weaver communities, textil~ - shodhgangashodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/16494/8... ·...
TRANSCRIPT
The Weaver Communities, Textil~ Centres, Production and Trade
(Tenth to Fourteenth Centuries)
In 1957, a detailed survey was undertaken of the
textile centres of Tamil Nadu. This showed that the
largest concentration was in Coimbatore, i.e., more than
40 per cent of the total vJOrkers of the cotton industry
were agglomerated at this Centre. This is followed by
Madurai, Madras, Tirunelveli, Tiruchirapalli, Salem and
Tanjavur districts.1 A comparison of this recent survey
of textile centres in Tamil Nadu with the geograpbical
distribution of weaving centres in Medieval South India,
shows that the traditional centres of weaving have more or
less continued dOivn the centuries from the early medieval
times. In spite of the tremendous mechanisation that has
taken place in the textile industry, the primary criteria
for determining the location of the industry, apart from
the establishment of rail links have essentially remained
the same. As this survey reveals, the criteria continued
to be - availability of raw material, skilled labour and
transport and marketing facilities. In the medieval period
the localisation of the vTeaving industry was dependent on
the same factors while the proximity to ports took the
place of modern pre-occupation with rail transport.
The textile centres in Medieval South India, by and
large, had three factors in common - similar type of soil,
l. Economic Atlas of_th~~adras State, National Council of Applied Economic Research, (New Delhi~ l962L p .103
availability of dyes and proximity to ports. The centres
~ were usually rich in black soil or the red ferruginous
loam soil best suited to cotton cultivation. According to
the 1962 economic report, cotton cultivation is predominant
in the black soil regions of Coimbatore, Madurai,
Ramanathapuram and Tirunelveli districts.2 In Bijapur,
Dharwar and Belgaum districts, cotton is the main crop on
the basis of acreage~ Many of these regions were also the
areas of weavers' concentration in the medieval period.
Coupled with the availability of cotton was the easy
accessibility of vegetable dyes and mordants. The references
in inscriptions to these plants are numerous.4 The proximity
to ports was another leading factor in the growth of textile
centres because land transport was costly and slow and
consisted mostly of pack bullocks and carts while transport
by sea was easier, cheaper and more swift.
In the following page an effort has been made to
prepare a map and tables showirg the centres of cotton
weaving in medieval South India (a separate list is
provided for the 17th century) and how these centres were
invariably linked to the ports. It is also in these same
2. Ibid. , p. 51.
3. R.L. Singh, India : ~.Regional Geography, (Varanasi, 1971), pp. 810-12 and 844-5.
4. The Kasakudi plates of Nandivarman II (A.D. 730-95), S.I.I. Yol.II, Pt. 3, No.73, refer to the availability of sengodi (Plumbago Zelanica) whose root served as a powerful caustic in the Kanchipuram region. The records also refer to ~usumba, i.e., safflower, (E.C. Vol,VII1 sk.ll2), manJishta or madder (HAE4 H., No.l3, part I~, inscription 14) and to~ i.e., indigo (Ibid.) ~es and dying have been discussed later on in this chapter.
7·•tlc
18
76 c
WEAVI G CE TRES
MEDIEVA Circa
IN SOJTH INDIA
10 - 15 A.D. .-
(BAS£0 ON INSCRIPTIONAL £VID£NC£)
28.
.32
.39
42
• .47 4) •
49.
7 c 8 c
101 • 05.
8 c
N
+· N
20
0 50 I I
KHAMMAPALLI MATTEWADA BHIMAVARAM ACHANTA NAGULA AOU BURUGUGAOUA MELLAC - UVU KOMERENI TANSEOA OHARMAVARAM KOPPARAM AMRITALURU ALAMPUR AOONI VEL PA MAOU~:;U PROOOATUR PAODUKARA
18 ANI MALA 19 HEMAVATI 20 LEPAKSHI 21 BASINIKO NOA
TIRUCHCHANOOR NARAVANAVANAM VALAMARI
MAHARASHTRA
KARNATAK A 26 MANIKYAVALLI 27 HULl orPULI 28 ABLUR
30 MULGUNO MAlPGAVAO ( B r.aglrl)
LAKSHM ISVAR CHIN MAll OEVA5AMUO A
(Jambur) A! AGAMI
1~0 'r' KMS.
44 ARSIKER 45 HONNAVALLI 46 MA~KULI 4 7 KOR Af AGER 48 BINNAMAN ALAM 49 AI&ANOAPUR A 50 MACIVALE 51 MANATHAPURA 52 KUOUKURU 53 K"' L A RE 54 BHOGAVATI ( Booudl ) 55 CHIKMSOMAHATH 56 BELLURU 57 YELI'I'UR 5 KONNAPURA
TAMIL NAOU
59 60 6, 62 63
VEPPUA KANCHIPURAM VAVALVUR VEPPANGULAM MANIMANGAL AM
A
9 TIRUKKOYILUR 90 NIRKUNAM
1 TIRUVAMAT TU" 2 Tl RUVAKKARAI ~ TIRUVENNAINAlWR 4 TIRUPPALAPPANOAL
95 ARAGANOANALLUR 6 TI RUCHCHOPURAM 7 MANNARKUDI
98 SRIMUSHNAM g VRIDOACHALAM
100 PENNAOAM 101 .ARAGAL
102 TARAMANGALAM 103 PALAMEOU 1 TIRU HCHfN&OOU 105 VEN&ANUR 106 AOUTURAI 107 TAIPATTAVEUUA
HATTAMANQJOI 10CJ KANOIR.AOITTAN 110 KAMARASAVALLI
64 KULA TTUR 111 TIRUVAIGAVUA 12 65 6 67 6 u 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 ~0 81 82 83 84
PILLAIPALAVAM 112 GAtiGAIICOiiOA SOLAf'URAM ARPAKKAM 11l TIRUVALANJULI P RUNAGAR 114 TIRUVENKAOU S NBAKKAM 115 TIRU~KANAPURAM MAHABALIPVAAM 116 TANJAUVR KUN NA TTUA 11'7 KOVI LPATTI TIRUKKA V UNRAM ll 8 VEOARANYAM TIRUKKACHCHt'f'UR U9 PIRANMALAL • UTTIRAM TIRUVOT UR SALUKKI TIRUPPU IVANl-M OEVAKIPURAM KOOUNGALUR TIRUMUKKUDVAi. ACHCHARAPAKKAM Tl RUVANAKKOVI PULIPPA AKKOYIL OLAKKUR GIOANGIL
1.20 VELA NGUDI 121 ETTI YA TTA Ll 122 TI AUPP UNAVASAL 123 KALAIYARKOVIL
1:!4 Tf NKARA I
12S SOLA VAN DAN 10
126 VIKKIRAMAN6ALAM
127 MADURA! 128 SOLAPURAM
85 KUNIMEOU
129 AM BASAMUDRAM 1 :~0 AT ARIKESAVAHAllU 1)1 TJRUHELVEU
86 SINGAVANAM 87 TIRUVANNAMALAI 88 CHE~GAMA
112 KOTT R
![eayj:J]_g_Centr_g§_in Medieval South India (1000 1500 A.D.)
--------------·--------------------------------------------------s. No. District
p . . .. eavlng Centre
Taluq Inscriptional Reference
--------------------------A.Dd.i1r.a-Prad.8ifi --·- -------- --·---- --------1. Karimnagar Karmnapal1i 1'-ianthera
2. vlarangal :tvlatte1vada waranga1
3. E .Godavari Bhimavaram Cocanada
4. H.Godavari Achanta Narasapuram
5. Na1gonda Nagulapadu Suryapet
6. Nalgonda. Burugugadda Huzurnagar
7. Halgonda l':el1aceruvu I:Iuzurn agar
8. Krishna Kokkerini Nandigama
9. Guntur Tangeda Pa1nad
10. Guntur Dharmavaram Ongole
11. Guntur. Kopparam Narasapeta
12. Guntur Amrita1uru Tena1i
13. Mahboobnagar A1ampur Gadi·ral
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
Adoni
Anantapur
Cuddappah
Nel1ore
Cuddapah
Anantapur
20. Anantapur
Adoni
Ve1pamadugu
Proddatur
Paddukara
Jtnima1a
Hemavati ---=:....--'----- _-
Lepakshi
Adoni
Gooty
Proddatur
Kovur
Karca1apuram
l>Iadakasira
Hindapur
A.P .G .E.S., Vo1.VIII, No.34
H.E.H. Vo1.13, Nos. 10, 13 and 14
S.I.I., Vol.V, No.65
0 T I o • ..:-. -.,
r "R Y.I rl.J..:J ••• ,
Vo1.X, No.239
Vol. 13, No.30
H.E.H. Vol.l3, No.13
H.E.H. Vo1.13, No.52
S.I.I. Vo1.X, No.507
A.R.E. 387 of 1926
V.Rangacharya-Inscription of the lviadras Presidenc,y No .362
S.I.I.,Vo1.X, Yo.533
S.I.I.,Vol.XVI, Ko.334
H.E.~. Vo1.13,Eo.55
A.R.E. 1 of 1915-16. Appendix D. '
S T I \f 1 --·x P .... 2 -,r • -- • • 0 • j_ ' v • '~· 0 • 51·
A.R.E.333 of 1935-36
S.I.I. Vo1.XII, Pt.I, C.P. l of 1933.
A.R.E.200 of 1937-38
A .R .E-.rs-and~ 16- -;;~-~-1917~la,=~~=-=~-~~~~
A.R.E. Cp.18 of 1917-18
--------------------------------------------------------· s. District No.
Weaving Centre Ta1uq
Inscriptional Reference
--------------------------------------------------------------· 21. Chittoor Basinikonda Ivradanapa1li A.R.E. 342 of 1912-13
22. Chittoor
23. Chittoor
24. Chittoor
2 5. Kolhapur State
26. Bijapur
27. Be1gaum
Tirchchanoor 'Iirupati
Narayanavanam Puttur
Yalamari Chittoor
Ko1hapur
K2:rnataka Hanikyava11i Buge-v.radi
Huli or Puli Parasagad
28. Chittaldroog Abbur Kod
29. DharvTar Ron Ron
30. Dhan1ar Hul:;und Gada.g
31. Dha.r1¥ar M.a11igavad Hubli (Baragiri)
32 • Dha.n.r ar Lakshmisvar Shiratti
33. Raichur Chinmali Sidhdhanur
T.T. Vol.I, No.34
S .I .I., Vol.XVI ,No .315
A.R.E. 68 of 1959-60.
E.C.Vol.XIX, No.4
E.C.,Vol.V, No.3A
E. I • , XVI II , I'Jo. 22. E
A.R.E.,58 of 1951-52
E.I. Vol.XIII,No.l5
B.I.I.,Vol.XI,Pt.l, No.9?
