International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research in Arts and Humanities (IJIRAH)

Impact Factor: 4.675, ISSN (Online): 2456 - 3145

(www.dvpublication.com) Volume I, Issue I, 2016
STATE OF HANDLOOM WEAVERS, WEAVING AND
FABRIC IN TAMILNADU THROUGH THE AGES
Dr. S. Sivasankaran
Head & Associate Professor, Department of History, Government Arts College
(Autonomous), Karur, Tamilnadu
Cite This Article: Dr. S. Sivasankaran, “State of Handloom Weavers, Weaving and Fabric in Tamilnadu
Through the Ages”, International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research in Arts and Humanities, Volume 1, Issue
1, Page Number 95-103, 2016.
Abstract:
„Weaving‟ according to historians, is the second product that mankind has learnt in the process of
progressive civilization. Since remote antiquity, handloom weaving remains a traditional occupation of India.
Belonging to artisan class, weavers always possess a sense of pride in the cultural life of the country. They
manufacture fabrics of excellent and splendid quality which have gained global reputation over five thousand
eight hundred years. These handlooms are unparalleled in its flexibility and versatility, permitting
experimentation and encouraging innovation. Innovative weavers with their skillful blending of myths, faiths,
symbols and imagery provide the fabric an appealing dynamism. 1 The quality of cotton fabrics manufactured by
our weavers gets approbation from the historians. Herodotus applauses that the Indian possess likewise a kind
of plant which, instead of fruit, produces wool of a fine and better quality than that of sheep. On this the Indians
make cloths.2 Further, traveler Tonnat who wondered about varieties of clothes made with simple tools says, “in
the manufacture of fine muslin in which they excel all over the world, the wheel, the reel and the loom are of a
simple and artless structure. Yet the work cannot be equaled with the European machinery aided by every effort
of ingenuity and skills.”3 Abbe J.A. Dubois, who was greatly impressed by the skill and craftsmanship of
weavers writes, “the beautiful fabrics are manufactured in wretched thatched huts built of mud, 20 to 30 feet
long by 7 to 8 feet broad. In such a room, the weavers stretch his frame, squats on the ground and quality piles
his shuttles surrounded by his family, his cows and his fouls.” 4 A Dutch chaplain who was in Madraspatnam in
1649 said that the people‟s chief traffic consists of coloured stuff and the weavers here being famous throughout
the Indies as well as their dyes.5 Abul Fazl says that the Emperor manufactured such excellent silken goods
with the assistance of foreign experts employed by him that they could successfully compete with foreign
imports.6 Hemingway in his Gazetteer of Tanjore District records that the silk and cotton clothes of Tiruvappur
have a considerable reputation and that the scarlet vegetable dyes used there is especially well known. 7
Tracing the Roots:
The disclosure of slick stones in different parts of South India, makes one feel that the men of
Paleolithic age would have known the art of plaiting leaves and barks of trees. It is very interesting to know that
loin skins and skin robes became their luxurious dress materials. The late Neolithic men inherited the conception
of this art and improved it. But the temperate climate of the subcontinent put off their effort on the advancement
of weaving. In course of ages, the cotton, which was a wild stuff in the western parts and Deccan, began to be
used for making dress. The plaiting of cotton gave the idea of weaving it with the necessary materials.8
The success of manufacture of cotton was taken up and the ancient people thought that there was a
heavy demand for such stuff not only in India but also abroad. The cultivation and manufacture of the products
induced the men of Iron Age to make improvement on the art of weaving. 9 According to Vajasaneyi Samhita
and Tarittiriya Brahmana of later Vedic and Epic ages, weavers formed a separate caste. But the caste did not
determine their crafts in course of time, especially during the regime of Mauryas. Some of the references reveal
the fact that weavers becoming archers, warriors becoming weavers, Brahmins becoming warriors and vise
versa.10 Finest quality of cotton and cloth was prepared by Indian weavers and artisans and exported to other
countries during the ancient period. Hand spun and handmade Indian muslin was the pride of India. Dyed
cotton fabrics were also used. All colours used in dying were of natural origin and were enduring. India
produced the finest yarn and had a flourishing trade of cotton and textiles with many countries.
The spinning and weaving cotton cloth was very much a part of everyday life in ancient India. The loom
is used as a poetic image in several ancient texts. The Atharvana Veda says that day and night spread light and
darkness over the earth as the weavers throw a shuttle on the loom. The Hindu god Vishnu is called tantuwardan
or weaver because he is said to have woven the rays of the sun into a garment for himself. The words tantu
(warp) and ottu (woof) are to be found in the Rig Veda.11 This profession was given importance by the kings and
rulers in ancient days. There is a reference about the appointment of a Superintendent of spinning and weaving
(sutradhyaksha) during the times of Chandragupta Maurya.12 There were Government factories for manufacture
of yarn, clothing, mail-armour (varma) and ropes.13 There were female labourers viz., widows, disabled women,
girls, women-ascetics, convicts, and devadasis etc. employed in the government factories for spinning yarn out
of wool, bark (valka) cotton, silk cotton, hemp and flex. The yarn was received at the warehouse called
Sutrasala. The wages were paid according to quantity or quality of work turned out and delay in payment was
punishable.14 Thus this weaving profession was very ancient in character. Cotton fabrics is said to be the pearl

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 International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research in Arts and Humanities (IJIRAH)
Impact Factor: 4.675, ISSN (Online): 2456 - 3145
(www.dvpublication.com) Volume I, Issue I, 2016
of Indian weaving. It was as though these craftsmen were magicians and waved wands to produce what seemed
like dreams.15 Shuttles too were found at some of the excavated sites of Mohenjodaro.16
Indian floral prints, dating back to the 18th century A.D. were discovered by Sir Aurel Stein in the icy
waters of Central Asia. The evidence shows that of all the arts and crafts of India, traditional handloom textiles
are probably the oldest.17 Sir Edwin Arnold sings in „The Light of Asia’, the great poem based on the Buddist
Tri-pitaka or Three-Caskets text. The reference to the rich gifts of golden trays, the shawls, jade and the woven
web - presumably fine muslins to the child Buddha when he was going to take his first seven steps, testifies to
the antiquity of Indian handcrafts.18 Several instances show that native cloth in those days were patronized by
many abroad in the East and West.
