Wednesday, May 16, 2007

the banjaras(gypsys) of south and central india

The banjaras of south and central india are situated in madhya pradesh, maharastra,andhra pradesh & karnataka.these gypsy tribes live in small tadas(small villages) and go around places with there cattles.there old embroidery is one of the finest in the world.
the banjara embroidery was made by the beautiful,artistic and creative banjara womens for thier tarditional and ceremonial uses.like marriages,dowry,name cermony etc..
the banjara embroidery is mostly in geomatrical designs(squares,triangles etc..)they rarely make animal or human figures in thier embroidery.they use a wide variety of sitching in thier embroidery like chain sitch,cross sitch,stem sitch,couching,kasida,straight sitch(quilt sitch), reverse appique & mirror work etc..
these banjara womane decorate thier embroided pieces with beautiful cowrie shells(sea), cotton & wollen tassels,old coins,lead & glass beads etc...
the banjara people used natural dyes from vegetables,minerals & animal origin,all of these are easily obtained in thier own vicinity.which also included the rare indigo dye.
the threads used for the embroidery by these womens were hand spun & done on hand woven cotten mostly.sometimes we fine silk and wool also used in thier embroidery.

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