E.C.,Vo1.V, No.l02
S.I.I.,Vol.XX, No.l1
A.P.G.E.S.,Vol.IX, No.l5
34. Chitta1drooe; Devasamudra Holakalamuru E.C.,Vo1.XI,~lk.l
35. Bel1ary
36. Shimoga
37. Shimoga
38. Shimoga
39. Shimoga
Kuruva.tti Hadda.ga11i
Kollumathada Shikarpur (Jambur)
Balganmi
Ba11ipur
Nusuru
Shikarpur
Shikarpur
40. Chitta1droog Abinahole
Shikarpur
Hiriyur -.-- -
41. Chi ttaldroog Cha11aker_e ~ Hiriynr ----=-:...----·-=--~-· -
42. Hasan Kanika.tti Arsikere
S.I.I.,Vol.IX,~o.165
E.C.,Vol.VII,Sk.l45
E.C.,Vol.VII,Sk.95
E.C. Vol.V:I,Sk.95
E.C. Vo1.VIII,i{r.33
E.C.
E.C. ,Vo1.V,Ak.40
---
--------------------~-------------------------------------------s. No. District Weaving
Centre Taluq Inscriptional
Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------43. Hasan Halabidu Belur E.C.V(ii)
Bl.Supplement No.236 ..
44. Hasan Arsikere Arsikere N.A.R. 1930,No .1 Akl: .. 45. Twnkur Hon navalli Tiptur E. C. Vol.XII, Tp .130
46. Hasan r ... ~arkuli Hasan .,., c v 1 i" lii • • 0 ,J, H.n .119
47. Tumkur Korataz:;ere Koratagere E .C., Vol.XII,I~a .31. (Maddagiri)
48. Ban galore Bin n am an g alamfo Devan ahalli E.C.Vol.IX,Nl.No.3 (Nilama.ngalam)
49. Ban galore Aigandapura Nilamangalam E.C.Vol.IX.Nl.No.38 .
50. Ban galore Nadivale Ban galore E.G. Vol.IX.Bn.66
51. Nysore Somanatha- Tirumakudlu E.C.Vol.III, Tn.No.97 pur a -Narsipur
52. Nysore Kudukuru Hunasur E.C. Vol.IV, Hs.97
53. Hysore Kaddalager e Seringapatam E.C. Vol.J. II, Sr .104
54. Mandy a Bhogavati Nag am an gala M.A .R., 1940,No.29 (Bhogudi)
55. Ban galore Chikkasoma- Che:mapatna M.A.R.,l942,No.26 nathapura
56. Nandya Belluru Eadur E,C. Vol.IV Ng.Ho.38 (N aga.mangala)
57. Ban;:;alore Yeliyur Chermapatna E.G. Vol.IX.Cp.66
58. Ha.YJdya Konnapura Nalavalli N .A .R., 1945 No.l7
59. ~orth Arcot Veppur Gudiyattam S.I.I.Vol.IV, No.343
60. Chi:;gleput Kanchipuram Kanchipuram S.I.I.Vol.II.Pt.III No. 73
61. Chingleput Vaya.lur Kanchipuram A.R.E. 364 of 1908 ---=---- ---==-
62. Chit}g~eput~~~Veppan~ulani--Kanchipuram ~· S~ I .I~Vol. VIII,No .4
S.I.I.,Vol.VI,No.255
---------------------------------------------------------------S. Weaving Inscriptional
District c Taluq R f No. entre . e erence ---------------------------------------------------------------· 64. Chingleput Kulattur Chingleput A.R.E. 16 of 1935
65. Chir;~leput Pillaipalayam Kanchipuram A.R.E. 88 of 1921-22
66. Chinsleput Arpakkam
67. Chingleput Perunagar
68. Chingleput Senpakkam
Kanchipuram S.I.I. Vol.VI,No.456
Chingleput A.R.E.,370 of 1923
Chingleput A.R.E.,ll3 of 1933-34
69. Chingleput Jv1ahabalipuram Kanchipuram A.R .E. ,303 of 1961-62
70. Chingleput Kunnattur Chingleput
71. Chingkeput Tirukkaluk- Chingleput kunram
72. Chingleput Tirukkachchiyur II
A.R.E.,221 of 1929-30
A.R.E. 170 of 1933
A.R.E. 300 of 1~09
73. Chingleput Uttiramerur Kanchipuram A.R.E. 195 of 1922-23
74. North Arcot Tiruvottur
75. .L-Jorth Arcot Salukki
Cheyyar
Wandivrash
S.I.I. Vol.VII No.l09
A.R.E. 471 of 1920-21
76. Chingleput Tiruppulivanam Kanchipuram A.R.E. 201 of 1923
77. North Ar:cot Devakipure.m Arni
78. North Arcot Kodungalur Wandivrash
A.R.E. 364 of 1912
A.R.E. 143 of 1923-24
79. Chingleput Tirumakkudal Nadurantakam A.R.E. 182 of 1916
80. Chingleput Achcharapakkam
1-iadura.ntakam S .I .I. Vol.VII No .448
81. Chingleput Tiruvanakkoyil Nadurantffi:am A.R.E. 286 of 1910
82. Chingleput Puliparakkoy.il
83. South Arcot Olakkur
84. South Arcot Grida.n.igil
8 5. South Ar:cot Kun imedu
South Arcot Singavaram
II A.R.E. 293 of 1910
Dindivanam A.R.E. 354 of 1907
Dindivanam S.I.I. Vol.VII Ho.936
Dindivanam S.I.I. Vol.XVII No.264
Gin gee S. I. I. Vol.:XIJI I No .248 - ------------
- - ... 86.
87. North Arcot Tiruva.nnamal:ai 'firuvan-_-- - -· . n ~m~laJ...' --" -~. I_!I_.~_, __ V:TI_,==N€J"";7- ---
---=--=---=----= .~llct:
~BB-; I-Iortn -A:rCot -Che_~-;=~=a~ma=- II S.I.I. Vol.Vfi,ilo.ll7
s. No. District Weaving
Centres Taluq
50
Ins cri pti onal Reference
----------------------------------------------------------------89. South Arcot Tirukkoyilur Tirukkoyilur S.I.I.,Vol.VII,No.936
90. South Arcot Nerkunram Tirukkoyilur A.R.E. 218 of 1934-35
91. South Arcot Tiruvamattur Viluppuram A.R.E. 10 of 1922-23
92. South Arcot T iruv akkar ai Viluppuram S.I.I. Vol.XVII No.221
93. South Arcot 'l'iruvennai-· Tirukkoyilur S.I.I.Vol.VII,No.379 nallur
94. South Arcot Tiruppalap- Cuddalore S.I.I.Vol.XVII No.l80 pandal
95. South Arcot Argandanallur Dindivanam S.I.I. Vol.II ,:fo .1018
96. South Arcot T iruchchopuram Cuddalore S .I .I .Vol J0JII,:'Jo .130
97. South Arcot l•iannarkudi Vilupuram S.I.I. Vol.VI :fo. 70
98. South Arcot Srimushnam Chic'lamba.ram A.H.E. 252 of 1916-17
99. South Arcot Vriddachalam Vriddachalam A.F~ .. E. 68 of 1918-19
100. South Arcot Penn adam Vriddachalam A.R.E. 263 of 1928-29
101. Salem Aragal Attur A.R.E. 409 of 1913
102. Salem Tar aman g alam Omalur S.I.I.Vol.VII No.22
103. Salem Palamedu Thiruchchen- A.R.E. 346 of 1959-60 godu
104. Salem Tiruchchengodu II A.R.E. 140 of 1915-16
105. Trichinopoly Venganur Peran~balur A.R.E. 2 of 1913-14
106. Trichinopoly Aduturai Perambalur A.R.E. 30 of 1913-14
107. Trichinopoly Tripattavellur Musiri A.R.E. 311 of 1968-69
108. Trichinopoly iifat taman gudi Lalgudi A.R.E. 152 of 1928-29
109. Trichinopoly Kandiradittam Udayarpalayam A.R.E. 203 of 1928-29
110. Tr ichi-n opoly Kamar as avalli ~udaiyarpalayam A .R .E. gg-of 1914~15------- - - ---- -~-"~---= --. -::.=:.. =-
111. Tan jore Tiruvaigavur Papanasam A.R.E. 59 of 1914-15
112. Trichinopoly Gang aikon da-Solapuram
Uda iyarpalayam S. I .I . Vol. IV i'Jo. 524
51 ----------------------------------------------------------------· s. District Weaving
Centre Taluq Inscriptional Reference
-----------------------------------------------------------------113. Tan javur Tiruvalan j uli Kumbakonam S.I.I.Vol.VIII,No.22
114. Tanjavur Tiruvenkadu Srikali S.I.I.Vol.V No.l76
115. Tanjavur Tirukkanapuram Nannilam A.R .E. 508 of 1922-23
116. 'l'anjavur Tanjavur Tanjavur S.I.I.Vol.II, No .66
117. Trichnopoly Kovilpatti Kulittalai A.R..E. 286 of 1964-65
118. Tanjore Vedaranyam Tirut turai- S .I .I .Vol.XVIJ:, No .452 pundi
119. Rarnnad Piranmalai Tirupattur S.I.I.Vol.VII No.442
120. Ramnad Velangudi Tirupattur A.R.E. 507 of 1958-59
121. Tanjore Ett:Lyattali Aratangi A.R.E. 132 of 1915-16
122. Tanjore Tiruppuna- Arantangi S.I.I. Vol.VIII,No.21 vasal
123. Ramnad Kalaiyarkoyil Sivagangai S. I .I • Vol.VII ~\o .177
Nadurai Tenka.rai Nilakkottai
S.I.I.Vol.V. 124. 8:twaga~gai No .301
125. i.Vla.durai Solavandan Nilakkottai S.I.I.Vol.V .No.301
126. Madurai Vikkiramangalam Nilakkottai S • I • I . V o 1 • V • No • 3 03
127. Nadurai Hadurai Nadurai S.I.I.Vol.IV No.371
128. Tirunnelveli Solapuram Kovilpatti S.I.I.Vcl.XVI No .221
129. Tirunnelveli Ambasamudram Ambasamudram A.R.E. 310 of 1916-17
130. Tirunelveli Atarikesava- Ambasamudram A.R.E. 454 of nallur
131. Tirunelveli Tirunelveli Tiru..YJ elveli A.R.E. 48 of 1945-46
132. Travancore Kottar Nagarcoil S.I.I. Vol.III. State Pt. II No.73
-------------------------------------------------------------------
regions that one finds the maximum concentration of the
weaver communities. With the above geographical regions
certain weavers were normally associated and yet a precise
demarcation of the spread of these communities over the
regions is not an easy task. This is because of the
~obility that seems ~o have been displayed by some of them.
By and large the Devanga weavers originally hailed either
from the Andhra or Karnataka areas. Inscriptions relating
to them have been found in both these regions 5 and the
language spoken by them is either Telegu or Kanerese. But
the Devangas at some stage seem to have moved into Tamil
Nadu and more specifically the Kongu region .;in large
numbers. It is possible that these migrations took place
during the period of expansion under the Vijayanagar empire.
The reason for the migrations must have been the enormous
opportunities before them and the desire for economic
advanceme~t. 6 The references to the Dievangas in the Tamil
5.
6.
E.C. XII M1 31 from Tumkur dt.i ~. X Cb.2 from Kolar dt: both in Karnataka and c.P. 8 of 1917/18 from Anantapur in Andhra.