The fine muslin with a hansa (swan) design from India shrouds the Egyptian royal mummies 19 where
the hot dry sand of the desert acted as a preservative. „Argaratic’ muslin20 and silks also were exported to this
land of Nile, and Rome from Dhanayakata21 (Dharanikotta on the Krishna river, near Amaravathi), as seen
evident from „Periplus of the Erythrean Sea”.22 Argaru was the Roman name for Uraiyur in Trichinopoly
district, the capital of the Sangam Cholas. Periplus also refers to Poduca, i.e. Pondicherry, whose historical
importance as a textile centre is evident from the Arikkamedu excavations.23 The Mughal poets described the
scintillating muslins and brocades as evening dew as they became indistinguishable when laid on the grass;
evening water when dipped in water invisible; Sherbati because of their cool appearance and feel on the skin; and
woven air (baft hawa) as even a five-yard piece could pass through a little ring. The weightlessness of these
fabrics has been sung by many poets comparing them to the moon light on the tulip or a dew drops on the rose.24
Muslin cloth measuring several yards was reported to have been drawn through a finger ring and
parceled in a match box.25 A tale runs that Emperor Aurangzeb got fury when he saw his daughter princess Zeb-
un-Nissa dressed in almost nothing. On being severely rebuked, the princess explained that she had not one but
seven jamahs (dresses) on her body. Such was the fineness of the hand woven fabrics. The Ain-i-Akbari has a
lot of citation about the chint.26 There is another interesting story about the craftsmanship of workers. Abul Fazl,
one of the famous ministers of Emperor Akbar, mentions in his Ain-i-Akbari that the Mughal emperors
maintained skilled workmen in their palaces. Akbar himself was keenly interested in painting and employed a
staff of artists so that they might vie with each other in fame, and become eminent by their production. Once a
week, he inspected their creations and rewarded them with bonus and premiums according to their worth.” 27 The
commodities, like cotton yarn, gold, thread, raw silk, metal works, woolen products, gun powder etc., required by
the imperial Mughals were produced in the royal karkhanas28 which were located at Lahore, Agra, Dacca and
Ahmedabad.29
The history of South Indian Textile goes back to prehistoric times. Spindles was found in archaeological
sites like Paiyampalli in the erstwhile North Arcot and cloth in Adichchanallur and the Nilagiri hills of
Tamilnadu. Cotton textiles and cloth of very superior quality were being produced and exported from centres like
Kanchipuram, Madurai, Tanjavur. Sangam classics like Silappadikaram and Manimekalai contain copious
evidences to this. Silappadikaram refers to the weaving of cotton and silk cloth and its export from the port of
Pumpuhar, otherwise called Kaveripumpattinam.30 It describes about the separate streets for weavers, known as
karugar vidi. The aruvai vidi is meant for aruvai vanikan who was a merchant quiet distinct from the weaver.31
Madurai was also boasted of equally prosperous and skilled weavers. Kautilya in his Arthashastra too refers to
the fine textiles of Madurai. Sangam texts describe about beautiful cloth so fine that the eyes cannot follow the
course of the yarn and clothe bearing such delicate designs as to make it look like „the slough of snake‟. Some
are described as soft as fresh blossoms and others as light as smoke. Fine woven cloth is said to be as delicate
and transparent as the vapours of milk.
