Dastkari Haat Samiti
Dastkari Haat Samiti
The creation of Mata ni Pachedi
The Vagharis were nomads who lived along the edges of the Sabarmati River in Gujarat. Cultivators and agricultural workers, they also sold or exchanged old goods. Around 300 years ago, they became artists and creators of Mata ni Pachedi, an impressive form of textile art that serves the purpose of a shrine for the marginalised and excluded, of whom they were also a part of.
Mata ni Pachedi: The materials of the artist (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
Like other textiles prepared using natural colours, there is an elaborate pre-treatment of the fabric before any painting or printing is started.
This involves de-starching and preparation by soaking and washing the cloth, and then treating it with a solution of harda (terminalia chebula).
Mata ni Pachedi: Artist Jagdish Chitara makes his creations in his home (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
The creation of a Mata ni Pachedi, an artistic sacred textile wall piece, involves a step-by-step process.
Jagdish Chitara of Ahmedabad demonstrates how the cloth is built up in stages till it is ready for the customer to take home and use it as the backdrop of a small wooden shrine.
Mata ni Pachedi: Mata ni Pachedi artist Jagdish Chitara at work (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
The original Mata ni Pachedi strictly adhered to two colours made of natural dyes - black and deep red.
The artist first makes an outline of the artwork in black. This colour is derived from iron through a process that takes 15 days.
Mata ni Pachedi: Textile dedicated to Bochar Mata (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
The Mata ni Pachedi in its full form has a central figure of the female deity. The rest of the arrangements are placed in a grid with architecture-like insertions in the form of doors and archways in a stylised format.
Wooden blocks
Wooden block-printing and painting are the two techniques used to create the Mata ni Pachedi; the former for borders and certain figures, and brushes and paint for freehand drawings, embellishments and some flights of fancy that the artist may choose to incorporate. The artists combine free hand-painting with hand block printing. Jagdish Chittara values the old blocks that have been with the family for years and stores them carefully.
Mata ni Pachedi: Blocks used in making Mata ni Pachedi textiles (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
While some forms are made free hand, wooden hand blocks are also used.
Like other Chittara artists, Jagdish’s family values their old blocks and has stored them in the family home.
Mata ni Pachedi: Wooden blocks (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
Samples of some common blocks used for printing Mata ni Pachedi.
Mata ni Pachedi: Wooden block (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
The sun and the moon are generally seen in the two top corners of a Mata ni Pachedi.
Mata ni Pachedi: Wooden block (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
There are singers, musicians, shamans, animals and birds that seem to dance and fly in celebration of the goddess.
Mata ni Pachedi: Wooden blocks (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
The elegance and refinement of all these shapes depend on the carving skills of the block maker and the artistic qualities of the Chittara painter.
The painting process
Once the outline is ready red colour is filled in using the brushes made from bamboo. The dye is made from a solution of alum mixed with tamarind seed powder. The solution appears yellow because a non-permanent dye is mixed in to make it visible during the application. The colour that gets developed on the fabric after it is treated with the mordant alizarin is a deep red.
Mata ni Pachedi: Bamboo brushes (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
Brushes made from bamboo are used for filling in the red colour. The yellow of the solution comes from a non-permanent dye the artist mixes in to make it visible during the application. The colour that will be developed on the fabric after it is treated with the mordant alizarin is a deep red.
Mata ni Pachedi: Filling in the areas where red colour will be developed using a mordant (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
The red colour is then filled in using brushes made from bamboo. The dye is made from a solution of alum with tamarind seed powder.
Mata ni Pachedi: Artist filling in the colour (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
A non-permanent yellow colour is added to the solution to make it visible for the artists while they are applying the dye on the fabric.
Washing and drying
The artists of Vaghari community who create the Mata ni Pachedi were among the itinerant poor who shifted from place to place along the banks of the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad, in Gujarat. The sacred textiles emerge from their tiny homes and are washed in the local, and often muddy, river. They are dried on the pipes and rocks nearby.
Mata ni Pachedi: Washing off excess dye (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
Once the fabric is dyed, the cloth is washed to remove any excess dye.
The community has traditionally been based near the river, hence, this process was carried out in the flowing river water.
Mata ni Pachedi: Drying the cloth (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
Even today the artists go down to the banks of the Sabarmati, which flows through the city, for this stage of production.
The washed cloth is spread out to dry on whatever surface is available.
Mata ni Pachedi: Alizerine, the mordant used for red dye (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
Alizarin is used as a mordant to develop and fix the dye.
