposes.
The two most prominent weaving centres in Himachal Pradesh are the Kullu and Kinnaur regions. Interestingly, one of the old trade routes 'Wool Road' connecting Punjab region in India to Tibet, Central Asia and China, passed through these two places and thus greatly influenced the weaving craft of the locals, like weaving of decorative motifs on woollen garments was introduced to Kinnauris by Uzbek traders from Central Asia. Later, this style of weaving was introduced to Kullu weavers by Kinnauris who migrated to the region to escape persecution by their local king. They were even incentivized to teach their patterning techniques and styles to the Kullu weavers. Since the majority of Kinnauri people follow Buddhism, their selection of motifs is guided by their religious beliefs, cultural traditions, and the environment of their locality. Later, Kulluvi artisans also took inspiration from the intricate Kinnauri motifs, further simplified them, while incorporating new motifs drawn from their local culture and surrounding flora and fauna. Thus the most common motifs used by Himachali weavers are leaf and flower motifs, swastik, bulbul chasm (nightingale' eye), tara (star), mandir (temple), diwar-e-chine (Great wall of China, inspired by the 'Wool Road' traders), etc. Bodhtanka is the most commonly found Kinnauri motif, which is made up of small squares in such a manner that a round shape is formed.
Both the Kullu and Kinnauri artisan groups employ similar weaving methods, yet they exhibit subtle variations. Like Kullu weavers use double thread, rather than single thread, for pattern weaving, lending a coarse texture, while Kinnauri weaves are much finer and more intricate. Also as most Kinnauri people follow Buddhism, their color palette is symbolic of five elements (white for Water, yellow for Earth, red for Fire, green for Sky, and blue for Air), and when Buddhist motifs are implemented in these hues and shades, it attaches spiritual and aesthetic value to their work. While Kullu weaves, especially Kullu shawls are known worldwide for their plain body in basic weaves like plaid, twill, checks or stripes, with bold and bright colored borders on either ends, in geometrical patterns. Kinnauri shawls sometimes feature patterned borders along all the four sides, thereby making them comparatively more expensive.
The other famous Himachali handlooms include handwoven scarves, stoles, mufflers, the iconic Himachali topi (or cap) and handwoven custom fabric for tailoring jackets, overcoats, and more. Along with these products, artisans also weave their traditional dresses for local consumption, as both Himachali men and women still prefer to wear their regional dresses as a reflection of their cultural identity, like Kinnauri chhanlis and lengchas (Kinnauri shawls), Kinnauri dohrus (Kinnari women's outer garment), Kullu pattus (Kullu women's daily wear outer garment) and lois (large shawls that can also be used as blankets). Another kind of woollen shawl (or blanket) is manufactured in Rampur near Shimla, known as Rampur chaddar, which is famous for its soft texture and durability. Himachalis consider wool as pure and thus they wear especially woven beautiful and intricate traditional woollen dresses on weddings and other special occasions.
In Himachal Pradesh, a variety of looms are employed for weaving, including small, slender ones typically installed in household verandas, and operated while seated on the floor. These are specifically used for weaving thin, colorful strips or pattis, which could later be sewn as borders on shawls and dresses, or utilised as decorative accents on various items such as bags, caps, and more. Another variation of a compact and narrow loom is utilised for weaving mufflers.
Traditional pit looms are still employed for weaving shawls and lois, but commercial weaving units have transitioned to frame looms, jacquard looms, and power looms for commercial weaving. Both throw-shuttle and fly-shuttle frame looms are used, with the latter yielding more uniform fabric at a faster pace. Imported Australian Merino wool, Raffal wool, Pashmina, and Angora wool are the principal yarns used in the majority of commercial weaving. Whereas traditional pattus and dohrus are still woven in locally sourced deshkar and bihang sheep fleece and yak fleece. Also nowadays, there's a shift towards using mill-spun merino wool, often dyed without azo chemicals, along with vibrant acrylic yarn for pattern and border weaving, ensuring colorfastness and preventing color bleeding.
The embroidery tradition of Himachal is centred around the town of Chamba and is famous for rumal (or handkerchief) embroidery, which is made using muslin or mulmul or khadi fabric. These rumals are square or rectangular-shaped textiles, commonly used as gift coverings during weddings and temple offerings. They also serve as decorative backdrops in homes and canopies for deities during religious ceremonies. These are embroidered using silk threads in soft colors, employing double-darning stitches to ensure that the identical design appears on both sides. The common themes for embroidery are often taken from Pahari miniature drawings, local customs, and the wildlife of mountainous regions—like tall pine and cypress trees, tigers, and deers—blending with tales from mythology.
The art of spinning wool and weaving holds significant cultural and socioeconomic importance in Himachal Pradesh. Recognizing this, handwoven shawls from the Kullu and Kinnaur regions, along with Chamba rumal, have been granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag. This designation serves to protect these traditional crafts from counterfeit and mass-produced imitations, while also fostering support for the skilled artisan communities and promoting the exceptional quality of handmade textiles.
Image Credits: Weaver making Kullu shawl on handloom | CC BY-SA 3.0 DEED