Specific references to textile technology prevalent in ancient South India are also found in other literary
texts. In Aganauru as well as Narrinai, both Sangam texts, the carder‟s bow is used as a poetic simile - the
feathery clouds in the sky after the rains are said to resemble cotton well beaten by the carder‟s bow. Such
evidences indicate that the bow for carding was introduced in South India presumably between the second and
sixth centuries A.D.32
Cotton Cultivation:
South India is lying in the temperate zone. People of the region prefer to wear cotton cloth only. 33 The
cotton was cultivated abundantly in Khanbhami (Coimbatore). The place was known for the production of
Chikili, the transparent cloth which was sold for 8 to 10 pons.34 Textile came to be associated with social and
ritualistic events from very early times. In the ancient books, the universe is referred to as a woven fabric. The
garment covering the body became a symbol. It seemed to add to the significance or efficacy of the object of
worship. So the sacred images began to be clothed, and different garments were used for different parts of the
day, which involved constant changes. Even the linga is covered with a sheath usually of metal. 35 From
sculptures, paintings and ancient literary accounts, it appears that in ancient days it was the lower strata of people
– common soldiers, menials, elephant mahouts, palace attendants, singers and dancers – who wore stitched
garments such as blouses, trousers and waist coasts. Such garments are not described as the apparel or upper

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 International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research in Arts and Humanities (IJIRAH)
Impact Factor: 4.675, ISSN (Online): 2456 - 3145
(www.dvpublication.com) Volume I, Issue I, 2016
classes or royalty nor gods and goddesses. All of these vary greatly from region to region.37 Tailors are referred
36

to as tunnakarar. The references to tunnar and tunnavinajnar also come from Manimekalai.38
Varieties of Cloth:
The handloom weavers produced cloths of various sizes and patterns like dhotis, angavastrams, sarees,
lunghis or kailies, Madras handkerchiefs, towels, bed sheets, shirtings, coatings, etc. 39 Tolkappiam describes the
importance of weaving and their allied craft of tailoring. 40 The Silapathikaram 41 provide information about the
different varieties of cloth, dyes and dye products.42 The weavers produced various types of cloths for the
requirement of the temple, the royal household and the public. In the Sangam age, high quality cotton fabric
was called as Tugil. The Jivaka Chintamani refers to women wore sarees with folds and drapes at the end.
It also provides information that both silk and cotton cloth starched with rice wastes and perfumed with
fragrant smoke. Such sarees were known as Pumpattu, Pactchilai Pattu, Konkana Pattu and Ven Pattu.
Different types of silk materials such as muslin and chintz were produced during the Vikrama Chola period. 43 In
the medieval literatures, the loom was a part of innumerable poetic similes and metaphors. Saint
Manikkavasagar compares flights of fancy to the rapid movements of a shuttle on the loom. 44 Palampore is a
bed cover. Canopies is ceiling covers used for pandal or tents or in temple cars. Both small and large square
cloths are called handkerchiefs.45
Centres of Handloom Industry:
During modern times the handloom weaving industry is prevalent in all the districts of the then Madras
Presidency except the Nilgiris. The chief centres are Madras, Salem, Aruppukkottai, Kumbakonam, Tanjore,
Coimbatore, Dharmapuram, Conjeeveram, Melapalayam in Tinnevelly, Chirala in Guntur, Sennimalai in
Coimbatore district, Dharmavaram in Anandapur and Malabar. In all these centres, the industry is extant from
time immemorial. But in the village of Bhavani in Coimbatore district where the introduction of artificial silk
weaving is however of recent date.46 Further these centres are classified on the basis of the varieties of cloth
produced there. Those centres which manufacture the coarser variety are mostly Tinnevelly, North Arcot,
Coimbatore, Cuddapah, Vizagapatam, Chittor and Malabar districts. Cloths made of medium counts are chiefly
produced in the districts of Salem, Anantapur, Bellary, North Arcot, South Arcot, Coimbatore, Madura, Ramnad
and Tanjore. Finer counts of yarn are produced in Kumbakonam, Madura, Salem, Erode, Nellore and
Anantapur.47 Not less than 125 sorts of cotton varities are found mentioned in the records of the English
Factories in India.48
Origin of Weaving Castes:
During the early three thousand years, it may be said that the weaving industry was not based on caste
system.49 But due to the advent of Aryans, and its resultant castes remains a predominant phenomenon in the
social strata and milieu of the Indian community. Dr. Wilson states that the word „Caste‟, is not of Indian
origin, but derived from the Portuguese term casta, signifying a race, mould or quality.
The Indian word for caste is jat or jati, which has the original meaning of birth or production of a child,
and hence denotes good birth or lineage, respectability and rank, and Jatha means a well born. Thus, jat now
signifies a caste, as every Hindu is born into a caste, and his caste determines his social position through out life.
In general, the word Caste denotes a community or persons following a common occupation, and a community
whose members marry only among them. Yet another distinctive feature is that the members of a caste do not,
as a rule eat with outsiders, with the exception of other Hindu castes of a much higher social position than their
own.50 To quote S. Saraswathi, in Sanskrit, the term varna denotes the four fold classification of the society the
Brahmanas, the Kshatriya, the Vaisya and the Sudra, while jati refers to several castes that have developed from
the four varnas51 which in Tamil means Kulam.52 From the standard anthropological views, the castes are
referred to as chiefdoms or “little kingdom” – at least in South India.53 At national level Bunkar, Joria, Tanti,
Kosthi, Patwa, Pattajulkaran and Sale are the designations of various weaving castes, the first two are derived
from a root meaning to put the threads together and the others from Sanskrit words for silk cloth. 54
The handloom industry in the beginning was not based on caste system, but subsequently the industry
gradually assumed a caste-basis. As such in India there are several millions of self-employed artisans, engaged
in their respective industries or professions, such as hand-weaving and its subsidiary occupations, carpentry,
black smithy, stone-carving, cobblery, hair-dressing and masonry etc. These artisans neither have schooling nor
undergo any sort of technical training and learnt the art or craft in their own household hereditarily. 55 The
handloom as an occupation is peculiarly suited to the sentiments, habits and caste organisation of the Indian
workers.56 The craftsmen of India have their own mythological origin. 57 The Tamil weavers are no exception.