"Conquests sometimes led to large-scale migrations of peoples from one part of the country to another, and to new adjustments in economic and social relations. The most recent instance of this was the coming into the Tamil country of numbers of Telegus and Kannadigas with the extension of the Vijayanagar empire and perhaps of the Hoysala power earlier. They must have come in as officers and soldiers upholding the authority of the rulers and their migration was doubtless encouraged -bycgrants o-f land @~:L_<:>ther concessions at the expense Of-~the .people of the conquered territory'! (K~.Nilakanta Sastri, A His-'Gory-·o-f~Seuth~India, -~dr_as, 1976 (4th ed.) · p. 314. . -
53 country come from Chingleput, 7 Tanjore 8 and South Arcot 9
districts.
An important weaver community of the medieval times
was the Sale or the Saliga community sometimes classified
as the Padma-Sale and the Pa~~u-Sale. 10 This was probably
the same community which in the Tamil country was called
•Saliya' for the root of both is the same, the sanskrit
11 Sha.J.ika" meaning weaver but in the Dharwar and Belgaum
districts12 they are referred to as Salige. They are termed
the Silevaru in the Andhra regions of Guntur, l3 Krishna14
and Nalgondal5 districts. One inscription from Mattewada
(Warangal dt.) refers to them as the • Saliya-Janalu' 16 and
the Tirumalai-Tirupati epigraphs17 also refer to them as
Saliya. The references to the Saliya in the Tamil country
are of course, numerous. A further proof of the close
links between the Sale and the Siliya is the worship of the - -/ common God Salisvara. In course of time, they must have
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
-
13.
A.R.E. 286 of 1910 from Tiruvanakkoyil dated A.D. 1339
Rangacharya, Inscriptions of the Madras Presidency (3 Vols, Madras, 1919) Vol.II, pp.l360-61, No.996 A from Kapistalam, dated A.D. 1542
A.R.E. 201 of 1936-37 and 41 of 1922-23 from Tiruvamattur dated 1550 A.D.
Edgar Thurston, Castes and Tribes of Southern India, (New Delhi, 1975, Reprint ) Vol.VI, p.265
Verman Shivaram Apte 11Sanskrit-English Dictionary' Ed. by Gode and Kasre, Prasad Prakashan, Poona
S.I.I. Vol. XI, Pt.I, No~~?_dat_e-~1062-A.D,.-frem--- -~~~~~0
~Mulg1111d~and~~vol-:viii No.22.E dated 122~'"""~_.D_. _ - -
S.I.I. Vol.X No.533 from Kopparam dated A.D. 1323.
54 acquired different cultural habits and for that matter even
the Saliyans of Tanjavur do not interdine or intermarry
with the 8aliyans of Tirunelveli.l8 The Jeda or Jedara
caste of weavers were concentrated mainly in the Karnataka
region. The references to the Jedara caste of weavers are
to be found as early as the twelfth century19 and in fact
Jedara Dasimayya, the famous Sudra saint belonged to this
· d 20 Th s- · s- · f per~o • e en~yar or en~gar ormed another weaving
community of the Andhra2l-Karnataka22 regions in the
medieval period.
The leading weaver communities of the Tamil country
were the SSliyan and the KaikkO~ar. During the Chola period
i.e., roughly from the tenth to t.he fourteenth centuries,
it was the Saliyar who formed the major weaving community.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
S,I,I. Vol,X No.507 from Kekkireni dated A.D. 1314.
H.EtH. No.l3 inscription 30 from Nagulapadu dated in he early fourteenth century.
H.E.H. No.l3 inscription 10 dated A.D. 1228
~T. Vol.I Nos.?O, 71 and 72, etc.
Edgar Thurston, op.cit., Vol.VI, p.278
A.R~. 400 of 1964-65 from Jinnur (Dharwar dt.) and E,C,, Vol.VII, Hl. 40 from Balagutti (Shimoga dt.)
E.I. Vol.XXIX No.l9. The reference to the Jedara caste of weavers in the Tamil coQ~try comes only from the 18th century (Ref. H.D. Love, Vestiges of Madras, London, 1913), Vol.I, p,547.
21. A,R.E, 388 of 1911 from Sa~travada, Puttur Ta.lu.q, .~ - Ghittoor dt. ~· - - ~.~.- ·-- _ --~ ~ ~
22. A.R~ 400 of 1965 from Jinnur, Dharwar dt.
55
23 24 References to them are found in Chingleput, South-Arcot
and Tirunelveli25where they were to be found in considerable
numbers, and also in Coimbatore,26 North Arcot27 and
Tanjavur?B However, no reference to the Saliyar can be
found from Madurai. 29
The position of the KaikkO~as during the Chola period
is somewhat ambiguous. Under the Chela king they appear to
have functioned mainly as soldiers and army commanders. Thus
the Chola inscriptions refer to the Kaikko+a-Perumpa9ai30 and I - - - \ 31 T the Kaikko+a-Senapati. hey are, however, more often
referred to as the 1 Terinja Kaikko~ar' ('Terinja' means
trusted perhaps so called because they formed the king 1 s t - ,
bodyguard). Thus there were Samarakesari-Terinja Kaikkolar, . ' 'I t Vikramasinga-Terinja-Kaikko~ar32 and virasola-Terinja
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
S,I,I., Vol,III, Pt,4, p.2§4. The Madras museum copper plates of Uttama Chola from Kanchipuram.
S.I.I., Vol.V. No.223 from Chidambaram of the period of R[jendra Chela.
A.R.E., 538 of 1916/17 of the period of Kulasekharadeva from Seramadevi.
A.R.m., 187 of 1927 from Perukalandai of the period of Kongu-Cnola Vikramadeva.
S,I.I., Vol.IIIi No.l03 from Tiruvottur of the period of Ethiroli Cno a Sambuvaraya, roughly the 13th century.
A.R.E.~ 132 of 191§/16 from Ettiy~tali Aratangi Taluq) of the period of Maravarman Kulasekharadeva, i.e., the beginning of the 14th century.
A community which became concentrated in Madurai and Tanjavur were the Saurashtras or the Pat~unulkaran, so called because of- their skill i-n silk-weaving. But they appeared as a ~omp~t~tive~force~only~n the 17th century and are hence dealt with in the least two chapters.
58
Ka . - ,33 ) ~kko~ar (all referring to Parantaka I A.D. 907-55 ,
c _ ""' _ '34 r _ ........ Arulmolideva-Terinja-Kaikkolar and Rajaraja-Terinja-.. . Kaikkola~35 (both referring to Rajaraja I A.D. 985-1016}.
It is significant that the maximum reference to the Terinja
KaikkOlar (Kaikkola-soldiers) comes from Tanjore, the seat . . of Cnola power. However, there is no inscription which
directly relates the Kaikko~as with the weaving profession
till the beginning of the thirteenth century. The earliest
mention of loom tax on the Kaikkolas comes from the period
of Sundara Pandya in the thirteenth century.36 The
Kaikkolas in connection with the loom tax also find mention . in the period of Rajanarayana Sambuvaraya in the fourteenth
ce.bt-'1'~7 Even the literary evidences relating to the
period confirm the assumption that the Kaikko~as functioned
predominantly as soldiers during the Chela period, The
twelfth century poet Ottakuttar's Itti_~upatu38 is a
30. !.R.E., 253 of 1907, Tiruvidaimarudur, Tanjore dt • . 31. S.I.I., Vol.VIIi No.451 from Achcharapikkam in
Chingleput dt.
A.R .E., 278 of 1911 from Tillaisthanam in Tanjore
A,.R 1 E., 228 of 1911 from Kumbakonam in Tanjore dt.
dt.
A.R.E., 144 of 1928 from Tiruppa1anam in the same dt. ••
A.R.E., 627 of 1909 from Koneri Rajapuram in the same dt.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36. A.R.E., 300 of 1909 from TirukkachchiyUr in Chingleput dt.
37. A.R.E., 286 of 1910 from Tiruvan8kkoyil and A.R.~., 218 of 1910 and 276 of-1912 from Nerumbur and Pu1ipparapa.kkam, all from Chin gleput dt.
panegyric on the bravery and prowess of arms of the
Kaikkola-soldiers. The evidence that the Kaikkolas served . . in the army of the Chola kings is further strengthened by
- 39 a late literary work of the community Vira Naryana Vi.iayam.
However, it is probable that even during the Chela period
the Kaikko+as combined soldiering with weaving. Weaving
must have been their occupation during peace-times except
for those Kaikko~as employed permanently as bodyguards of
the king. Thus while all the references from the Tanjore
dt. (i.e. the seat of ChOla power) during this period
relate to the Terinja-Kaikko~ar, the inscriptions from all
other districts refer merely to the Kaikko~ar and not to
the Kaikko~a soldiers. It is possible to infer that in
all these instances, the Kaikko~as referred to were pursuing
their traditional occupation Qf weaving. It must be noted
that in the inscriptions the caste name and the professional
name were considered synonymous. If the inscription
mentioned 1 Banajiga1 or 1 Chetti1 it could be automatically
assumed that the reference was to a merchant and if it
.mentioned •Saliya' or •Kaikko~ar' it would be quite natural
to assume that the reference was to a weaver. While
3S.
39.
------------·--------------------------------------The Itti Elupatu translated with commentary in the Sengunta Mithira.Q, op,cit. The work refers to the various military exploits of the KaikKO+ar called Senguntar because of the curious hook like weapon (Kuntam) which they carried. Passim but refer specifically stanzas 5 to 17.
Although this work c~n_ot be chronologically dated, its events refer ~o the period of Parantaka I (A.D. 907-55) because Vir a Narayana is one of the names of Parantaka- Refer_s.I.±_., Vol.II Pt.3 Udayendiram plates of Prithivipati Hastimalla which refer to Parantaka Vira Narayana •
•
technically the term •Tantuvaya' stood for weaver in
practice, no inscription refers to a Saliya-Tantuvaya or
a Kaikko~a-Tantuvaya. Thus it would be quite correct to
assume that in those places where the nomenclatures
•Terinja' or •senapati' have not been used, the reference
is to a weaver. The assumption that the KaikkO~as pursued
weaving side by side with soldiering40
is substantiated by
literary tradition contained in the Adi Diwak~ of
Diw8.karam Muni var which says, "Sen gun tar, Pa~aiyar, Senai-- - - 4ln It . Talai var, Karugar Kaikkolar • ~s, however, only with
40. The association between soldiering and weaving seems to have been common in other weaver communities also. As early as the 5th century, the Mandasor inscription dated A.D. 437 refers to a community of silk weavers from Saurashtra $Pecially skilled in archery (J.F. Fleet, Gu2ta Cor2us Inscri2tionum Indicarum,III No.l8). The Togata weavers of the Andhra region (Nandavaram in BaganapaJ.li, Karnool dt.) are said to have styled themselves EkangaVIras and fought for the Maliamandal"esvara of Parugallu (A.R.E.a.., 5 and 7 of 1943-44). The Devangas like the Kaikkolas claim dLv~ne origin as the soldiers of their patron deity Chaudambika (Devan ga Pur an am by Mambala Kavirayar which belongs to the 17th century). Edgar Thurston in his account of the castes says that the leader$ of the Sale or the Salapu (weavers of the Vizagapatnam region) was called Senapati (Thurston, ~.cit., Vol.VI p.265).
