The Colours and Motifs of Kotpad textiles

Various shawls and stoles hang outside a weaver's small showroom.

Kotpad textiles can be recognised by their simplicity and use of unbleached yarn along with the range of deep reds obtained from the aal plant (Morinda citrifolia), commonly called as Indian madder.

Using locally available and locally processed yarns, the entire chain of production continues to be carried out in the traditional tribal way.

At the top of this image is an axe motif, locally known as Tangi.

This here is a temple motif on a Kotpad textile. The textiles were made for the attire of local tribes such as the Muria, Gonda and Bhatra.

Fish motif on the textile. The relative isolation of the tribal communities kept the craft true to its traditional moorings.

Fish motif on a Kotpad textile locally known as Machari. Aal for red and iron for black are the only dyes used.

A Kotpad textile displays a man with a horn motif, apart from umbrellas and huts.

The random quirkiness of the choice of motifs of the Muria tribe indicates the common objects amongst which they live.

Clearly water is a very important element. Seen here is a textile with crab and fish motifs along with the vessel in which they carry and store water.

A variety of motifs on this shawl consists of birds, an axe, an umbrella and crabs. A crab is locally known as a kakada.

Crabs are a popular motif in Kotpad weaves.

Kotpad weaves began to get exposure to a wider market only in the 1980s, because of the renewed interest in traditional textiles, supported by initiatives of the Odisha government.

Detail of the woven motifs on a Kotpad shawl.

Weavers have a discerning market in cities across India, where textile collectors understand the value of artefacts made by hitherto unknown indigenous tribes who follow age-old traditions in their craft work.

Temple motif on a Kotpad textile.

Images of people on a Kotpad textile are rare. Here two men carry a palki, palanquin, to carry people. The leaf motif above is from the peepal tree (Ficus Religiosa).

An axe, locally known as 'tangi', is also a motif.

A man’s head and upper torso is a rare motif. He is wearing a traditional headdress of horns.

The Kotpad textile motif is inspired from the Muriya tribe of Chhattisgarh.

A bird motif on a Kotpad textile is locally known as chedai.

The motifs in this Kotpad textiles display an elegantly woven figure of a horse and a peacock with a simple implement at the centre.

Woven figures in black yarn are tribals dancing and playing a horn instrument at a ceremonial occasion.

A temple, a peacock and pot motifs decorate the centre of a kotpad textile.

One edge of the textile would be black while one here is deep madder red, bringing in an extraordinarily sophisticated colour aesthetic.

Common tribal motifs on a Kotpad textile.

Kotpad textiles that have a variety of motifs and more elaborate borders and central panels are kept to wear on ceremonial occasions

Between geometric motifs and peepal leaves, this textile piece has a lizard, locally known as jitpiti, woven into it.

Amongst textile connoisseurs, Kotpad textiles are seen as one of the most natural and organic.

While Kotpad textiles still cater to a traditional market, their traditional way of life has also begun to change.

However, the very simplicity and sophistication of their textiles have made these weaves highly sought after by a new urban customer: the discerning textile lover, committed to a more organic and natural form of production and consumption.

Read more about Kotpad textiles here:

- Environment
- Dyeing Process