Woven Souls
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Vintage Hunting Shawl of the Koraput Tribals
circa 1950

The Koraput district in Orissa, is home to
one of the few surviving but diminishing tribes in central India.
This community weaves - in a format that is
unique compared to all it's neighbours. This suggests that the tribe
is an inward migrant from some place else.
Someday I will embark upon a project that will trace the history
of this migration using the textile weaves & motifs
as the 'hansel&gretel bread crumb' markers across geography.
The weavings of this group are simple, non-ornate and very very basic.
Someone described these as the Gabbehs of Indian textiles !

The photoessay on Koraput textiles in the travelogue section
provides a detailed context of the role that textiles play in the life of Korapat tribals

This piece is a vintage hunting shawl which is to be presented
to the menfolk of the tribe in a ceremony that marks the commencement of the hunting season.
This occurs once a year during the early moths of the roman calendar.

The colors in the first two images indicate the real colors and the red is absolutely gorgeous!

If you would like to know more about the piece or would like to own it
please write to

jaina@wovensouls.com

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