41. While the first part of this verse refers to them in
58
the capacity of soldiers, the second part gives them their professional name. The use of the term 1 Karugar 1
for weaver occurs as early as the §.ilappS!,Qikaram op.ctt ., (16-17). The Diwakaram can be placed roughly in'the 8th century A.D. This e~dence was orally conveyed to me by Kavignar Kandasami of Rasipuram,
the disbanding of the armies of Rajaraja III and the
foundation of the Vijayanagar empire that the Kaikko~as
became full fledged weavers and eventually the predominant
weaving community in the Tamil country. Though concentrated
in large numbers in the Tamil country the Kaikko~as are also 42 43
to be found in Mysore and Bangalore where they are
referred to as 'Kaikko+aru• and also in ~ Chittoor in
Andhra. 44 It is significa~that these instances pertain
to the Vijayanagar period when migrations took place.
59
The names of the weaver communities such as Kaikko~ar,
Sale and Devanga have been interpreted by scholars of
linguistics in different ways. Tamil scholars offer
interesting explanations for the origin of the name
'Kaikkolar' • The name is said to be a compound of the two
terms Kai + Kol referring t~ the plying of the weavers'
craft. Another explanation pertains to the peculiar hook
like weapon which would never leave the grip of the warrior.
This explanation also fits the name 1 Senguntar', another
caste-name used by this community. •Kuntam' is interpreted
as a short hook-like weapon used by Virabahu, the mythical
lieutinant of Lord Subramanya and his followers.45
However,
it is noteworthy that though this community is referred to
42.
43.
44.
45.
E,C., IV, Ch.97 Hattalak:ote, Chamarajanagara Taluq.
E.G., IX, Bn. 66 from Madivala, Bangalore Taluq,
A.R.E., 68 of 1958/59 from Yalamari, Chittoor Taluq.
The legend has been recounted in detail in the Senguntar Prabanda Tirattu - a collection of historical literature orl'the community e.d. by Sabapati Mudaliyar (Madras, 1926)
by Ottakuttar and others as •Senguntar' and even now prefer
to be known by this name, there are very few inscriptions
which refer to the Kaikkolar as Sen gun tar. A reference to
Sengunta K~~an Nelvai Nambinayakar making a donation of two
6 {l
-/ Nanda Vilakku is, however, to be found in the Pridigangisvara
temple at Neyyadipakkam in Kanchipuram (Chingleput dt.) of
the period of vira-Rajendra ChOladeva (Eleventh century).46
There might be a possible connection between Sengunra-nadu .. the region around Tiruva~~amalai in the North Arcot dt., an
area frequently referred to in inscriptions47 and the
Senguntar. In the Singaraperuma~ koyil in the Chingleput
district, Ayyaran-nakkan, a KUlichchevagan is said to have
purchased land from the Sengunta-Na~~ar in Sengun_~am for
giving two Sandi lamps and food offerings to the deity,
Narasinga Vinnagar~var.48 One reason put forth for the
paucity of the term 1 Senguntar1 in the inscriptions is that
•senguntar' was the special name ( 1 Cirappu peyar') given to
the community while •Kaikko~ar' denoting their occupation
was the professional n-ame used in everyday life.49 The name
of the Sale, Salivaru or Saliya is derived from the same
46. S,I,IL, Vol.VII No.425, ~R.E. 212 of 1901
47. S.I.I,, Vol.VIII, Nos, 124, 148, etc.
48, !.R.E, 139 of 1956-57 of the period of ChOla Rajakesari
49. Thurston, op,cit,, Vol,VI, p,368. In f practice of most castes to have two nam instance the Shanar~ of Tirunelveli pre by their special name 1 Na~Ys• r::~the1" t
61 50
word- the sanskrit 1 Shalika1 meaning weaver. The name
Devanga is a compound of two words Deva + anga and is
related to the legend of their origin which claims that they . ~
were d&vine warriors created by Siva himself.
With regard to the dwelling of the weavers, they were 52
invariably settled in the Tiruma~aivilagam of the temple,
i.e., the temple town or the Temple-square.53 In the
Ifajaraje~vara temple of Tanjore, the Saliyatteru is referred
to as being within the Temple-square (llllala1) in contrast
to the streets of other professionals which were ~uramgadi
or outside. 54 It is clear that in every to~ the weavers
had their own separate quarters or streets. During the
period of Uttama Chola (tenth century) the Pattasalins were
settled in the four quarters of Kanhchipedu (Kanchipuram)
known as •KaruvUlanpatti', Karisahanap-patti, Atimanap-patti . . . . and ~uvalichcheri. 55 The reference to the street of the .. weavers (KaikkOla-teru) to the North of the Tirumadaivilagam
of Tiruvalanturai-Udaiya-Nayinar in Tiruchirapa~~i is 56
available from {he period of Para.krama Cnola-Pandya (A.D.1077)
50.
51.
52.
53.
54. 55.
56.
------------------------------------------·-------------Veman Shivaram Ape> Sanskrit-English Dictionary, op.cit.
Devanga Puranam, e~. Palanisarru Pulavar, Coimbatore, 1971, pp.35-50 ..
T ,N. Subramanyam, §.o.uth Indian Temple~criptions Glossary defines Tirumadaivilagam as quarters around a temple but in A.R.E., 1921-22, part II, it is translated as temple __ square. _
A.R,E., 311 of 1968-69 from Musiri~ Tiruchirapalli and I.R.E., 286 of 1910 fromTiruvanakkoyil, Chingleput dt.etc.
~.I.I,, Vol.II, Pt. III No.94. S ,I .I., Vol.._II. Pt .4, the Madras museum copper plates o1 Ottama Chola S.I.I., Vol.VIII, No,569 from Tiruppalaturai
The weavers produced various types of cloth for
the requirements of the temple, the royal household and
the common people. One of the main articles of weaving was
pudava~. The pudayai (sari) was the dress of the women. . . The Jivaka Chintamani says that women wore sarees with folds
57 and drapes at the end. So probably the pu~~~ was not
very different from what it is today, i.e., of a length
between 5-6 yards. The main articles woven for the common
man was Vetti and Uttirivam, i.e., vetti worn from the waist ---:-:-- - J ••
downwards of roughly .;l, yards in length and uttiriyam for
62
the top. Headgear was worn by the king rodl~ nobles but not
perhaps by the common people. During the period Qf Kulottunga
ChoJa (A.D. 1070-1122) reference is made to the Surrupudavai, ... . . . Niravadi ~davail, Pavadai pudavai (a three yard piece) and . . men's apparel like udaiand Uttirlyam. 58 The weaving of
ordinary cotton sari (Parutti Pugavai) is referred to in an
inscription from NilamangaJ.4tll·in Bangalore. 59 Reference to
Vetti and Pudavai is also made in the period of Rajarajadeva .. 60 (A.D. 12 43 ) •
Along with weaving the allied craft of tailoring also
occupied an important place. Is I 1 R 3; I" 1: eqfpq; f u ld 1Jh
..._ In the twelfth century at Halibi~u (Belur district), a
57.
58.
59.
60.
- P,'t/. Jivaka Chintamani, (ed.) by Somasundaranar~ (Madras, 1972) 1320 and 2477. This work belongs to the lOth century and is written by Tiruttakkadevar.
S.I.I., Vol.IV, No.Bl3 from .Kanchipuram, Chingleput dt.
E.G. IX, Nl.3, Kulottunga Chela, A.D. 1121.
S.I~., Vol.I, No.64 from South Arcot dt.
ftra~~ (Panegyric) on a huge corporation of tailors
says among other things that they made blouses with 61
decorations. The men also probably wore a sort of shirt
(Kanchuka).
from the
The weaving of stitched dresses can be seen 62 paintings and sculptures of that period. The
dress of the nobility and the upper classes was a little
different and more ornamental. So also, the tailors
maintained by the temples catered to the demands of the
different classes. An order of Rajaraja Cho~a assigns a
share in the produce of certain lands to a number of
63
professionals and 400 dancing women attached to the Tanjavur
temple. 63 The inscription refers to tailors called Tayyan
and PerumtUnnan who were assigned one share each and refers .. to a special @etiegs=¥ _, jewel stitcher Achchan Karundittai
who was given li shares. Thus apparently there were
ordinary tailors and tailors who only stitched for the
deity or the nobility. A detailed Prasasti on the tailors
guild is ava.:thble from Halibidu in Beiur district in
A.D. 1139.64 It refers to the corporation of tailors of
five cities and says that of these the tailors of
Dwarasamudra were producers of ornamental dr-esses (vastra
kandita-sringara citro~havarum) and skilled in the art of
embellishing with many pieces of cloth (anekavastra kandi ta
sringara vidya pravinaragi.). A huge corporation consisting ---~~~~~~~====~
61. E.G. Vol.V, Bl. 236
62. BeeR. Champakalakshmi, 1 Tanjgr_e Frescoes in the -- Brahadisvara t-emple; ~Cliamber 9, figs. 13 and 14.
Attendants weaving frock coats with full sleeves ~urnal of Indian History, Golden Jubilee volume
(Kerala, 1973 .) .
64
of tailors and tailors of god (Jagati Kottali and Jeda ,. . . . Kottali) is referred to in an inscription of Hoys-ala
Balrala Deva dated A.D. 1209 from Kanika~~e Hobli (Hasan
district)~5 Positive evidence for the weaving of rich
clothes and the use of headgear by the nobility is available
from Karahalli Hobli in Shimoga district in A.D. 1290.66
_.. _/ - ...... The epigraph says that the Ma.hamandalesvara Someya-Nayaka
put on his gold coloured silk cloth (Pilmbattigalam Kattida .. nUlpatl:aj and wouid the turban around his head (darasTra
pattigalam). That the nobles wore costly shawls is clear .. from the evidence from Challakere (Chittaildrug district) -which says that the Mahamandale~vara pres~nted to the king
a Hoqake.67 (a thin, fine shawl).
In cottons mainly muslins and chintz were woven
while the Karnataka region was famous for its silks.
Muslin was called sella. The Masulipatnam region was
famous for its muslins and in fact a reference to this even 68
as early as the Perip.lus (1st century A.D.) Chintz was
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
S,I.I., Vol,II, pt.2, No.66
~ Vol.V, Ak. No,40 ~
~' Vol.V. Bl, 236 of the period of Hoysala Deva vira Ganga Visbnuvardhana
~' Vol.VIII Nr. 33
E.C., Vol.XI. Hr. No.8?. Of this, the Editor Lewis Rice comments that it was believed that this type of shawl woven in Chittaldrug could be rolled up into a hollow bamboo (~)
!:e_riplu,s (62). There is an opinion that Masulipatnam derives its name from Musli the principal type of textile woven there~ This exP~anation, however, seems rather far-fetched ~oee W.H. More~anct, ~tions of Golkonda (London, 1930) Intro.XLIX]
65
known as Vichitra that is patterned, meaning the same as
Portuguese 'Pintado' • The ~asollisa of SomeS'war which
belongs to the 12th century,69 refers to the excellent
textiles of Poddalapura, Chirap~~i, Nagapatna and
Cnolapatna as also to the cloth of Thondaiman~alam. 70 It
refers to the production of cotton (~arpas) as well as silk 71 cloth (fakt~~). It refers to vichitra or chintz • .. .
