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PASHMINA SWALS
Pashmina
refers to a type of cashmere wool and textiles made from it. The name
comes from Pashmineh, made from Persian pashm (= "wool").
This wool comes from a special breed of goat indigenous to high
altitudes of the Himalayan mountains. The special goat's fleece has been
used for thousands of years to make high-quality shawls that also bear
the same name. The Himalayan Mountain goat, Capra hircus, sheds
its winter coat every spring and the fleece is caught on thorn bushes.
One goat sheds approximately 3-8 ounces of the fiber. Villages would
scour the mountainside for the finest fleece to be used. Cashmere shawls
have been manufactured in Kashmir and Nepal for thousands of years, but
the Indians never called them "pashmina". They were popularly called
Kashmiri wool shawls. The test for a quality pashmina has been warmth,
feel and the passing the shawl through a wedding ring.
The Kashmiri shawl is the most
cherished acquisition of a lady and is believed to be indigenous to
Kashmir. By way of technique, it can be categorised into two main types
--- the loom-woven kani shawl and the needle embroidered sozini shawl.
These shawls are much in demand during winter owing to their warmth,
colour(s), texture(s), design(s) and softness. Kashmiri artisans depict
the natural bounty of the valley on the shawl through embroidered floral
motifs. The raw materials mainly used are raffal and pashmina fabrics.
The kani shawl is a length of intricately woven material used as a wrap
around the body. It is widely known as a jamawar. Kings and courtiers
are supposed to have bought this by the yard (war) and wore it as a gown
or robe (jama ). Such a shawl is in a class by itself, and possesses an
extremely fine texture. Kani is the little wooden stick used as a spoon
to weave this wonder, known colloquially as a kani shawl. Sometimes as
many as 50 kanis are used with different coloured threads for single
weft reflecting the intricacy of design. The fine texture and the
complex designs mean that artisans can seldom weave more than an inch a
day. Kanihama, a village in the western part of Kashmir, has a monopoly
over the weave and the trade in kani shawls.
The pashmina is made
from the wool obtained from the pashmina goat, known locally as Lena
Rama, and found mostly found in the Changthang area of Ladakh. Pashmina
wool is available in a colours like white, brown, gray, and black. The
average height of a pashmina goat ranges from 18-224 inches and it
yields 250- 300 grams of pashmina per season, comprising 60 per cent
fibre and 40 per cent hair. Pashminas are famous for their lustre,
texture, softness, and warmth. The colours are richly blended in
beautiful varied patterns.
Shahtoosh wool is obtained from
Tibetan antelopes found in Tibet and Ladakh. The animal also called
chiru measures 4 feet in length and 31 inches on the shoulders, and
weighs between 41 and 45 kg. The shastoosh is fine enough to pass
through a finger ring and is thus also known as the ring shawl.
Presently the production of shahtoosh shawls has been banned by the
Central Government owing to the needs of wildlife protection.
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