The communities which are dealt in this project too have mythological origin. The handloom industry was the
monopoly of a particular Hindu caste known as the Tantubaya or the Tanti. Among the Muhammedans too the
weavers formed more or less a caste called Jolahas. The hereditary profession of the caste was solely
responsible for the preservation and development of the art of weaving through generations.

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 International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research in Arts and Humanities (IJIRAH)
Impact Factor: 4.675, ISSN (Online): 2456 - 3145
(www.dvpublication.com) Volume I, Issue I, 2016
Prime Weaving Communities of Tamilnadu:
The Tamils are divided into four Varnas, or tribes. The first is called Pirama, the second Sattriya, the
third Vaisiya and the fourth Sutra; corresponding with the Hindu divisions of Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaisiyas,
and Sudras.58
Simon Casie Chitty opines that the Kaikollar is comprised in the first set of the sudra tribe and the
Seder, Saliyar and Seniyer in the second set.59 One of the artisan classes weavers, which does not come under
Pancalas or Kammalans.60 The weavers themselves are divided into various sub-castes, such as the Kaikolas,
Jadars, and Patnulkarans of the Tamil countries and Padma Sales and Pattu Sales of the Telugu districts. 61
Usually each sub-caste wove a particular type of cloth, and could seldom be induced to make any other. Only
with difficulty they could alter the dimensions of the cloth they wove. They seem always to have been very
conservative and very improvident.62 Simon Casie Chitty has listed Seder, Kaikoler, Saliyer and Sinoyer under
the Sudras,63 perhaps a gross misunderstanding of the then prevalent social strata. The Tamil weavers are
grouped into six subdivisions or class; and the Telugu weavers into five are as follow:
S.No Division of Tamil Weavers Division of Telugu Weavers
1 Kaikolar Salay
2 Seringar Jendra
3 Jendravar Padmay Salay
4 Saliyar Thokata
5 Sedan
Devangalu64
6 Silupan
In the case of South India there were different groups within the weavers communities who specialized
in the production of a particular variety. Kaikkolars were either Nagas or were descendants of a mixed race of
Nagas and Dravidians. The Nagas inhabiting the Eastern Coast in the Pandyan territory were great weavers, and
exported a large quantity of cloths and muslins. The Nagas of the Kalinga country were so famous in the art of
weaving that the word kalingam in Tamil has come to signify a cloth.65
Tamil poets allude to a famous chieftain Ay who offered to the image of Siva, one of these priceless
muslins which had been presented to him by Nila- Naga.66 The Chola inscriptions refer to the kaikkolar
activities. During the Chola period the Kaikkolars combined weaving besides the soldering.
They were frequently referred to as the Terinja Kaikkolars.67 The Kaikkolars are not skilful workmen
and weave only coarse white cloths. They had their living quarters near the temples. They assisted temple
administration, levy of taxes and their collections. In return the king granted them privileges of using palanquin,
and conch during the auspicious days and death ceremony.68 Karurkar, as a community of weavers,
manufactured cloths from cotton, silk and wool.69 Known as kammiyar, they lived in the sub-urban areas called
Maruvoorpakkam.70 Senthan Thivagarram (8th century), a Tamil lexicon states that the Karurkar are weavers
and sellers of cloth.71 However, Karukar were exclusively a weaving community in ancient Tamil Nadu and
their counterparts in Northern India are said to have engaged in different cottage industries. 72 Aruvaiyar
associated with cloth, should have also been weavers. Cilappatikaram and Manimekalai refer to them as the
makers of fine coloured fabrics with their yarn.73 However, this weaving community does not seem to have
enjoyed as much importance as the Nagar.74
The community of Mannivars occupies a lower status in the society, who produce turbans. Their
products excel in fineness which were supplied to the royal families. Whereas, Jodars produce turbans, dhotis,
percallaes, handkerchiefs, selas and muslins of all kinds. Saliars wove the same cloths as jodars. The word
Saliar is derived from the Sanskrit word Salika, meaning a weaver. They claim a descent from the sage
Markanda, the god of weavers.75 During the time of Cholas (10th to 14th centuries), the Saliyars were the major
weaving community whereas the Kaikolar who attained prominence under Vijayanagar, came only next to the
Saliyar. The Saliyar seemed to have gained importance since the days of Uttama Chola (A.D. 970-85). In fact,
they were called Chola-saliyar. During this period we are able to trace the existence of Pattu Saliyar.76
References to this community are found in Chingelput, Tirunelveli, Coimbatore, Tanjore, erstwhile South Arcot
and North Arcot. 77 The community of Seniyans was Telugu textile workers.78 Chenniwars wove turbans and the
same cloth as kaikkolars. They sometime did the work of fishermen too. 79 The community of Kurubans made
kambalis and janapars (gunny cloths). Koliyars wove porcelains or long cloth.80 The Soliyans are also weavers.
They weave coarse coloured cloths for women‟s wear.