These cloth and their patterns are described in some detail.
It describes sarees variegated by lines in different
colours and with five colours in the pallav, 72 circular
patterns73with lines, squares74 and sarees with dots.75
The text also refers to a special type of dyeing and
printing process - 'tantu banda'or tie and dye.76 The
Jivaka Qhintamani of the tenth century refers to both silk •
and tt a. I] *lLS cotton cloth starched With rice-water -
fumed with fragrant smoke is mentioned.?? Silk cloth with
floral designs was known as pumpattu.78 The work also ..
69. Minasolla~ of Someshwar, the Western Chalukya king of the 12th century. Gaikwad Oriental Series, No.84, Pt. II, verses 17, 18 and 19.
70. Ibid.: 21
71. Ibid
72. Ibid . 24-25 •
73. Ibid 24 Chakrarekha suramyani
74. Ibid 26 Chatushkona Surekhani
75. Ibid; Bindu Yutani
76. Ibid • 28 •
77. Jivaka Chintamani, op.cit., 71 •
78. Ibid : 923
66
refers to Pachchilaipattu, Konkalapattu and venpattu.79 . . . . . .. Garments were often perfumed with fragrant smoke.80 A
reference to the different types of silks of the period
of Vikrama Chola (A.D. 1118-35) comes from Coimbatore.
The inscription reference to pachchaipattu, Puliyur pattu .. . . . and pattavala pattu.81 It again confirms the impression . . . .. that silks were worn only by the select because the record
gives the Iqaiyar (Shepherd) community the right to wear
such clothes as a special privilege along with other
privileges like covering their houses with plaster etc.
'P'Umpattigal Kattida Nulpatta' which can be translated . . "' . . . either as gold coloured (if the word is ponpattu) or as
flowered silk cloth (~ would mean flower) was woven at
Kerehalli Hobli in Shimoga dt. in A.D. l29o.82 From
Gulbarga dt. there is reference to a gift of 960 silk
garments to the God of the temple.B3 The reference to
Pachchaipattu and Dasliri pattu comes from Warangal district . . . . at the beginning of the fourteenth century (A.D. 1317).84
79.
80.
81.
82.
83.
Ibid a 2090, 2444 and 3046 -Ibid : l307 -s.I.I., Vol.V, No.283. The reference to Coimbatore as a leading textile centre is to be found in the accounts of the Chineese traveller Ma-huan who refers to Coimbatore as Campamei- George Philips, •Ma-huan•s Account of Cochin, Calicut and Aden,• Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britajn and IrelaaQ, 1896, p.345 Fn.
E.C., Vol.VIII, Nr-33
Andhra Pradesh G·overnment Archaeological Series No.9, Ins .4.5.
~E.H., No.l3, Inscription 14
6i
Dawuri pattu is what is now called Tassore silk.85 Though .. the term Pachchaipattu occurs repeatedly in these . -inscriptions its quality is not very clear. The reference
to Tassore silk and the processing of silk also comes from - _,.
the Mitakshara of Vijnanesvara pertaining to the twelfth
century.86
Cloth was dyed with vegetable dyes. A twelfth
century record from Shimoga district refers to the use of •
Kusumba or red safflower as a principal dye.87 The Hoysal
king Vishnuvardhana (twelfth century, Belur district) is
said to have imposed duty on safflower.88 Kusumba gave a
pleasing red colour that was bright and lasting. The
references to Nili (indigo) and Manjishta (madder, i.e., . red dye) come from Warangal of the period of Kakatiya
Ganapati Deva in connection with joint donations by foreign
and native merchants from a levy on their i terns of trade ,89
The Mitaksha~ refers to the processing of different types
of textiles in some detail. The silks like Tassore and
am' supatta(?) were purified by the use of water, alkaline
85.
86.
S7.
88.
89.
. .
H.E.H., No.l3, Glossary by P. Sreenivasachar
Yajnavalkya-Smriti with the commentary Mitakshara of Vijnanesvara (A.D. 1070-1100), tr. by J.R. GharpureHindu Law Text Series, Vol.II, Pts 1-3, (Bombay 1938), Pt. II, Chap.VIII, stanza 186.
~' Vol.VII, Sk. ~12 from Talagunda, Sfiikarpur Taluq,
~' Vol.V, lU. 236~
H.E.H. No.l3, Part II, Ins.l4 from Mattewada in War an gal
90 earth and cow's utine. It is also suggested that this
process was repeated again and again after drying the
cloth.91 Sri fruit or Bel (?) and arista or rita were .
68
used as caustic agents.92 Another important caustic agent
was myrobalan or Kadukkai.93 With regard to cotton and . linen, the Mitaks~ suggests that they should be processed
in a solution of white mustard, water and cow's urine.
Describing the process the Mi. takshara states: ''The cloths
dyed with flower colours, after b~ing dried for a time in
the sun, one should spr.bkle with the hands (with the
solution) and then having sprinkled it with water, one may
use it in the performancen94 (i.e., for weaving or painting).
The term 'flower colour• can be said to include Kusumba
(red dye) and also turmeric which cannot bear washing but
must be sprinkled by hand in contrast to madder (manjista)
which can be washed. The M§nasollasa of the Cnalukya king
- -"' Someshwara also makes references to the variety of dyes in
use. It says that in tie and dye printing pleasing colours
were used. Reference is made to Manjista (madder), Laksha
(Lak) used for red colour and also as a mordant, Kusumba
(Safflower), haridra (turmeric) and~ (Indigo).95 It
90.
91.
92.
93.
94.
Mii~~' Qp.cit., stanza 186
Ibid.
Ibid.
~·J XIX~ No.4 from Kolhapur of the period of anara uandar-aditya dated A.D. 1135. A much
earlier reference to the use of Sengodi as a caustic comes from the 8th century (The Kasakkudi plates of Nandivarman II (A.D. 730-95) S.I.I., Vol.II, Pt.3, No.73 Mitakshara : Ibid
69
also refers to abhayarasa as yielding black dye and nisha
(deep blue or black). Cloth dyed the colour of peacock
blue is also mentioned.96 The existence of dyeing as an
independent profession and to tax on dyers is to be found
in several inscriptions. An epigraphical record of the
period of Uttama ChOla (tenth century) refers to a share ~ -of paddy being assigned to the Vannattan (dyer) as a temple
servant.97 There is reference to the tax on dyers
(Kaibanna-nUlu-karbuna) from Grama Hobli in Hassan district
in the year A.D. 1173.98 The tax on dyers (i.e., sivapput~yar)
is mentioned from Tiruvorriyur (Chingleput district) in the ., '. Tamil country in A.D. 1223.99 Another instanee of the tax
on bannige or dyers comes from Virup8kshapura Hobli, .. Bangalore di. strict in 1288 A.n.100 It is likely that not
only dyeing but even the printing technique was known in
medieval India. Tl:e ~an~asa makes a very clear
reference to tantu-b~n~101 (the tie and dye technique).
Following this it specifically states that cloth could be
dyed by washing (in the dye) or by the use of the instrument
rtPrakshaie adikarangani ran ji fani cha yantrakaihi 11 •102 If
95. Manasollasa, op.cit., : 19
96. Ibid : 20 97. ~I.I., Vol,III, Pt.4, pp.300-l, No.l51
98 • LQ...., Vol. V, Hn • 119
99. A.R.E,, 197 of 1912 100, ~.c., Vol.IX, C,P. 66 101. Manaso1lasa, pp.88-89, verse : 28 102. Ibid. verse : 27
the term yagtraka used here pertains to the wooden block
then the process of block printing can be pushed back to
the twelfth century. Interestingly, even the term for
printed calico chintz (Hindi chi~r chint and Tamil chiti)
is almost certainly a corruption of the sanskrit word
Vichitra.
The few references to the actual techniques involved ~"r1>m
in weaving come~stray information in inscriptions and
literattll'e. Regarding the processes involved in preparing
the yarn for weaving, a description comes from the
commentary of the Jaina author Malayagiri (twelfth century)
on Srjpindanajukti.103 It says - by a woman batting means
making loose the ruta (cotton that has been made seedless)
by batting (PiD~hzati) ginning the cotton in the gin
(Lotinyam Lotayanti) and smoothing the ~ and making it
loose with both hands by frequent repetition (~uta~
karabhyam ID!Dah JllYlah virala.J.!i kurvati). It also refers to
the weaving (karpasam runchanti) and cutting of cloth
(~artrapam kurvati). In the whole process described,
batting is erroneously put before ginning. The Abidana
Chintamani of Hemchandra pertaining to the same period ......
70
describes pinjana as a batting instrument, a bow for loosing
of the fibres.l04
103.
104.
Sri Pind~ajukti with the vritti of Malayagiri, I>evacand albhai .Jaina Pustakoddhara (Bombay, 1918) verse 674, p.l97.
Abidana Chintamanj, 12th century dictionary in · Sanskrit, (ed.)~. Hargovind Sastry (Varanasi,l964) p.227, Part III; No.575
71
The evidence for weaving technology comes from
both literature and epigraphy though such references are
rare. A tenth century verse of Manikkavasagar compares
the flights of fancy to the rapid movements of the shuttle
on the loom.105 An extremely interesting evidence of the
operation of vertical looms comes from Shimoga district
of the period of Vira Ballab~ deva (1184 A.D.)!06 It
refers to "looms that are tied to the roof with a ropen
in the agarhara of Jambur. However, the folk songs of the
weaver communities .(which are ancient but cannot be dated)
seem to indicate that horizontal looms were also in use.
A folk song sung by the Nainar or Kuttar, i.e., ministrels
belonging to the Kaikko~a community refers to the process
of weaving with different gods representing different
parts of the loom. The Devas formed the thread which made
the warp; Narada became the woof; Vedamuni the treadle,
Brahma the plank and Adisesha the rope .107 The song seems
to indicate a horizontal loom. A thirteenth century
---·--105. !daikkalapantu : 8
106. E,C., Vol.VII, Sk.l45 from Kollu Mathada, Shikarpur Taluq. Also see reference to vertical looms in Vedic India in Chapter I.
107. I am grateful to Pulavar c. Raju of Erode for giving me the Tamil text of this folk song. The evidence cannot be· dated and hence it is not being used as positive evidence of the use of horizontal looms in the 12th-13th centuries. It merely shows that horizontal looms were in use and since weaving techniques change_q .v~ry _little over the centuries, this sane type of loom could have functioned in the medieval period.
literary verse composed by Bhavanandi Munivar ( a
contemporary of Kulottunga III} compares the process of
creative writing to the process of weaving.108 He refers
to the yarn, the spindle, the warp and the woof and
compares them to words, imagination, etc. in the poetic
process. Some contemporary inscriptions provide positive
evidence for the existence of looms with what must have
been a primitive type of jacquard. There is the repeated
references to a tax called achchu-tari apart from the
usual tari-irai or loom tax,109 Achchu in Tamil stands
for print and Jacquard (the local Jala), as is well known,
helps in the weaving of patterns on the cloth in the loo~~O
Instructions as to how the achchu-kattu should be .. manipulated on the looms and the indication that the same
involved a very specialised sort of weaving, comes from
the Vijayanagar period,lll
There was a brisk internal as well as external
trade in textiles. Inland trade was carried on mainly
through pack bullocks.Xextiles or cotton was also either
108.
