Marwar Crafts Villages

Just a short drive from Jodhpur are several villages, each of which focus on a different craft. I really enjoy visiting craftspeople in their homes. It enables me to view the process (which typically increases my appreciation of the product), see their surroundings and what might inspire them, and any purchases directly benefit the creator - not a middleman.

Our first craft stop was at the home of a 73-year old weaver, member of the lower-caste weavers known as the Megwal. Sitting in an indented bathtub-like hole in the earthen floor, the man was busy creating a rug on his rather crude loom. In halting English, he explained that he was the last adult weaver of his village. Thankfully some children are now learning the craft. While some colors on his woolen carpets definitely looked like natural dyes, I was shocked to hear that the vibrant pinks, greens, reds, and other colors were also derived from plants. Squeezing the pod of a tree, fluorescent pink squirted out. What knowledge of plants these weavers have!

Our next stop included pottery from a nearby village as well as block printing. A young man from Kakuni demonstrated his pottery prowess as he kicked the large stone in motion and deftly manipulated the clay to form vessels. Decorations were added with simple tools. This kick wheel was particularly interesting, as it could be tilted. Wheel-formed pieces and hand-built sculptures were displayed on shelves, ready for purchase. I particularly liked the whimsical camels, birds, and turtles. Considering the earthen kiln that the terra-cotta colored pieces were fired in, the pieces were remarkably high-fired.

Next door another young man demonstrated block printing that his family does. His family comes from the Chippas caste, the traditional block printers. Another caste carves the teakwood blocks. For the combination of colors in a design, different blocks must be carved. Certain designs, he explained, are worn by particular castes. Once again, natural dyes were used. Mud and soap was used as a resist. In addition to printing cloth for clothing and headwear (including turbans), his family prints beautiful tablecloths. The quality between their hand-printed designs and machine-printed designs was immediately apparent.

We then drove to our final destination - the village of Salwas. Here a husband and wife were busy collaboratively weaving a dhurrie, a simple rug once used as an underlay. The geometric patterns reminded me of those in Navajo rugs. As some rugs were laid out on clean gravel for us to see, their well-spoken son explained that these rugs were made from members of their village cooperative which also consisted of widows. In addition to the common cotton weavings, others were made out of jute and camel hair, each resulting in a different look and texture. Tree of Life designs, sprouting forth in vivid color, reminded me of the Mexican designs of the same name. The slightly abstracted bird designs were quite unique and were completed in various colors. Walking past a small circular hut once again covered in cow dung, we were invited to lunch. Rugs were placed at each side of the low table, where we enjoyed a meal of dahl, ghee, chappatis, crispy pampadom, and a garlic chili paste. Thanking our hosts for the excellent meal, we then returned back to Jodhpur.

See more photos of the crafts villages on Flickr

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