Contents
Introduction (with remarks on collecting) 9
Part I
Catalogue of the chandarvo textiles in the collection of the Museum Rietberg
A - Early painted chandarvo textiles 14
B - Early printed chandarvo text iles used in Saurashtra 21
C - Printed chandarvo textiles from Ahmedabad 26
Early printed chandarvo textiles from Ahmedabad 19th and early 20th century 27
Contemporary chandarvo textiles from Ahmedabad 53
D - Printed and painted chandarvo textiles from Jambusar 69
E - Printed and painted chandarvo textiles from Saurashtra 109
Part II
The ethnographic background of chandarvo textiles from Gujarat
Vernacular terms for matani chandarvo textiles 119
The manufacturers of the chandarvo textiles 119
The Vag hri chandarvo printers in Ahmedabad 122
The Vaghri painter families in Saurashtra 124
The chandarvo manufacturers in Jambusar 125
Notes 126
Part Ill
The technique of chandarvo textile production
The printing of chandarvo pieces in Ahmedabad 128
The basic materials 128
The washing and seasoning of the cloth 128
The equipment in a printer's workshop 130
The printing blocks 131
The materials needed for printing and seasoning 131
The printing of the cloth 132
The washing of the printed and alum-seasoned chandarvo piece 138
The dyeing 139
The washing and bleaching of the pieces 141
The printers and their customers 142
Painting a chandarvo textile in Bhingrad (near Lathi ) in Saurashtra 144
Notes 152
Part IV
The iconography of chandarvo textiles
The most important motifs of the chandarvo hangings 155
Mata mother goddesses in Gujarat 155
Ambika - 162 Bahuchara - 170 Meladi - 171 Khodiar - 177 Vihat - 177 Kalika mata - 179 Chamunda - 181 Shikotar
182 Vaduch, ma - 183 Moma, - 184 Gel mat a - 185 Hadka, - 185 Sh,tala - 186 Jal dev, water goddesses
Other major deities and mythological scenes 186
Ganesha - Shiva – Krishna 186
Arjuna, Oraupad1 and the Pandava brothers 186
Scenes from the Ramayana 187
Hanuman 187
Major legendary figures 187
Shravana 187
Sagalsha 188
Harishchandra 188
Antelope and boar hunting 188
Dhana Bhagat 189
Other depictions of importance 190
Sun and moon 190
Winged figures 190
Animals - Birds - Reptiles and fishes 190
Trees 190
Shrines 191
Scenes of ceremonies 191
The vernacular iconographic terms of the chandarvo users 192
Notes 194
Part V
The ritual use of the chandarvo textiles
Ceremonies of the underprivileged communities of Gujarat 198
Village shrines for goddesses 199
Musical instruments, ceremonial tools, sacrificial offerings 200
The ceremony of fulfilling an oath by a Vaghri community in Hirapur 202
The ceremony of the first haircut at a Bhangi settlement in Mohammadpura 214
The first day - 226 The second day- 227 The third day 214
Traditional way of preserving and storing the chandarvo pieces 258
58 Notes 258
Part VI
The variations of the chandarvo textiles - the different workshop styles
A - Early painted chandarvo textiles 261
B - Painted and partially printed chandarvo textiles from Dholka 266
Large sample piece comprising eight panels in a shrine in Bhin grad (Saurashtra) 266
Two small sample chandarvo pieces in shrines of Dholka 267
C - Printed chandarvo textiles from Ahmedabad 267
The chandarvo piece from an Ahmedabad workshop of c. 1890, in the World Museum in Vienna 267
Painted and partially printed chandarvo textiles of Saurashtra 269
The chandarvo with rhombic se pa rating strips in a private collection in Ahmedabad 269
Painted chandarvo textile representing three goddesses in Bhingrad, Saurashtra 269
Painted chandarvo textile representing the goddess Khodiar in Dholka 270
Ceremonial textiles without depiction of goddesses in Dholka 271
Notes 271
Part VII
Summary 275
Appendix
Chandarvo textiles and their production in Jambusar (Bharuch/Broach district)
The chandarvo manufacturers in Jambusar 277
Manufacturing technique 279
Clients and orders 281
Local use of chandarvo textiles 283
Mural paintings 284
Important motifs and their vernacular names 285
Chandarvo texti les documented in Jambusar 288
Group 1: Primarily painted and dyed chandarvo pieces woven from handspun cotton wool yarn 288
Group 2: Old, multi-coloured, painted, printed chandarvo textiles that are scarcely dyed 289
Group 3: Recent chandarvo textiles manufactured by Fuljibhai Dhula in Jambusar 292
Group 4: Recent chandarvo textiles manufactured by Shankarbhai Bapu in Jambusar 293
Bibliography 297