The Saluppans weave only gunny bags and the coarsest kinds of fabrics. 81 At the time of the Nayaks,
Patunulkarars or Saurastiries are believed to have come to the southern Tamilnadu to places such as Madurai
and Tanjore from Kathiawar, owing to the oppression of Muslim invaders. 82 Even now they are the dominant
weaving community in Madurai, Dindugal, Ayyampettai, Kumbakonam and Tanjore area. They do not mix
with the local south weavers and prefer to live in separate colonies of large towns. Devangars are also weavers
who followed suit the foot steps of Patnulkaran and settled around their colonies, for they depend and purchase
accessories from them. Yet another community, the Saliyanagarattar was the cloth merchants.83 They were
weavers who sold their own clothe.84 They were mostly settled around Kanchipuram region and involved in

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 International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research in Arts and Humanities (IJIRAH)
Impact Factor: 4.675, ISSN (Online): 2456 - 3145
(www.dvpublication.com) Volume I, Issue I, 2016
trading activities. They had contact with the merchant guilds and exported their cotton cloths to other
countries.85 Besides, Adi-Andhras, Muhammadans, Mudaliyars, Chaliyas in West Coast, etc., are also engaged
in this industry. In addition to these regular traditional weaving communities, others like Pandarams
(Coimbatore), Vannias (Conjeeveram) and Christians (South Kanara) too engaged in weaving and thus swelled
the number of handloom weavers.86 Among the weavers, the Kaikkolars and the Devangars together represent
over 60 percent of the total weaving population of Tamil Nadu. 87
Patronage of Temples:
The Kaikkolars had been appointed as officers in the temples. The Madras Museum plate of Uttama
Chola provides information about the social services of the weavers. This inscription also describes that Uttama
Chola Parkesai donated a land to two classes of weavers (Patta Salins) residing in the quarters of Kanchipuram,
since there were no managers (Srikarya) to supervise the receipts and expenses of the temple of Ulagalanda
Perumal, he also appointed there weavers as temple managers in Atimanapati and Karuvulampati. 88 The weavers
donated land to the temple jointly as well as individually. During the regime of Raja Raja I, a Kaikkola weaver
of Tiruvalakkoyil, a hamlet of Ponvilainda Kalattur in erstwhile North Arcot made a gift of pan for a twilight
lamp in the temple.89 There was a tradition of appointing not only female but also male kaikkola devaradiyar in
the temple. A devaradiyar was caught red handed for indulging in theft in the temple of Tirunalkundramudaiya
Nayanar. The grand was forfeited and a hand was mutilated and deported from the village.90
Idangai-Valangai Paradigm:
Just as the varna system marks a horizontal division of Indian society, or metaphorically of the human
body, so the idangai-valangai classification marks a vertical division of South Indian society. This however
excluded the upper castes, the Brahmins. The members of the two divisions struggle for certain honorary
distinctions, such as the use of twelve pillars in the marriage pandal, the beating of five big drums on certain
ceremonial occasions, the ride on horse-back or the carrying of a monkey flag. These privileges are claimed by
the right hand castes on all public and festive occasions, and whenever any of these privileges are exercised by a
member of the left-hand faction fights usually occur.91 Mattison Mines gives different explanations to the
idangai-valangai castes. He mentions that the agriculture based castes were designated the right-hand castes,
while the artisan merchants and their allies were called the left-hand castes. These castes worshipped separately,
lived separately, and took different symbolic insignia as signs of their identity. The Kaikkolars and Devangars
are castes belonged to the left-hand section of castes.92 The left hand castes are said to be the priestly castes.
Hence, they claim the brahminhood.93 In the Andhra-Karnataka regions, the Padmasale and the Seniyar are
classified as balagai (vadangai) while the Devangars come under the yedagai (idangai). 94 According to Hutton,
Kaikkolan caste belonged to the left hand (Idangai) group, but the Saliyas belonged to the right hand (valangai)
group.95
Economic Conditions of the Handloom Weavers:
From the early times to the medieval period, the weaving communities had occupied a pivotal position
in the economic activities. In the society, the weavers and the smiths were the most prosperous group followed
by the merchants.96 Although they are said to be belonging to the sudra in the varnasrama system, they deal with
the manufacture of cloths and selling them and thus they are behaving as vaishyas.97 The evidence of ancient
texts points not only to the production and technology of textiles but also to the trade in cloth. The indigenous
textile merchants were called aruvai vanigar. Silappdikaram describes the aruvai vanigar vidi or the street of
cloth merchants where quantities of cloth woven of cotton thread, hair or silk were sold. Interestingly, it
describes the existence of wholesale shop as well as streets of petty shops; the latter perhaps being the place
where weavers spread out their goods and sold them.
Cloth merchants are also referred to as aruvai vanigar in a Brahmi inscription from Alaganmalai
pertaining to the second century. A popular poet of the Sangam age was known by the name as Aruvai Vanigar
Elavettanar, indicating that he must have been a cloth merchant of considerable prominence.98 There was an
increase of trading activities in the medieval Tamil country. Cloths were either carried on the head (Talaikattu)
or in bags. During the Chola period, the cotton growing areas and weaving centres were linked with Chola
ports. Madurai was a centre of cotton production and weaving. The weavers sold their own at the local fairs
called Santai. Saliyanagaratar of Kanchipuram had access to Mayilapur, the port city. The antiquity of its
commerce is attested to by Ptolemy. His reference to Mailarphan is identified with Mailppur. 99 Kanchipuram
had a good concentration of weaving communities100 but was not a port city. However it gains commercial
importance due to its cotton textile industries. It was exported to the Arabian ports like Armuz and Aden. 101
Formation of Guilds:
The guild which regulated their trade and industry not only controlled them but also protected them by
assuring employment.102 However, they were fond of drinking and gambling.103 Amuktamalyada of
Krishnadevaraya narrates that there were guilds for the weavers, goldsmiths, pattunulkarars and komuties etc.
