Sambalpuri Saree – A Cultural Ingredient Of Odisha!

Odisha is a treasure of rich cultural heritage within all the corners of the state. Here people are more religious, which reflects within their arts and crafts. If we talk about the art and culture of Odisha’s Ikat, then it is one of the primary crafts of the state. In the western part of the state, Sambalpuri Saree ( Ikat ) is one of the glory examples from the region, which is very famous across the country. 

The Sambalpuri Saree ( locally in Odia called Sadhi or Pata ) is a traditional female garment in the Indian subcontinent. It consists of a strip of unstitched cloth ranging from four to nine meters in length that drapes over the body in various styles. The trademark of these sarees is the traditional craftsmanship of the ‘Bandhakala‘, the Tie-dye art. It is reflected in their intricate weaves that make the garment unique from others. Mainly it has been produced in Bargarh, Sambalpur, Bolangir, Sonpur, Boudh districts of Odisha made with 100% hand-woven fabric.

History and Origin

Since the period of ancient people, there are no historical records about the origin of sarees. But when humans civilized gradually from eating raw meat and using leaves to cover up their bodies. They systematically knew the art of making clothes by using weaving techniques. The community that developed the art of making these sarees was called the Bhulia community.

The Bhulia Community

It is said, after the fall of the Chouhan Empire by the Mughals in 1192 AD, a community of people had fled from northern India. But halfway through, some of them forgot their path. They stayed here, and that’s why the community was named ‘Bhulia’ by other local communities. From there, the Bhulia community brings the art of Sambalpuri Ikat to Western Odisha. 

Earlier the art flourished with just a limited number of designs and mainly consisted of sarees used by the womenfolk of Odisha, which came in few vegetable colours. These sarees were known as ‘Bhulia-Kapta’. 

From Weaver’s Mouth

According to the local weaver experts, there was a society for the weavers during British rule. The Britishers kept some precious books regarding design and pattern in that society. Pictures inside those books were based on Odisha’s three major temples, Jagannath Temple, Konark Sun Temple, and Lingaraj Temple’s design. The designs which today’s weavers are making are all inspired from those three temples.

Stages Of Making

Traditionally, the weavers first draw on a paper of different designs of a fish and a flower together which they have called Machha-Phula. After that, how it is made and woven would be like a Saree or Shirt piece or a Towel or a Veil or a Scarf. To make this, they used to take measurements, sketch a design on paper, and then apply it on the cloth.

Then they have decided which kind of thread will be used, mainly three variants of threads, 120 number ( Fine thread ) or 100 number or 80 number they are using in respective designs. As per measurement, One inch equals how many ‘Basati’ or how many ‘Kadi’, Two threads are equal to One Kadi.

1st Stage

The cotton yarn is placed and tied against a wooden frame to distribute the thread equitably and prevent inconsistency in the yarn.

2nd Stage

In the tying process, clusters of threads are tightly arranged against a wooden frame for the process of tying. Marks are made on the threads, according to the design.

3rd Stage

After this, once the entire process of tying is completed, the tied cluster of yarn is dipped in coloured dye. As a result colour penetrates into the united portions of the threads.

Subsequently, the first set of knots on the threads are opened, and then a new layer of tying and dying is undertaken. This is repeated several times for the final pattern to manifest and different layers of colours to form.

4th Stage

After completing all the previous processes, the weaving process begins, which is the most complicated stage and undertaken by the weaver of the family. It takes several weeks of laborious effort to produce a finished Saree or Pata from scratch.

Popularity

Earlier, the demand of Ikat was limited within Odisha, and the craftsmen lived in penury. In 1980, the then prime minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi was fond of these sarees. When she was wearing those, that magically got popularised throughout India. After that, many politicians and celebrities have also shown their interest in Sambalpuri sarees by making it part of their daily life. Also, in 2007, when the veteran Bollywood actor Amitab Bachhan went to Aishwariya Ray’s house for his son’s marriage proposal, he went along with two pieces of Sambalpuri sarees. 

There are different Sambalpuri sarees ( Pata ) categories with other names popular in the market. For example, Sambalpuri silk saree is the name originated from Sambalpur, Sonpur saree from Sonpur, Bomkai saree, Bichitrapuri saree, Sudarsani saree, Apko saree etc.

Current Status Of The Bandhakala Craft

The authentic Sambalpuri saree is based upon the natural Bandhakala craftsmanship, which is finely threaded woven. Other than the Sambalpuri region, it will be difficult to find genuine bandhakala art, you will see duplicate art in other places, which is not upto the mark.

In other states, people are producing a variety of duplicate products by copying the design in the name of Sambalpuri Ikat. The pain point is that duplicate sarees cost much less than the original Sambalpuri sarees. So the customers buy those cheaper ones.

As a result, people are not interested in fine art; instead, they are making cheaper and low-cost sarees. If they make sarees of rich fine art, it will take them months, but it will be completed in a single day if they make cheaper ones.

Due to all these reasons, the people of the weaver community are getting discouraged, and for livelihood, some of them have been changing their professions. Also, the new generation of the community is much more interested in higher education and high-paid salary jobs; nobody is interested in working as a weaver.

How To Identify A Sambalpuri Saree

As I have already mentioned, the identity of genuine Sambalpuri silk saree is mainly focused on its craftsmanship of the Bandha technique. Also, there are some other secondary points that you should keep in mind while choosing the right one. In most sarees, the end piece (pallu) is well designed and woven with different colors and designs. The appearance of most of the sarees is reflected with a simple design and has a tribal shade in it. 

There are focused mainly on three colors, Black, White, and Red, as the background of most sarees. But nowadays you can find saree with various designs with different colors. Some of the familiar and traditional designs or patterns you will find in your saree like Drum or Pellet Drum, Flowers, Fish, Peacock. Also, you will see some of the designs inspired by the sculpture of the three major temples of Odisha Jagannath, Lingaraj, and Konark Sun temple. 

How to Wash & Care

• Keep the Saree shocked separately in plain water for at least 5 minutes. Then use mild detergent for washing softly.
• Please do not use any brush as it would increase the chances of tearing the silk.
• First, wash the border and pallu areas separately.
• Avoid bundling or keeping it wet for a long time.
• In case of stains, wash with cold water immediately; otherwise, you can also prefer dry cleaning.
• Avoid using chlorine bleach, especially on silk; it will be caused to fade off the color of the saree.

An Appeal To Survive

The tradition of making handicrafts and weaving is one of the rich aspects of Odisha’s cultural heritage. This sector is one of the largest unorganised sectors after agriculture despite having advantages of less capital inclusive, less use of power, and being eco-friendly. But at the same time, this industry faces many problems that some other sectors do not meet. 

 The government should make some welfare decisions favoring the community that help to enhance their production, infrastructure, productivity and enhance the income and socio-economic status of the weavers. Also, some schemes have been launched by both the state and central government, such as Deen Dayal Hathkargha Protsahan Yojana and some others. But the government also needs to monitor whether those schemes are performing correctly or not on the ground.

Last but not least, It is hard to hear, but for the survival of art and culture, it is challenging to maintain nowadays. The new generation should show their interest in the Sambalpuri Ikat and use it in their day-to-day life. Only then, the art and artisan will survive.

Dear Readers, kindly share your thoughts here if you like the article. Also, If I have missed something to mention here and need to update within this list, please let me know below in the comment section. – Odisha Darsan