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Banjara Needle Craft
Intertwined with skill, colours, and embellishments, the banjaras are known to be the gypsy community of India. Finding a home for some time in Andhra Pradesh, they have given the state a little souvenir by engaging in needlecrafts and embroidery here.
Tracing Origin
This nomadic tribe is believed to have started their wandering journey from Afghanistan and found home in Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. They are known by other names such as Lamani, Lambadi, Vanjara, and Gormati.
The costumes of the Banjara Tribe are known to have their unique place in history, belief, and style amongst other tribal communities of India.
The Banjara Needle Craft of Andhra Pradesh is distinctive in style compared to those of Gujarat and Rajasthan.
How It’s Done
Back in history, they were known to use a fabric of poor quality subject to availability, which has changed to materials sourced from mills.
They illustrate designs on the fabric and engage in intricate embroidery with various stitches. They use a combination of stitches, like the simple chain stitch, double herringbone stitch, long and short stitch, or a type of a backstitch, to form patterns.
After the base embroidery, they embellish the design using beads, shells, ghungroos, and mirrors. The mirror work and ghungroos add to its uniqueness, the distinguishing factor from other tribal embroideries.
Design Elements
The tribe's collective creative choices in terms of colours and designs are followed, which gives the work a sense of unity, further enhancing the vividness of their culture. They use beads, shells and mirrors with patterns of threadwork to create magical needlework on cloth.
The designs are an aesthetic reflection of their tradition. The essence of Rangoli or muggu(kolam) is transferred onto the fabric as motifs. The banjara needle work rarely contains any figurative expressions, be it flora, fauna or human.
The colours are an ode to their spirit of freedom and form a palette of bright hues such as reds, greens, yellows, blues, blacks and whites.
Banjara Needle Crafts Today
Today the tribe is decreasing in volume at great speed leading to the extinction of this craft. One can find these crafts sold at Hatt fairs pan India, arranged by the Government, and at Lepakshi Emporiums worldwide.
The Banjara Needle Work is a traditional embroidery style of the Lambani people, characterized by the use of bright colors, mirrors, and intricate kantha-style designs.
Image Credits
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