109.
110.
111.
~(ul; a work on Tamil grammar, verse : 23. The his orical reference to Bhavanandi Munivar comes in S,I.I., Vol,III, No.62
s.I~., Vol,VII, No,ga Rajaraja Chela A.D. 1001 from Tiruvottur, Cheyyar Taluq, North Arcot dt.
I came across a primitive type of loom with a crude Jacquard system kept for the benefit of the students in the Instit~te of Textile Technology at Salem (Tamil Nadu).
~' Vol.ry, No,ll2, Also~' IX Nl.3 dt, 1121 A.D. from Nilamangala Hubli (Bamgalore dt.)
./
carried on the head (talaj kkattu)112 or in bags suspen dad
at both ends of a long pole and slung over the shoulder 113 (Kavadi). In the weekly santas or fairs held in the
•
'73
Andhra country,114 the unit of sale was a bag or sack. The
common wooden cart was a cheap means of transport and
carts were loaded with gingilly, sarees, vegetables, etc.
and hawked from place to place.115 Cloth was in fact
taxed at so much per cart-load or so much per head-load. 116
Another unit of sale was the pudavai-kattu or a bundle of 117 sarees.
From very early times many regions in the South
seemm have been leading textile manufacturing and trading
centres. In the Tamil country there were several leading
weaving centres and all these were linked to near est port.
For instance, in Tanjavur, Shiyali,118 Arantangi119 and
Kumbakonaml20 Taluqs were cotton growing areas and weaving
centres and the fact that these were linked to the Chola
112. 113.
114 •
115.
116.
117.
118.
119.
120.
S.I.I., Vol.XX, No.299 S.I.I,, Vol.XV, No.211
2~~., Vol.X, No,239 from Achanta, Narasapuram Taluq, Godavari dt. Also E.c., Vol,II, N0 ,327, etc.
Telegu Inscriptions, part I, No.22
S,I,I., Vol.VIII, No.442 from Piranmalai, Tiruppattur taluq, Ramnad dt. A late Pandya inscription. ·
S.I.I., Vol,VI, No.41. Also S.I~., Vol. VII, No,21 Pudavai need not necessarily mean women's wear since in "those days it was broadly used to denote cloth of any kind. S,I,I.,Vol,XIII, No.l6 from Tiruvenkadu belonging to the period of R~jaraja I. S,I,I. Vol.VIII No.21 from Tiruppunavasal of the 13th century. S,I.I~ Vol.VIII No.22 from Tiruvalanjuli of the same period.
port is shown by the reference to "the highway leading to
121 - - ) Pattinam" (probably Kaveripumpattinam • In Ramnad . . ... . district, Tirupattur122 as well as Sivangangai123taluqs,
cultivation of cotton and the existence of cloth merchants
(Aruvai Va~igar and Chilai Chetti) is mentioned, Madurai
was a centre of cotton production and weaving124 and also
had a port (Korkai) Inscriptions from Tirunelveli, another
important weaving centre refers to cultivation of cotton
and also to the transport of goods through the port or
Rattinam.l25 Chingleput again had numerous cotton
producing and weaving centres126 and the outlet was the
Chadiravachagampattinam,127(the same as the flourishing .. ' port Sadras of the 17th centurv. (Mamallapuram was the
Pallava port for Kanchipuram during the seventh - eighth
centuries, Even later, it continued as an active port and
was known as llallai). Ma.yilapur was a flourishing port
under the Cholas and is referred to in contemporary
inscriptions and literature. A ·reference is made to the
-----------------------------------------------------------121. ~I.I., Vol,XIII No,l6 from Tiruvenkadu.
122.
123.
124.
125.
S,I,I., Vol.VIII No.442 from Piranmalai of Pandya period refers to duty on cart loads Also !.RtE,, 507 of 1958-59 from Velangudi 13th c en ury.
the late of cotton of the
S.It£., Vol,VIII, No.l77 from Kalaiyarkoil of the period of Kochchadaipanmar Sundara Pandya.
~!.., Vol,IV, No .37 from Madurai.
S.I.I., Vol.V, No.446 and 448. The reference to 'Pattinam' comes from the same volume, No,450. Th~ inscriptions belong to Tirunelveli proper. f~tinam always meant a port,
74
Nanadesi. Valanjiyar community of Mayilarppil128 (Mayilapur)
in a llth century inscription from Kottur near Ponneri
(North of Madras). The Periyapuranam129 a work of the . twelfth century, says that Sivanesan, a resident of
Mayilaptir became wealthy by participating in the
flourishing shipping trade. Another twelfth century work
Kalingattupar~h also mentions Mayilai130 and MaU..ai
as important ports. For the North Coromandel, Mottupalli . . , . was one oft he most important ports during this period.
The K8katiya ruler Ganapatideva reduced the duties on all
goods including silk-yarn and silk cloth at Mottupalli in . . ... . order to facilitate foreign trade •131 The Venetian
traveller Macro-Polo, coming to India towards the close
of the thirteenth century (A.D. 1271-94) praised the
delicate buckrams and muslins of Mutfili132 (Mottupalli) •
126.
127.
128.
129.
130.
131.
132.
. .
In Kanchipuram the existence of places like Tirupparuttikun.::ram (The beautiful cotton hil:Y is a. clear indication of cot~ being grown in the area, S.I.I, Vol,IV, No,366
A~~ 170 of 1933 from Tirukkalukkunrarn, 14th century. · · · '
!.R.E., 256 of 1913
Per;!.yai?ur~,: 2932, cited in K.V. Raman, Early History of the Madras Region (Madras, 1957), p.l65
Mayilapur, however, appears to have declined from the 13th century onwards because Marco Polo, the 13th century traveller says of it "tis a place where few traders go because there is very little merchandise to be got theren (Marco Polo's Voyage tr. by Yule, (London, ~1938) 0 Beok~II-, p.395).
E.I. Vol,XII No.22, Baptala Taluq, Guntur dt,
MarcQ. PolQ., sm_.cit_. p .395
76
From all these evidences it is clear that invariably,011~he
Coromandel coast, the manufacturing centres of cloth were
also the centres of export trade,133 Terdal in Bijapur
district was an important textile manufacturing and trading
centre, Thus there are references to the prosperous
condition of the cloth merchants guild of Terdal and the
sale of cotton, yarn and garments of novel designs.
(Nayina~aodana-babuyastri~).134
For the Karnataka region the major ports on the
West coast were Saimur, Honavar, Batkala, BarkUr, Mangalore,
etc,135 A detailed reference to these ports comes from the
account of Ibn Batuta (A.D. 1342-44), He refers to SandaiUr
(Saimur) in the vicinity of Goa, Hanavar, Abusarur (?)
Fakanar identified with Barkur, Manjartir (Mangalore),
Jurfattan (Carmanore or Srikandapuram) and Dahfattan
(Dharmapatam),l36 Ibn Batuta comments that the clothing
of Sultan of Honavar consisted entirely of silk stuffs and
133.
134.
135.
136.
Moreland expresses a similar op1.n1.on, "The impression left by the narratives of travellers and merchants is
·that both in Gujarat and on the Coromandel coast, the bulk of the cloth exported was woven in the immediate vicinity of the ports 11 , (W.H, Moreland, India at the Death of Akbar, Delhi 1962, p,l71.)
I.A. XIV p,l9 (A,D, 1182-83) and K.I., V, No.22
Muhammad Husayn Nainar, Arab Geo,raphers' Knowledge of Southern India, (Madras, 1939 pp,l39, 143 and also Mar.Q..Q Polo, QQ.,cit_. Book II p,395. For the location of the ports, see the map attached,
Rehll of Ibn .Batuta,. Gaikwad Oriental Series No,CXXII !ad.) by Mehdi Hussain. Refer Map on p .184 tracing his route.
fine linen.137 Honavar itself was a centre for weaving,l38
and it appears that textiles from the surrounding areas
like Arisekere, Habbidu etc. in the Hassan district were
also brought to Honavar for trade. Bangalore, Mysore,
Shimoga and Chittaldroog also produced different varieties
77
of silks.l39 The cotton textiles of Karnataka were, however,
apparently inferior and do not find any mention in the
inscriptions. Reference to the presence of Chinese silk
in Karnataka comes from both literary and epigraphical
sources. Some~varal40 and Hariharal41 refer to silk fabrics
called Cina and Mahacina. Perhaps much of this silk was
brought to Karnataka for re-export to other places.l42
Ibn Bat uta refers tot he presence of Chinese junks in
Cannanore.l43 As late as 1429 A.D. an inscription from
South Kanara district refers to the sale and purchase of
Chinese fabrics.l44
137. Ibid. p.l81
138. E.C., Vol.V, Hn. No.66
139. Refer to the map on weaving centres attached to this +"'f.s\s ~~l~note on centres of weaving in Karnataka.
140. Somesvara (12th century). Abhilaitartha-Cintamaoi, 1066 p.295 cited in s. Gururajachar, Economic and Social life in Karnataka, (Prasaranga, Mysore, 1974) pp. 70-71.
141. Harihara Basavarajadevara Rag ale II. 11-13, p .49 cited in Ibi~. p.70
142. Nilakanta Sastry, Fo~eign Notices of South India, (Madras, 1939a, pp.222-3. He cites the statement of the periplus that silk cloth was exported from Nelcynda and also· that raw silk, silk-yarn and silk cloth were brought on foot through Bactria from
The comments of foreign travellers are very
valuable for an idea of the popularity of Coromandel
textiles abroad. The Arab traveller of the thirteenth
century, Abdul Feda comments, t1The Coromandel is
celebrated by the reports of travellers. It is from
there that they export muslin which has passed into
proverb for its fineness 11 •145 Cha• ..... Ja-Kua, a Chinese
traveller of the thirteenth century also refers to Tien
Chu (the coast of Madras) and the production of Po-tie
(muslin) and refers to the export of cotton, cotton-thread
and textiles, silk thread, chintz, and coloured silks
along with spices and other commodities to Ta-tsin (Bagdad),
Fu-nan (Cambodia), Malaya and Sumatra.l46 The Venetian
Marco-Polo said of the muslins of Mutfili (Mottupalli) .. " .. ,.
~In sooth they look like the tissues of a spider's web.
There is no king nor queen in the world but might be glad
to wear them. ttl47
Trade was actively encouraged by state patronage
and concessions. KuiOttunga I came to power in A.D. 1070
and immediately abolished all customs duties at the ports
to facilitate free trade. Hence he was given the title
Thiral to Barygaza and were exported to Daminica by way of river Ganges (Periplus : 56 and 64). Nilakanta Sastry interprets theta as a reference to Chinese silk passing through the Karnataka coast for re-export. See introduction supr~ for details on this point.
