05/01/2022
Pashmina. An introduction about Pashmina an ancient art.....
"For the grass that you have just eaten, oh goat,
Give us some good pashm.
For the water that you have just drunk, oh goat,
Give us some good pashm.
Sit down on the grass and be still, oh goat,
So that we can take out your pashm."
A symbol of luxury and elegance, Pashmina has always been the love and desire of women all around the world. To own a Pashmina is to experience royalty! Only a woman can explain the worth and excellence that a Pashmina Shawl beholds. Pashmina shawls have been treasured for their expensive material and reminiscent designs since time immemorial. The warmth and softness that these shawls offer are simply beyond comparison. When you see beauty, you create beauty! Therefore, it is not surprising to know that this beautiful thing is the creation of the beautiful valley of Kashmir! Pashmina is an exclusive art of this paradise on Earth. Ever since the reign of Emperor Ashok, Kashmir has been known for producing the most exclusive Pashmina Shawls in the world.
Pashmina cashmere is spun from the downy undercoat of the Himalayan mountain goat which lives at a high altitude (above 15,000 ft./5,000 M.). The colder the conditions the better the quality of the wool. The goat from which the cashmere comes is called the Chyangra. The word Pashmina is derived from 'pashm' which means 'inner layer of hair'. On average, one human hair is 75 microns thick; normal cashmere is approximately 20 microns; super Grade A pashmina cashmere is 12 microns thick. In other words, the best quality pashmina cashmere is 6 times finer than human hair! One goat produces enough wool for 1 scarf and three goats must be combed to make a shawl.
For more than four hundred years, Kashmiri craftsmen have been weaving these shawls using traditions handed down from father to son. Generations of Indian and Nepalese women have passed them on to their daughters as an essential part of their dowry. Pashmina cashmere shawls were first made by Mogul craftsmen for Emperor Akbar to give to his chosen wives and in the early 19th Century these shawls were a favourite of Empress Josephine, wife of Napoleon Bonaparte.
History and Pedagogy of Pashmina: This is the only fabric that has gone through the tests of all time since 300 B.C, and has received the Geographical Indication stamp (under WTO) in the fabric and luxury world.
The History of yarn dates back to 300 B.C. But today’s craft of Pashmina was brought to Kashmir from Persia (present-day Iran) by a Sufi saint Mir Syed Ali Hamdani in the 13th century A.D. He had a group of artisans with him who taught the art of weaving different shawls, to Kashmiri soon-to-be artisans, out of Pashmina wool obtained from the Kashmiri goat located on the high Himalayas of Ladakh. The Industry flourished during this period.
When Mir Syed Ali Hamdani came to Kashmir they brought new techniques to this industry from Persia and this craft started flourishing on an international level.
The story of the most luxurious fabric: The Story of Pashmina opens in Ladakh. Ladakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, India which is the highest plateau on the earth. The massive Himalayan mountains are over 6000 meters above sea level which are home to the world's best wool goat- The Changthang goat or Capra hircus. The raw wool is first obtained from these goats which are reared at the altitude of above 5000 meters (13000 feet) of sea level, in the Changthang region of Ladakh. It is pertinent to mention that, it takes the fibre of three goats to weave a single shawl.
The Pashmina is made by the golden hands of artisans of Kashmir. All phases of Pashmina production – from dehairing, sorting, spinning, weaving to dying and embroidery are done by hand, which makes the production of shawls limited, rare and high-priced. Pashmina fibre is obtained only by combing and not by shearing as in the case of sheep.
A Pashmina shawl may take a month to get completed by the artisan, whereas the fine needlework embroidery on the shawl may take up to two years. Such craftsmanship is done by the needleworker that at times it even costs the vision of his eyes.
World Production of Pashmina: 70% from China, 20% from Mongolia, and 1% from Kashmir (India) – but the 1% Pashmina from Kashmir is the finest of all because only the womenfolk of Kashmir are able to spun fine thread out of Pashmina (12-16 microns diameter) on the wheels called Yender and for the reason, it has been put under the Geographical Indication Marked products category.
While speaking to Rouf Ahmad Qureishi, activist and member of Pashmina Weavers Fraternity, he said “if the Capra-Hircus goat is reared in the outside parts of Ladakh, they will not be able to produce the fine Pashm fabric of 12-16 microns. Just a simple change in the altitude and temperature changes the diameter of the Pashmina fibre”
Since the 16th century, the British exported Pashmina shawls to Europe, especially to France (In fact, when France lost the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian war, the trade almost came to a halt). History witnesses that the fashion was Pashmina shawls were presented in Paper-Machie boxes (another G.I craft of Kashmir). Soon after the 16th century, there began the shawl exhibition in Europe, which further boosted the sales.
As in 19th century France, Pashmina cashmere shawls have become a coveted fashion accessory. In addition, beautifully beaded, sometimes with real semi-precious stones, and embroidered shawls are being made. The variety of design and colour is infinite and the quality of the workmanship is superb.
There are different types of Pashmina Shawls:
Plain Shawls: woven from undyed yarns in a simple weave. Dyed after weaving but before the fringe is finished.
Jacquard Weave Shawls: woven from undyed yarns in a simple weave. Dyed after weaving but before the fringe is finished but made on special (Jacquard) looms which allow self patterns to be woven into the fabric.
Stripes, checks, etc: woven with dyed yarns into the various patterns.
Printed: woven from undyed yarns, base colour dyed after weaving and then screen printed with the pattern in the various colours required. A different screen is used for each colour.
Embroidered: as for plain shawls but embroidered before fringe finishing.
How is a Pashmina made?
It can take up to three weeks from beginning to end to produce a shawl. The process begins in the foothills of the Himalayas where flocks of goats are regularly combed by hand. The combings are processed to separate the coarser hair (which is used for cashmere products) from the soft, white hair from the underbelly which is then sent to cottage industries where the shawls are made. This animal-hair fibre is spun and woven with silk on simple machines. An accomplished weaver can make seven shawls a day.
The shawls are then washed with natural soap and passed to the dye master. Using the best dyes in the world from Ciba-Geigy of Switzerland, the dye master mixes the colours to order. The shawls are boiled, up to nine at a time, in large metal pots over a gas flame and continually stirred to keep the colours even. In order to make a shaded shawl, the dye master and his assistant must stand above the dye pots for about an hour holding one end each of the shawl while the colour seeps through - a very time-consuming process. When the shawls come out of the dye pot they have washed again and hung outside to dry. They are then passed to the fringe experts, who roll the tassels on their legs and can “fringe” eight shawls a day if they are nimble. After yet another washing and drying, the shawls are ready for ironing and inspection.
Pashmina cashmere is graded according to quality, the most luxurious being the coveted Grade A- Diamond quality.
Ninety per cent of the world's hand-woven Pashmina shawls are woven on a warp of spun silk to give added strength. However, pure Pashmina shawls (with no silk) are Made and can be so fine that they can be pulled through a wedding ring hence the term 'Ring Shawl'.