The profession of these people had been inherited by generations to generations. Allahabad inscription says that
workers of the particular occupation were expected to abide by the rule of the profession. 104 Their affiliation with

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 International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research in Arts and Humanities (IJIRAH)
Impact Factor: 4.675, ISSN (Online): 2456 - 3145
(www.dvpublication.com) Volume I, Issue I, 2016
temples and the united character of their guilds were important factors for the enhancement of their influence
along with the prosperity gained through new economic opportunities.105
Taxation:
Epigraphical evidences point out the list of taxes collected by the state from the weavers. A variety of
taxes were imposed on the Handloom industry. Tari irai or Tari Kadamai (loom tax) was frequently mentioned
in the inscriptions.106 Achchutari was imposed on ordinary loom, as a professional tax. 107 Nalayam was the tax
levied on cotton thread used for weaving.108 Parai – Tari or Seniyat – tari was the tax on hand loom.109 Pattadai
– ayam was imposed on weavers of cotton blanket or screen. Usivari was the tax probably connected with
tailoring.
Status of Handloom Weavers in the Modern Age:
The European countries were attracted to India especially to the South India for cloth trade. The British
purchased cloth from the weavers initially by adopting different strategies viz, appointing clerks, deploying
soldiers to the weaving centres, employing middlemen and so on. These cloths had been exchanged for spices of
Indonesian Archipelago. After the third Carnatic War (1756-1763), the supremacy of English became paramount.
With the discovery of the Fly-shuttle loom by John Kay in 1733, the Mute by Loens Paul in 1738, the Spinning
Jenny by James Har Grives in 1764, the Western Frame by Arkright in 1767, the powerloom in 1765, the steam
engine in 1768, and the jacquard in 1798 a new era of industrial production of cloth began in England. Mr.
Harrocks, in the year 1814, devised mass production of cloth by attaching the steam engine for cotton weaving.110
The handloom industry holds a very high place in the economy of the Madras state in the beginning of the 19th
century.111 Handloom cloth in 1930s was an extremely important commodity and therefore the weavers
themselves were important commercially and politically.112
To conclude that the economic condition of the handloom weavers in the twentieth century underwent a
series of turbulent experiments. The weaving communities like Sengundars, Saliyars, Devangars, Sourashtras and
so on struggled hard to earn for their daily bread. Except for short a while during two world wars, the pathetic
plight of the weavers continued throughout the breadth and width of century due to the mill production,
domination of middlemen, high cost of handloom products, non availability of markets for handlooms,
duplication of handloom products by mills, politicization of cooperatives, use of low quality of jari and thread
etc. The governments at centre and states appointed a number of committees in due course and have implemented
welfare schemes packages for the amelioration of economic status of weavers, especially the weavers in the
cooperative fold, to be ended with failure because of lack of awareness. The Sengundars, Devangars and
Sourashtras are reluctant to engaging their people in weaving. Now the younger generations do not like to
pursue their traditional occupation. Instead they have occupied jobs in engineering, medicine, education,
administration, industry etc. Altogether, attempting preservation and exaltation of our glorious cultural heritage
of handloom fabrics gradually disappear.
References:
1. Annual Report, 2001-2002, Ministry of Textiles of India, 2002, p. 37.
2. Nagan C. Das, Development of Handloom Industry, Deep and Deep Publication, New Delhi, 1986,
p.22.
3. P. Subramanian, Reconstructing Indian History and Culture, no. 7, Social History of Tamils, 1707-
1947, D.K Print World, New Delhi, 1994, p.220.
4. Ibid., p.22.
5. G.H. Hodgson, “Three Hundred years of Madras Commerce”, The Madras Tercentenary
Commemoration Volume, Madras, 1999, p. 32.
6. A.B. Pandey, Later Medival India, Central Book Depot, Allahabad, 1973, p.503.
7. F.R. Hemingway, Tanjore Gazatteer - India, Cosmo Publication, New Delhi, 2000, vol.1, p.120.
8. V.P.R. Dikshitar, Pre-Historic South India, Cosmo Publication, New Delhi, 1987, pp.81-82.
9. Idem.
10. B.N. Lunia, Evolution of Indian Culture, Lakshmi Narain Agarwal, Agra, 2000, p.65.
11. Vijaya Ramaswamy, Textiles and Weavers in Medieval South India, Oxford University Press, Delhi,
1985, p.2. Vide see also The Sang of the Loom: Weaver Folk Tradition in South India, Primus Books,
Delhi, 2013, p. 15.
12. Radha Kumud Mookerji, Chandragupta Maurya and His times, (Madras University Sir William Meyer
Lectures – 1940-41), Delhi, 1966, p.120.