Mata ni Pachedi: Dhawda flowers (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
Dried dhawda flowers are also added.
Mata ni Pachedi: Solution of alizerine (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
To ensure that a uniform solution is made, the alizarin is wrapped in a piece of cloth that functions as a make-shift pouch, which is then lowered into a container with water.
Mata ni Pachedi: Developing and fixing red colour (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
The cloth is boiled in this solution for a while. When it is removed, the red colour is visibly developed.
Mata ni Pachedi: Developing and fixing red colour (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
Jagdish Chittara learnt this art from his father and grandfather, who were both recognised nationally for the excellence in their work.
Mata ni Pachedi: Developing and fixing red colour (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
The piece is ready to be put out to dry. Natural dyeing processes are sensitive to climate conditions. The strength of the sun’s rays affect the final intensity of the colour.
Mata ni Pachedi: Textile put out to dry (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
Monsoon is not generally a favourable time for dyeing because of the humidity in the air. Jagdish Chittara therefore made only a small piece to demonstrate the process.
Mata ni Pachedi: A traditional Mata ni Pachedi (2017) by Sanjay ChitaraDastkari Haat Samiti
The story
The Mata, or Mother Goddess shrine cloth is most in demand during
Navratri, the nine days when incarnations of the Goddess Durga are
worshipped across large parts of India. Clients commission Chittara
artists, as the Vaghari artists are now known, to make the central
figure of their own protector goddess surrounded by images of the other
incarnations, legends, portions from religious epics and even shamans.
These are set up and elaborately decorated during the festive days of
Navratri when the Mother Goddess is worshipped throughout India.
A typical Mata ni Pachedi follows a particular format. At the centre is an image of the Mother Goddess framed in a shrine or temple. On both sides of this is the imagery symbolising her worshippers, and also has references to religious epics and folklore.
Mata ni Pachedi: The central figure of the goddess is often shown framed in a temple or shrine (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
The particular image of the goddess depends on who has commissioned the textile.
There are multiple forms and attributes of the goddess and each of the communities sharing the tradition of the Mata ni Pachedi has its own particular deity.
Mata ni Pachedi: Traditional Mata ni Pachedi art form (2017) by Sanjay ChitaraDastkari Haat Samiti
Each of the goddess also has her own seat or form of transport. Goddess Chamundi rides a lion, while Mamai Mata sits atop a camel, and Goddess Vahanvati travels in a boat.
The iconography also represents different attributes associated with legends of the Mother Goddess.
Mata ni Pachedi: A procession of worshippers (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
Ganesha, the elephant-headed god, who considered auspicious for all beginnings, is commonly seen to the left of the Mata's image.
Mata ni Pachedi: The shaman with the sacrificial goat (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
The Mother's worshippers, coming to pray, are depicted recalling the ritual ceremonies associated with the faith.
In this particular piece, you can see the musicians, the shaman holding his whisk made of peacock feathers and the sacrificial goat that will be offered to the goddess.
Mata ni Pachedi: Some of the figures are hand block printed (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
The sacred textile also includes references to the religious epics. Shravan Kumar from the Ramayana, who epitomises filial piety, is often seen carrying his blind parents on a pilgrimage.
There are images showing Lord Krishna or Rama, recognised by the viewer through references to symbols, like Rama’s bow or Krishna’s flute.
Mata ni Pachedi: Importance of epics, religious beliefs and popular customs (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
Images tell the events from the lives of gods, such as the story of young Krishna dancing on the serpent Kalia’s head.
Other images capture customary beliefs. An image of a two-headed deer, one head looking forward and the other looking back, signifies the adage that one should never look back.
Mata ni Pachedi: A traditional Mata ni Pachedi (2017) by Sanjay ChitaraDastkari Haat Samiti
The Mata ni Pachedi textile captures various valued symbols and beliefs. It breaks the barriers of exclusion from entry into the temple.
In fact, it goes beyond the temple to encapsulate many aspects of what is considered sacred for the communities that it binds together in their faith of the Mother Goddess.
Mata ni Pachedi: Traditional Mata ni Pachedi art form (2017)Dastkari Haat Samiti
Read more about Mata ni Pachedi here:
- The Community
- Chittara Environs in Ahemadabad
Text: Aloka Hiremath, Jaya Jaitly
Photography: Suleiman Merchant
Artisans: Jagdish Chittara, Sanjay Chittara
Ground Facilitator: Aloka Hiremath
Documentary Video: Suleiman Merchant
Curation: Aradhana Nagpal