143. Idrisi, op.cit., p.i90
144. ~.I .I., Vol.VIINo.l96 Cinambara Vikrayakrayik'ar-im:r ~,_from Mudalidure.
145. Fore~ Notices, QP..ru., p.214
146. Ibid. p .148
78
•the remover of customs duties (Suggam Tavirtta Cholan)
0ttakuttarl48 (A.D. 1118-63) lands him for abolishing the
customs which had been levied without fail even from the
days of Manu.l49 In the thirteenth century, the Mottupalli .. . . . inscription of Kakatiya Ganapatideva dated A.D. 1245159
records his abhaya~~a (protective charter) issued to
"traders by sea, starting for and arriving from all
eon tin ents, islands, foreign countries and cities". He
condemns the practice of former kings who are said to have
confiscated the goods of ships attacked by storms and
driven ashore. All ~ustoms were abolished except a fixed
duty called Kupasuluka which amounted to one-thirtieth on
all exports and imports •151
147. ~co-Polo, ~.cit, Book II, p.395
148. Ottakkuttar, Vikrama Cholan Ula : 25 and 26
149. In fact, Tiruva+~uvar, the poet of the Kadaisangam age (between 1st and 2nd century A.D.) refers to customs duties as one of the primary sources of revenue for the state.
160. ELI., Vol.XII, No.22, Baptala Taluq, Guntur dist.
151. Was this charter aimed at propping up a declining commerce at that port or encouraging a flourishing one? Prof. T.V. Mahalingam's explanation is that after the decline of the power of the Eastern Chalukyas, Mottupa++i's importance as a great commercia+ port had fallen and hence the proclamation was intended to attract traders to the place (T.V. Mahalingam, South Indian Polity (Madras, 1967), p.31 fn.51.
79
Internal trade in textiles, was, in comparison to
the export trade, meagre and of much less significance.
This was because, as so many travellers have pointed out152
the Indian climate did not demand much clothing and the
requirements of the people were few and simple except
perhaps for the nobility who indulged in ornate dress·~~·
80
The local looms were sufficient to meet the local requirements.
A rare instance of internal trade in textiles comes from
Belgami (Shimoga district) of late twelfth century. The
Kalachuri king Bijjana deva says that the Turuksha king
offered him horses, the Simhala king spears and the Chola
king milk white cl:oths.153 Though inter-state trade was
limited within a particular state there was a brisk traffic '
of textiles towards the port cities. Inscriptions refer to
these Peruvali or trunk roads. Thus - the Tanjavur Trunk
road,l54 the Tirukkovalux merchants• Trunk roadl55 and the
port Trunk roadl56, Interestingly the Malayaman~alam
Chettis (i.e., of the Kerala region) are referred to in
areas of Tamil Nadu like Chidambaram in South Arcotl57 and
152.
153.
154.
155,
156.
157.
See The Travels of Nicolqponti in R.H. Major (Ed.) India iJ the Fifteenth Century (New Delhi, 1974 Reprint , p,22 etc.
Lewis Rice, Mysore Inscriptions, No.39, p.76
A,R,E., 363 of 1907 from Tanjavur
Siiti., Vol,VII No.9ll of the period of Kulottunga ( 3 h century) from Dindivanam
S.I.I., Vol.XIII, No.~6 from Tanjavur. The reference is perhaps to Nagapattinam A.R.E,, No,322 of 1936-37. . '
81
Tiruvalanjuli in Tanjavur district.158 These dealt
essentially in horses and are hence referred to as kudirai
(horse) Chettis in all these inscriptions. It is most
likely that the horses were exchanged for textiles from
Calic ut apart from spices, etc. An in scription at
Suchindram (South Travancore) mentions endowment of lamp
by a merchant from Ceylonl59 and correspondingly
inscriptions refer tot he Vala'Jijiyar and Nagarattar o.J.: Ceylon.l60 But there is no direct indication that they
traded in textiles.
Textile trade was highly organised aad was in
the hands of merchant guilds but within a limited area,
that is the immediate locality, the weavers sold th~\YO~n
products at the local fairs.l6l (Santa), The major
merchant guilds operating in this period were the . - . """"' 162 - . - 163 _l64 Tisa~ayirattu A~nnur.~uvar , Manigramattar , Nagarattar,
Vahanjiyart65 Anjuvannattar166 and Pekkamdru~67 The .. merchant guilds were organised separately as foreign
158.
159.
160.
161.
162. 163. 164.
165.
!.R.E., No,l96 of 1927-28
A.R.E., No.?l of 1896
A.R.E. Nos. 406 and 407 of 1914-15. Also A.R.E. 1913, p.lOl ~l., Vol.V. No.65 from Bhimavaram, Cocanada, Godavari dt. of the 12th century. Also S,I,I. Vol,X, No.239, etc. E,C,, VII, Sk.ll8 from Balagami (Shimoga dt.) A,D,l054 S.I.r., Vol.VIII, No.442, !.R.E, 286 of 1964-65, etc. A.R.E, 613 of 1926 from Madurai and 8 of 1952-53 C.P. from Tiruvannamalai refers to Ayiravar Nagarattar. A,R,E., 200 of 1937-38
~ .. ( - ~ - )168 ,. ... - 169 - 170) Nanadesi local nadu or nagara and Sthalada .. merchants and the Ubhaya Nanadesis which has been inter
preted to mean those who operated within the country
as well as outside.171
The Tisai-ayirattu ain1u-ruvar or the five hundred ,.,. ,, .. oft he thousand directions belonged to Aiyavo~e in
82
Bijapur district. But the guild had very wide ramifications
spread over ~ entire South India and seems to have
encompassed or exercised control over the other merchant
guilds. They belonged to the Vira Banajiga caste (called·
in the Tanil courtry as Valanjiyar) and in several Prasartis
t~flaim descent from mythological gods like Vasudeva
and Baladeva and are endowed with many virtues .172
Inscriptions pertaining to the 1 500' are to be found
f1in Cuddappah,l73 Chittoorl74 etc. in Andhra, from
Kolhapur175 in Maharashtra region, from Shimogal76 and
other areas in Karnataka and also places like Ramnadl77
166.
167.
168.
169.
170.
171.
172.
A.RNE. 78 of 1962-64 from Vellore dt, to an adesi s .
Also refers
S.I.I,, Vo1,X No.556 SSlamule-~~~desi-Pekkamdru, ~ppears to be the name of the Ainnurruvar in Andhra.
A.R.E, 15 and 16 of 1917 from Hemavati, Madakasira ta:luq; Anantapur dt, dated A.D. 1162,
A.R.E. 242 of 1912-13.
~~. VII Sk,ll8 from Balagami
I .A., X p ,185 :ff from Dambal (Dharwar dt.) aat"ed A,D, 1096,
E.G., Vo1.VII, Sk,ll8 from Balagami, Shikarpur Taluq, Shimoga dt., dated 1054 A,D, For other Hrasastia relating to the '500'ref. Lewis Rice &_sore Inscri:Qtions, No .28 from Balaga.mi. etc.
83
and Trichonopolyl78 in the Tamil country. Their presence
is referred to in Malaya-mandalaml79 (Kerala region) and
evidence is also found of their activity in Sumatra.180
The earliest mentim of the '500' is from Munusandail81
(Pudukkottai) in the ninth century A.D. a~d the last
reference to the Ainnurruvar or the 500 is in A.D. 1680 ..... in Lepakshil82 (Anantapur). Next to the 500 of Ayyavo~e,
the Citra.nleli 183 and the manigramattar 184 were also . leading merchant guilds.
The merchant guilds ~traded in all commodities
including textiles. Specialisation in trade was so great
that there were some independent guilds of cloth
merchants. In fact in Kanchipuram (Chingleput district)
exclusive quarters were occupied by the cloth merchants
(Kurai-vanigarl86). A late Pandya inscription from
172. A.R.E., 200 of 1937-38 from Animiila, Kamalapuram Taluq.
174. ~R.E., 342 of 1912-13 from Basinikonda in Chittoor of the 11th century.
175. E.IL, XIX No.4 of the Silhara king Gandaraditya, 12th century.
176. ~~' Vol.VII, Sk.ll8.
177. §...L.~.Vol.VIII, No.442 from P:iranmalai, Tiruppattur, 14th century.
178. A.R.E., 286 of 1964-65 from Kulittali, Kovilpatti dated 1305 A.D. ·~
179. A.R.E., 78 of 1963-64 from Krishnapatnam.
180. K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, Colas, (Reprint, Madras, 197 5) ' p • 596 •
84
Piranmalai186 (Ramnad) concludes a lengthy statement on
joint donation by all the merchant guilds with the
signatures of the important persons and guilds. Here,
the terms 1 Jayangonda Cholamandala Chilai Chettis 1 (i.e.,
cloth merchants) and 1 Kongumanda.la Chilai Chettis 1 ,
strike one as extremely signifiaC..n:.t. Reference to
cloth merchants as Chilai Chettis also comes from
Dharmapuril87 in Coimbatore district pertaining to the
thix teen th c en tury • The 'Aruvai-vaniya Cheri' (cloth
merchants quarters) is referred to in an undated record
belonging to vira-Pandya (thirteenth or 14th century)
from Ramnad districtt88 Similar reference to cloth
merchants' guilds can also be found in the Karnataka
and Andhra regions. Thare is evidence of local and
foreign cloth merchant guilds making a contribution to
the temple in the twelfth century A.D. from Shimoga
181.
182.
183.
184.
185.
186.
187.
188.
K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, Colas, op.cit. p.596
A.R.E., C.P. 18 of 1917-18 mentions Akkanna and Madanna the Brahmin ministers of Golkonda.
A..._R_,E.l 286 of 1964-65 from Kudi ttalai, Kovilpatti dated .D. 1305 ·-
Ibid.
A,R.E., 609 of 1919
S,I,I,, Vol.VIII, No,442
S.IJ.., Vol.VII, No.583 and !.._R.E., 165 of 1968-69
§.....Ll_. Vol,XIV, No.94 from Edirkottai, Sattur Tal.uq.
85
district~89 However, textiles were not always a
monopolistic item of trade of a specialised merchant
guild but quite often formed a· part of the general trade.
Thus at both Mannargudi190 (Tanjore district) and
Kulittalai191 (Trichnopoly district) the merchants made
a joint contribution to the temple by a fixed levy on
the inao~me derived from various items of trade. (
•Pudavai Kattu', is mentioned along with items like .. paddy, pepper, etc. The inscription pertains to the
. thirteenth century. In the period of Jatavarman Vikrama
Pandya the merchants made a similar contribution on the
sale ct: paddy and cotton at Velangudi in Ramnad district~92
An invaluable inscription of the late Pandya period,
i.e., the fourtenth century, from Piranmalait93 Ramnad
district refers to the donation to the god by all the
guilds of merchants headed by the Tisai-ayirattu
ainn~~Euvar on all their commodities of trade per head
.tbl:OOl (T§.lai g_~) bag-load (Pakkam), a unit called
189.