13. Idem.
14. Idem.
15. Akurathi Venkateswara Rao, Handloom Industry in India – A Study, National Cooperative Union of
India, New Delhi, 1973, p.2.
16. D. Dakshina Murthy and G. Anjaneyulu, “Financing Handloom Co-operative – NABARD”, The Co-
operator, no.21, October 1983, p.201.

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17. Rustam J. Mehta, The Handicraft and Industrial Arts of India, D.B.Taraporevala Sons, & Co, Bombay,
1960, p.1.
18. Ibid., Vide see Kamaladevi Chottopadhyaya, Handicrafts of India, New Age International Publishers
Ltd, Hydrabad, 1975, p.29.
19. Akurathi Venkateswara Rao, op.cit., p.48.
20. Kanakalatha Mukund, The Trading World of the Tamil Merchant: Evolution of Merchant Capitalism in
the Coromandel, Orient Longman, Hydrabad, 1999, p.17.
21. Vijaya Ramaswamy, Textiles and Weavers in Medieval South India, p.3.
22. Rustam J. Mehta, op.cit., p.1. Vide see Kamaladevi Chottopadhyaya, Handicrafts of India, p.30.
23. Vijaya Ramaswamy, Textiles and Weavers in Medieval South India, p.3.
24. Kamaladevi Chottopadhyaya, Handicrafts of India, p.29.
25. Akurathi Venkateswara Rao, op.cit., p.2.
26. W.S Hadaway, Cotton Painting and Printing in the Madras Presidency, Government Press, Madras,
1917, p.1. Vide see Kamala Devi Chatropadhyay, The Glory of Indian Handcrafts, New Delhi, 1976,
p.6
27. Rustam J. Mehta, op.cit., p.3.
28. S. Babu, Sea-Borne Trade in India and The English East India Company (1600-1657), (Unpublished
Ph.D., Thesis), Pondicherry University, Nov 1990, p.19.
29. A.B. Pandey, op.cit., p.503.
30. Vijaya Ramaswamy, Textiles and Weavers in Medieval South India, p.1.
31. Kanakalatha Mukund, op.cit., p.17
32. Vijaya Ramaswamy, Textiles and Weavers in Medieval South India, p.2.
33. T.V. Mahalingam, Vijayanagar Perarasil Nilaipetrinuntha Porulathara Vazhkai Varalaru, (T), New
Century Book House, Chennai, 1951, p. 85.
34. Richard H. Major, (ed) "The Travels of Athanasius Nikitin," In India in the Fifteenth Century, London,
1857, ser. no 1, vol. 22, p.22.
35. Kamaladevi Chottopadhyaya, Handicrafts of India, p.29.
36. Vijaya Ramaswamy, Textiles and Weavers in Medieval South India p.2.
37. Kamaladevi Chottopadhyaya, Handicrafts of India, pp. 30-31.
38. Vijaya Ramaswamy, Textiles and Weavers in Medieval South India, p.2.
39. Report of the Survey of Cotton handloom Industry in the Madras Presidency, Madras, 1993, p. 4.
40. Tolkappiam (249:1)
41. Silapathikaram: Urkaan kathai: 205 – 207, Vide also Purananuru (299:1), Ahananuru (135:5),
Narrinnai (247:3-4), (353:1-2), Perrumpanarruppadai (69-71), and Paripadal (12:17)
42. V.C Sasivalli, Pandai Thamizhar Thozhilgal, (T), International Institute of Tamil Studies, Chennai,
1989, p.83.
43. Vijaya Ramaswamy, Textiles and Weavers in Medieval South India, p.17.
44. Idem.
45. W.S Hadaway, op.cit., 1917, p.18.
46. Report of the Survey of Cotton Handloom Industry in the Madras Presidency, Government Press,
Madras, p. 2.
47. Ibid., p. 4.
48. W.S Hadaway, op.cit., p.1.
49. Akurathi Venkateswara Rao, op.cit., p. 1.
50. Wilson, The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India, London, 1916, p. 8.
51. S.Saraswathi, Minorities in Madras States: Group Interest in Modern Politics, Delhi, 1950, Impex
India, p.8.
52. Dharma Kumar, Land and Caste in South India, Manohar Publishers, New Delhi, 1992, pp. 55-56.
53. David West Runder, Caste and Capitalism in Colonial India: The Nattukottai Chettiars, University of
California Press, Berkeley, 1994, p. 28.
54. Rajkumar, Encyclopaedia of Untouchables: Ancient, Medieval and Modern, Delhi, 2008, p. 41.
55. Akurathi Venkateswara Rao, op.cit., p.1.
56. G.A. Natesan, (ed), The Indian Review – A Monthly Journal, Madras, 1941, vol, XLII, January-
December, 1941, p.77.
57. The craftsmen of ancient India traced his descent from Vishvakarma, lord of the many arts, Master of a
Thousand Handcrafts, Carpenter to the Gods, the Architect of their Celestial Mansions, the Designer of
All Garments, the First of All craftsmen. This mythological origin provides him with a proud religious
background for his handi work and a spiritual incentive to give of his very best. (Rustam J. Mehta,
op.cit., p.1.)

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58. Simon Casie Chitty, The Caste, Customs, Manners and Literature of the Tamils, Asian Educational
Services, Chennai, 2004, p.8.
