Saturday, July 20, 2024

244. Navalgund Durries

Navalgund Durries also known as Nuvulgund durrigullu or Jumkhaanaa gullu in Kannada language are basically rugs, carpets and durries woven by women artisans of Navalgund in Karnataka. Durries are woven all over the country on a horizontal ground loom. However, Navalgund are woven on a primitive vertical loom

Navalgund Durries were initially made by a group of weavers of Bijapur who used to live in the Jumkhaan Gulli during the reign of Ali Adil Shah. As a result of the war between the Adil Shahs and the Vijayanagar empire, the Jumkhaan weavers sought a safe place to pursue their trade, and so migrated to Nuvulgund, initially to trade in pearls but later settled down in the town, established looms and wove durrigullu

Image credit: swadeshi.org

There are three types of durries in Navalgund. 

  • Navalgund Jamkhan -  used only as floor covering for special occasions in the house like marriage functions. Previously people used to get Jamkhans woven of the size of their Verandahs or according to required sizes. At present Jamkhans are woven in 3 different sizes only - 3’*5’, 9’*6’ or 6’*9’. This is woven by Muslim Women only.
  • Ja-Namaaz-Ja-Namaaz- is a prayer mat, which is used by only Muslim community. In Urdu Ja-namaaz means a place for worshipping God. The intended use sometimes determines both design and size, because a Muslim must carry it everywhere. Ja-namaaz is relatively small about 2’*4’ft. This woven by Muslim Women only.
  • Guddar -  is  floor covering as well as a covering for stored grains and is woven by different group of weavers in Navalgund, which has got no connection with Jamkhan weavers. To make a guddar 9” broad and 18’ long stripes are stitched together. This fabric is warp faced and patterns in stripes are made using different colours in the warp.

In Ja-namaaz except Mihraab it is decorated with geometrical floral motifs but no animal or bird figure in it. The single Ja-namaaz is always woven on the loom in such a way that the length of Ja-namaaz becomes a width of the warp, which is generally 4 feet. 

This craft is not practiced anywhere else but in Navalgund. These weavers have been very possessive about their skills and never imparted their skills to anyone other than their family members. This is taught only to the daughter-in-laws of the family and even their daughters were never taught this skill. 

These durries are made using a unique vertical loom called Khadav Magga and are known for their intricate geometric patterns. Some designs also incorporate peacock motifs, which pay tribute to the town's name, "Hill of Peacocks".

The basic step to make these durries is to use a set of threads that runs through the length of the durries and is covered by the weft. Then to detail the work a stick is used to wrap them which then is shifted to the loom and then weaving is done, to give the durries different colours the weft is dyed with dyes of various colours mixed with water.

GI Tag Registration Date         : 28 March 2008

GI Tag Number                         : 61

Certificate Number                  : 51

Geographical Area                  : Karnataka

Special Cover Release Date   : 26 January 2022

Cancellation                             : Dharwad 580 001

Type                                          : GI Tag Cover

Cover Identification Number  : KTK/07/2022

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Enlarged View of Cancellation

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