Nong
Khai - IndigoTo get more information, Email: info@mekongmart.com
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Nong
Khai - Indigo To get more information, Email: info@mekongmart.com |
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INDIGO NATURAL DYE AND HAND-WOVEN TEXTILES IN THAILAND BY "NISACHON" |
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Most of the hand-woven textiles in Thailand, both in silk and cotton, are
still produced in the rural Northeast although many young people are reluctant
to take up the textile weaving tradition. As fashions change and bring renewed
interest in traditional and modern hand-woven textiles, there is reason to hope
that many youngsters will be drawn back to the loom to continue this craft which
is so interwoven with Thailand's national identity.
Cotton weaving designs, which are used extensively by I-san people, both traditional and modern, are practically endless. Plain cotton fabric, coloured deep blue with indigo natural dye, is a standard item of clothing for many rural men, while women favour skirts or "phasin". The versatile mon-khit pillows, triangular or in other shapes, are still popular even in contemporary homes. Shoulder bags, shawls, purses, bed covers, tablecloths, napkins and hundreds of other items are all made from this wonderful traditional cottage-weaving product. Cotton and Thai women Almost every Thai village has a long tradition of producing household textiles from available native plants. Since cotton was the basic textile used in everyday life, the production of cotton was important in many Thai cultures. The production of cotton textiles is not simply "matter of fact"; it requires time and effort and is imbued with meaning. Cotton is planted in October after the rice has been planted and is harvested in late January and February after the rice harvest, during the height of the cool dry season. Because women are intensively involved in transplanting and harvesting rice, their labour as cotton cultivators is secondary.
Nevertheless,
cotton production was until recently, a major undertaking for many women, who
were entirely responsible for its cultivation, harvesting and processing.
Although men might make some of the implements for processing yarn and weaving,
the primary responsibility for textiles rests with women, who are responsible
for preparing yarn, dying, weaving and disposing of the product.
Indigo plant The natural dye, which is still used extensively for cotton weaving today by
the Northeast (I-san) women, is indigo which take years of preparation. The
techniques of preparing the dye in the past have varied from place to place. Each weaver was self-sufficient in her own dyes and had her secrets, which
she passed on to her daughters. Indigo paste or Kram Four months after planting the seeds the leaves of the indigo plant start turning dark green which indicates good quality dye. The paste is then extracted from the leaves. The plants are cut off and made into small bundles. UP YOU GO TO THE TOP OF THE NEXT COLUMN TO CONTINUE ----> |
The leaves are then soaked in a large earthenware jar filled with water and left to ferment. To obtain a good amount of the paste from the rotten indigo leaves, it is advisable that they are cut early in the morning when the leaves are still wet from the dew drops in order to keep the leaves fresh before soaking in the jar. This starts the decomposition of the plants. After two days, the bundles are squeezed out and discarded. Another batch of plants is bundled and added to the water in the earthenware jar, and the same process followed. After the second batch has been decomposed and discarded, which takes only one day, the water becomes very smelly and slightly bluish. Lime paste, which can be obtained from the ash of burning any shell, is now mixed into the water until the whole jar froths up and the smell turns distinctively sweet. Shaking a bamboo basket in the jar helps proper mixing of the indigo and lime paste. The jar is allowed to stand for two days while the mixture settles. The precipitate is collected from the jar and can be stored as wet paste for years in this state. The paste is called "Kram". For best result, store the Kram paste in an earthenware pot, covered with alkaline lye solution to keep the paste from getting dry so as to preserve the "life" of the Kram. Kram paste is used to "start" a new dye pot, or to "feed" the existing pot as well. Alkaline lye solution Alkaline lye solution could be obtained from the ashes of different plants available in the area. - Dry plants are burnt to obtain the ashes. - Collect the ashes and keep them in an earthenware pot with many small holes in the pot or in a fine woven bamboo basket. - Pour water over the pot or basket, collecting the alkaline lye solution produced. Note: Name of plants suitable for alkaline lye preparation: - Tamarind leaves, bark and fruit - Banana leave and tree - Papaya tree - Kapok fruit cover - Broken bone tree or Trumpet flower tree - Rain tree Preparing the dye Pot To activate the dye from Kram, the proper amount of paste is mixed with very strong alkaline lye solution and lime paste in an earthen pot. This is the commencement of the fermentation process, which the dyers see as "the life" of the dye. The pots are often kept going for many years. If the dye pot stops fermenting, it is "dead" and therefore useless. The dyers feed their dye pots with various acidic or alkaline scraps such as wrinkle lime, pineapple peels or small amounts of finely crushed sugar cane to correct the pH level of the solution in the pot. The dyeing of yarns or fabric can only be done every twelve hours to allow the pot to ferment in between dyeing sessions. The damp yarns or fabric are squeezed and manipulated in the dye for fifteen minutes to assure good absorption. The yarns may need up to ten dippings to acquire the true indigo colour. The yarns are not rinsed until the final dyeing is completed. Note: It is quite popular among many dyers to feed the pot with a few drops of rice whiskey as they have believed from generation to generation that there is an "unseen goddess spirit" watching the dye pot. Therefore, the spirits will run away from the pot if there is some mistake in the dyer's behaviour. While feeding the pot with whiskey, the dyers try to make up a story for reasons to beg the spirit to come back to the pot. One popular story is to assist the bride to fulfil her wedding obligation in producing the textile as a gift to the groom's family. If the spirit refused to bring back the "life" of the dye pot, the bride will fail to complete her mission as a good daughter in-law. Some dyers believe in controlling the "life" of the dye pot with black magic but it is not very popular since the usage of black magic requires a lot of forbidden actions which make it inconvenient for every life. |
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The date this page was last edited 03-08-06 |