59. There are four sets of mixed castes namely the Anulomer or those whose father, of a high caste and the
mother of low one, Prithilomer or those whose father a low caste and the mother of a high one,
Andaralar or those whose father, one anulomer and the mother Pritlulomer, and Viratthsiyar or those
whose father, a Prithiomer and the mother, Anulomer. (Ibid., p.54.)
60. Kammalan is a common term, which includes the five labour communities viz., the blacksmiths,
goldsmiths, brass smith, carpenters and idol makers.
61. H.Dodwell, “The Madras weavers under the Company”, Indian Historical Records Commission
Proceedings of Meetings – Fourth Meeting Held at Delhi, Calcutta, 1922, vol. IV, p.42.
62. Idem..
63. Simon Casie Chitty, op.cit., p.46.
64. M.A. Shrring, Hindu Tribes and Castes, Thacker Spink and Co, Calcutta, 1881, vol. III, p.121.
65. V. Kanagasabhai, The Tamils, Eighteen Hundred Years Ago, Asian Educational Service, Madras,
1966, p.45.
66. P.Sadasivan, History of Weaving Communities in Tamilnadu, (Unpublished Ph.D., thesis), Madurai
Kamaraj University, Madurai, 1987, p. 15.
67. Vijaya Ramaswamy, Textiles and Weavers in Medieval South India, 1985, p.13.
68. T.V.Mahalingam, Vijayanagar Perarasil Nilaipetrinuntha Porulathara Vazhkai Varalaru, p. 20.
69. Silappatikaram, Canto V, lines 16-17.
70. P. Sadasivan, op.cit., p. 16
71. Senthan Thivagaram, Madras, 1958, p.30.
72. P.N. Chopra (et.al.), A Social Cultural and Economic History of India, Vol. I, Delhi, 1974, p. 123.
73. P. sadasivan, op.cit., p. 18.
74. K.K. Pillay, A Social History of the Tamils, Vol.I, University of Madras, Madras, 1969, p. 280.
75. Kamaladevi Chottopadhyaya, Handicrafts of India, p.37.
76. P. Sadasivan, op.cit., p. 19.
77. A.R.E., 187 of 1927-28.
78. K. Rajaram, History of Tirumalai Nayak, Ennes Publications,Madurai, 1952, p. 84.
79. S. Babu, op.cit., p.17.
80. Idem.
81. K.Rajaram, op.cit., p. 85.
82. Gopalakrishna Gandhi, (ed) Pudukkotai District Gazatteer, Government Press, Chennai, 1983, p.463.
83. V. Manickam, History of Pudukottai, (T), Clio Publisher, Madurai, 2004, p. 276.
84. A.R.E., 263 of 1921.
85. A.R.E., 273 of 1955-56.
86. Report of the Survey of Cotton handloom Industry in the Madras Presidency, op.cit., p. 2.
87. Mattison Mines, The Warrior Merchants: Textile, Trade, and Territory in South India, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, 1984, p. 7.
88. Chitra Madhavan, History and Culture Tamilnadu, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 1978,
vol.I, p.16.
89. A.R.E., 655 of 1922
90. V. Manickam, History of Pudukottai, p. 301.
91. M. Srinivasa Aiyangar, Tamil Studies or Essay on the History of the Tamil People, Language, Religion
and Literature, The Guardian Press, Madras, 1914, p.96.
92. Mattison Mines, op.cit., p.4-7
93. Ibid., p. 143.
94. Vijaya Ramaswamy, op.cit., p.59
95. J.H. Hutton, The Caste in India, Oxford University Press, Bombay, 1963, p.44.
96. S. Babu, op.cit., p.18.
97. R. Deva Asirvatham, Tamil Muventhar Marabinarana Devendhirar Veelchi, Ramadevan Pathipagam,
Tanjore, 1998, p.21.
98. Vijaya Ramaswamy, op.cit., p.2.
99. K.V. Raman, The Early History of the Madras Region, Amuda Nilayam, Madras, 1959, pp.23 – 24.
100. A.R.E. 460 of 1919.
101. N.S. Ramasami, Some Recent Theories on the Colas in the South East Asia, Tamil Civilization,
Chennai, 2001, vol. 2, pp.71 – 72.
102. Mattion Mines, op.cit., pp. 22-23.
103. E.F. Brenda Beck, (ed), Perspective on a Regional Culture: Essays About the Coimbatore Area of
South India, Vikas Publishers, New Delhi, 1979, p.39.

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104. T.V. Mahalingam, Vijayanagar Perarasil Nilaipetriruntha Porulatara Vazhkai Varalaru, (T), pp. 24-25.
105. Richard A. Frasca, “Weavers in Pre-Modern South India”, in Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 10,
no. 3o, 26, July 1975, p.1119.
106. S.I.I., vol. III, No. 451.
107. S.I.I., vol. III, No. 127.
108. S.I.I., vol. III, No. 109.
109. S.I.I., vol. I, No. 64.
110. Akurathi Venkateswara Rao, op.cit., p.21.
111. Report on the Survey of the Handloom Industry in Madras State-1954, Madras, 1959, p.1.
112. Richard A Frasca, “Weavers in Pre-Modern South India”, Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 10, no.
30, July 26, 1975, p. 1119.

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