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Bhujodi-A time-defying Craft!

Bhujodi Weave-A time-defying craft! 

Bhujodi is a unique weave, hand woven with an extra weft technique. It is an almost 500 years old sustainable craft that gets its name from a small village located 8 kilo-meters South-East of Bhuj at Kutch (a major center for handloom textiles and an astonishing variety of artisanal crafts) in Gujrat.  Bhujodi village is the biggest and oldest artisans’ village in the district and is home to approximately 200 skilled Vankars (Weavers) who have been practicing the craft for generations.  The village is famous for its exquisitely woven traditional handloom fabrics & recently for Vande Matram Memorial. It attracts a lot of domestic and international tourists.  

The Vankars at Bhujodi lives and breathe the craft. They deftly weave the delicate yarns together with the Heritage of their Ancestors, Centuries-Old Traditions and Current Life Stories intertwining them with the Warp and Weft to create these incredible environment-friendly fabrics, with their dexterous hands. The Vankars are believed to have been the descendants of the Meghwal (Marwada) clan who migrated from Rajasthan to Bhujodi five centuries ago. There are many awards and accolades to their credit. 

History

Centuries ago the nomadic tribes (the original customers of Bhujodi) of the area needed warm clothes to protect themselves from the harsh cold in winters. Vankars of the region swiftly rose up to the occasion. Traditionally, they used hand-spun woolen yarn provided by the ‘Rabaris’, a wandering pastoral community of sheep and goat herders. For decades the Vankers nurtured a harmonious barter system with the ‘Rabaris’ sourcing the wool and milk products from them in exchange for weaving various items for them.

Gradually the Vankars developed a unique style of weaving that provided the Kutchi community with Hand Spun Blankets, Shawls, Cloths, Pagadis (Turbans) and Traditional Dress Materials that matched the needs of the Rabari community. The Vankars create one-of-a-kind pieces that not only represent the cultural mores of their community and became their identity but also their primary source of income.  The specialty of Bhujodi weave is the use of simple, geometric motifs to create a piece of art by inserting extra weft.

Later the microcosm of the village changed, the Pastoral Communities reduced in numbers but the craft found more and more demand from other Communities. The herdsmen may be long gone but the hand-woven heritage originated from this harmonious barter stays on. The Vankars expanded their skills and started exploring other yarns like Organic Cotton (Kala Cotton, an indigenous variety that does not require excessive irrigation or pesticides) and Silks like Tussar, Eri and Munga or a blend of these yarns to weave sustainable fabrics for contemporary Sarees, Suits, Dupattas, Dress Material and Stoles. They now also produce intricate and colourful designs in fine cotton. This has ensured a flourishing yearlong market for artisans. 

The Process of Bhujodi Weaving 

The process of Bhujodi weaving is called the “Extra Weft” technique. The craftsmen work with hands to create intricate motifs by lifting the warp with figures and inserting an extra thread in between. The uniqueness of this technique is the motifs woven are quite explicit and create a bold texture against the plain fabric which looks like embroidery.  

The Bhujodi weavers use traditional Hand Looms at their homes to make a variety of fabrics using various kinds of yarns. On a customary walk through the village you will find at least one loom in every home and the entire family comes together to contribute to the weaving process.  

Men sit at the looms, while the women prepare the yarn on a local spinning wheel (Charkha), starch it and set up the looms. Once the men are done with weaving, women assist in further augmenting the fabric by adding those final touches with Tassels & Small Mirrors. The children learn by watching their elders and get skilled at the craft by lending a helping hand from an early age.  

The whole weaving process is a rhythmic movement of various parts of the loom managed by the Vankar. While the Vankar works meditatively hunched over the loom, the Folk Tunes or the old Bollywood melodies together with the chirping of birds and playing of kids provide the background Orchestra, making the whole environment surreal. Weaving as a process goes around the year apart from the rainy season when work is lean.  

Various Motifs used in Bhujodi Weave

Bhujodi is one of the crafts that have endured the test of time. Over the centuries it has taken on a drastically new shape but the identity of the products essentially remains unchanged with the use of classic motifs such as Popati (triangle), Chaumukh (a four-sided motif), Damroo (drum Shape), Panjka (two opposite triangles joined in the middle) Wankia (chevrons) In addition, there are motifs such as Birds, Sachchi Kor, Lath, Sathkhani, Vakiyo, all suggestive of rural imagery. The weavers now work with the age-old tradition but with a slight twist to design more contemporary products that are a class apart. The naturally dyed hand-weaves are very difficult to copy.  

The final cloth can take weeks and at times months to complete depending on the size, intricacy and newness of the design. The weaving process of the Bhujodi is followed by several other intense processes. Bhujodi weaving is a craft that requires high levels of concentration and expertise. It is a physically strenuous craft that requires the craftsman to hunch over his loom for days together.

Such laboriously created products that are authentic, sustainable and international in their appeal are rare to procure and tend to have a steep price. Hence, they are not available to a larger audience.

Various initiatives to save the craft:-

•  An effort to retain the integrity of the weaving tradition, and to keep it from dying out, the Bhujodi Weavers’ Co-operative, a coming together of weavers from all over Bhujodi, was formed
• To keep their work relevant and save it from extinction, the crafts of Kutch witnessed a design intervention in the early 1970s, soon after the set-up of National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad
•  After the disastrous earthquake in 2001, several NGOs came up across the city, and along with the government, they reached out to the weavers to expand the craft of the land
• The Bhujodi ‘Kutchi’ shawls have also received the ‘GI (Geographical Indication) tag’. This recognition has enabled the weavers to get better acknowledgment and remuneration for their work.  

These artfully woven pieces of textiles have mesmerized fashion connoisseurs all over the world. When you purchase this high-quality weave you are directly contributing to sustaining the craft and supporting the Vankars’ families. At Vassundhara, we source our Bhujodi Suit Materials with Dupattas and Stoles from the best award-winning Craftsmen in Bhujodi.  

To check our Carefully Curated Collection of Authentic Traditional Indian Bhujodi Suits with Dupatta and Stoles, please visit 

https://www.vassundhara.com/categories/bhujodi

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By Puja Malik