190.
192.
193.
E~., Vol.VII, Sk.ll8 from Balagami, Shikarpur Taluq dated A.D. 1054.
S.I,I., Vol.VI, No.41 of the period of Kochchadai Panmar Sundara Pandya
!.R.E. 88 of 1914-15 of the period of Jatavarman VIra Pandya.
~R.E. 507 of 1958-59
S.I,I., Vol.VIII, No.442
86
fQ21 (bigger bundle?) and cart load (vandi). Among the •
other commodities like pepper, grain, salt, etc., cotton
(Pargtti), Yarn (Nulu) coarse cotton cloth (Pargm Pudavai) . fine cotton c~oth (nen-Pgdavai), Konikkai nattu (?)and . Pattavsla pattu (Petola silk), the last being a costly
type of silk, are given as major items of sale. From the
rates levied 194 on each bundle or cart it is clear that
head load was l/20th of a p!irkam and a pjkkam was l/lOth of
a nodi and a podi 1/Sth of a vandi (cart-load). In the
194. The rates are as follows:
Q.Qmmodill Unit of sale Rates of contribution
Cotton per vandi 10 kasn (Psrutti)
podi 2 tt per
per pakkam 1 n
per talaicumsi t tt
Yarn per vandi 20 t1
(Nulu) podi 5 " per
per pakkam 2! n
per talaicumai 2 " Coarse per podi 10 n sarees
(Parum Pudavai)per pakkam 5 " Fine Ssrees per podi 20 n (Nen nudavai) . .
per pakkam 5 tt
per Talaieumai 5 " Konraikaipattu . . . per podi 2 It
per pakkam 1 n
per talsic~ai 1 n
Pattavala Pattu per talaicumai 30 .. . . ..
87
Andhra country, textiles sometimes formed part of the general
trade though more often it was in the hands of a specialised
guild. A Kalachuri inscription from Managoli (Bijapur dt.)
says that the 1 500_1 made a donation to the temple by
contributions levied on all goods, from rubies to cotton -
thread. 195
Certain clear conclusions can be drawn from the
above mass of evidence. It establishes firstly the importance
of the merchant guilds in medieval textile trade. As one
inscription from Balagami puts it, they operated in Cbera,
Cbola, Psndya, Karnboja, Gaulla or Gauds, Lata, Barvvsra,
Parasa, and Nepala trading in all corr~odities from precious
stones, to horses, spices and cloth.l96 The guilds not only
had their geographical control over the whole of South India
but in each region they were organised at all levels, right
from the - - - - -- 197 Nadu and Nagararn to the Nanadesis. It sppesrs
- "'"' Ti sai-ayirattu-.Ainnurruvar exercised some sort of -·· that the
195. E.I., Vol.V, 3 •. A
196. E.C., Vol.VII, Sk.ll8 from Balagami, Shiksrpur Taluq, Shirnoga dt.
197. A.R.E., 342 of 1912-13 from Chittoor dt. In E.C. Vol.VII Sk.ll8 from Balagami the guild divisions are referred to as 18 Ea;tana 32 Velorns and 64 Yoga-pitas. In the Tamil country, the divisi£ns of the 1500' are referred to as 18 ~attinam, 32 Velanuram and 64 · di aitavalam (S.I.f~, Vol.VIII, No.442 from
P amnad dt.
control or possibly had some some jurisdiction over the
other merchant guilds. .l\n inscription from Nell ore
district records that the '.AnJuvanns-vinigar, Nsnsdes!R-.. Radin~nhKijgt-samasta naradesigal of NsdU, Nagarsm and
"""' 1iialai-msndalam met at the· Aj.nnurruvar tirukkavanam in ' •• =
Kolli tturai.198 In Piranmalai, in the late-Pandya period,
the joint donation of all the merchant guilds like the
6i trarr.:9li, Manigrsmattar, etc. w~ headed by the
Tisai-ayirattu-.4fnnu,:n.·.uvar .199 Thirdly, though cotton
and textiles did form a part of the general trade of the
merchant guilds, it ~as considered important enough to be
vested in specialised textile merchants' guild~. Finally,
the control of the merchant guilds was not merely over the
sale of textiles but implied control at every stage. To
illustrate this point, during thejPeriod ofY.Kakatiya
Ganapatideva20° CA. D. 1317) a huge donation was made by
the native and foreign merchants to a temple at Msttiwada
( Warangal Taluq and dt.). The contribution or syam is ·
stated to have been levied, among other things, on nulu,
(yarn), pattu-nulu (silk yarn), on Dasuri and pachchai ••
nattu (tasore silk and another kind of expensive silk) and • • • on dyes like nili (indigo) manjists (madder) etc. The
198~ A.R.E., 78 of 1963-64 from Krishnapatnam, Nellore dt. dated .4. o. 1279
199. S.I.I., Vol.VIII, No.442 from Tirupattur (Ramnad dt.)
200. H.E.H. No.l3, Inscription 14.
88
89
geographical extent and control of these merchant guilds
is demonstrated in another epigraphic evidence from
Anantapur of the period of the Telegu-Choda king Malladeva
dated 1162 A.D. 201 It says that the Nanadesi merchants of
the four languages (Tamil, Telegu, Ksnerese and Mslsyalsm) - --/ of the Kublrs lineage, consecrated the temple of Desisvars
by endowing to it a fixed fee on all articles in which
they traded including cotton, cotton-thread, ssrees, etc.
In econorrdc terms these two sorts of control could be
described as horizontal and vertical monopoly. The
operation of the 1 500' is a clear instance of horizontal
monopoly while the control of all items connected with the
sale of textiles shows a vertical monopoly. There is no
evidence, however, to show that the monopoly operated in
the production process also apart from trade. Every
merchant guild had its ow regiment, probably in order to
combat the bandits who made transportation of goods unsafe.
They are feferred to as Senai-angadigal. 202 In fact, quite
often certain villages or areas were converted into
Erivira n0ttinarn (a merchant settlement or town guarded by
guild troops) and which hence became the exclusive preserve
of the merchant guilds. In Chittoor during the period of
of Rsjsrajs I, the :unntl,!';r.:uvar are said to have converted
Siravalli into a 'Nanadesiys Dasamaci Erivlranattinarnl 203 ~ ' .
-----20] •. f\.R.E., Nos.l5 and 16 of 1917 •. Appendix C.
202. S.I.I. Vol.VII, No.855, T.T., Vol.I, No.lOO, etc. Numerous instances of guild armies are given in R. Narasimhs Rao, CDrpor§te Life in Medieval AndhradesA.. (\Val tair, 1967).
90
.lipart from these merchant guilds, sometimes even
ordinary weavers rose to the rank of merchants. In little
Kanchipuram during the period of Rsjaraja I (.~.D. 985-1016),
Paramsnandi Chetti, son of Nakksmpan9ai of the weaver caste - 204 belonging to Mylapur, gave a gift to thet!mpe.~ Similarly,
in Chidambaram, South .Arcot, during the period of Kppperunjiga
deva, the Ssliya Chettis were provided with horses on
condition that they supplied the necessary cloth to the
temple. 205 The use of the suffix 'Cbetti' shows that these -Saliya merchants must have been prosperous enough to function
as merchan~. A Kalichuri inscription from Belgaum district
(.~.D. 1224) refers to donations by the Saliya samayangal
led by Kadidevayya Chetti.206
.Another important factor in the operation of the
textile trade -was the role of the brokers. Evidence clearly
shows that brokers were employed in te:::t:tile trade. The
term 1 Taragu Kssu' occurs repeatedly in inscriptions207 and
there is a specific reference to 'brokerage fee on textile
trade' (Kurai-taragu-ayam)~8 in an inscription of the
period of Rajaraja Chela III (thirteenth century).
X
203.
204.
205.
206.
207.
208.
------------------A.R.E., 342 of 1912-13
A.R.E., 308 of 1913 from Chidambaram
A.R.E., 218 of 1910. .Uso A.R.E. 286 of 1910 dated 1339 from Pulipparkkoyil in the same dt.
~., XVIII, No.22.E. from Huli in Psrassgad Tq.
~., 309 of 1968-69 from Tiruchirapalli (11th century) etc. .
s.r.r., Vol.XVII, No.452. The role of brokers in foreign trade is dealt with in detail in Chapter IV.
The travel accounts of the period like that of the
Chinese travellers like Ma-huan and the account of the
Venetian Marco Polo indicate that brokers were especially
used in foreign trade •
. Ul taxes relating to the weaving industry were
paid to the state unless their proceeds had been
specifically granted to the temple by the State. To cite
"' just a few instances, in Kanchipuram, during the period
of Vijaya Gandagopaladeva, a Psllava chief Kidavarays
gifted the tax on looms to the Jvarshare;vara temple.209
Kulottunga Chola Sambuvaraya is also said to have donated
the various proceeds of the village of Achcharapakkam210
(Chingleput district) including the tax on merchants and
the tax on looms ss gifts to the deity. Rsjanarayana
Sambuvaraya (1343 A.D.) is said to have gifted the tax on
looms within the four limits of the Tirumadaivilsgam for • • worship in the temple of Tiruppulipagava Nsyinar in
Pulipparaklroyil. 211 This suggests that even the tax
levied on the weavers within the Tirun1sdaivilagam went . . to the state unless it was specifically endowed to the
temple.
---------------- ------ ---------209. A.R.E., 309 of 1968-69 from Tiruchirspsffi (11th
century), etc.
210. S.I.I., Vol.VII, 454 and 455 •. Also ref.A.R.E., 333 ef 1935-36 from Petladurti, Cuddappah dt. etc.
211 •. l.R.E., 218 of 1910 •. Also ref. A.R.E. 286 of 1910 etc.
91
A variety of taxes relating to the weaving industry
have been mentioned in the inscriptions. The most
frequently mentioned is Tari-irai212 (loom-tax) also .. called Tari-ksdamai~13 Along with this Per-kadsmai214 was . \ . also levied. Thus it is possible to infer that one
constituted the capital tax, and the other, the profession
tax. Magga-dere215 is the term used in .Andhrs and Karnataka
to denote loom tax though the records of the Cnols kings
belonging to the Andhra region refer only to ~-irai.216 .. . Another tax that is mentioned is achchg-tari. 217 Achchu
means print and it is possible that achchu-tari refers to
a special kind of jacquard. This is confirmed by the
92
218 reference to the working of such a loom in the Vijayansgsr
--------------------------- -------212.
213.
214.
215.
216.
217.
218.
S.I.I., Vol.VIII, Nos.? and 8 of the period of Rajarsja I, s.I.I., Vol.VII, No.117 of the period of Rajendra, s.I.I., Vol.VIII, No.123 of the period of Kulottung~I, etc.
S.I.I., Vol.V, No.410 from Ti~~~~~y proper
A.R.E., 218 of 1910
E.C. Vol.VI Hs. 97 from Kudakuru (Mysore dt.), E.C. Vol.IX Cp.6G from Yeliyur and .~.R.E., 628 of 1920 from .~ri talur in Guntur dt •
. A.B. E., 64 of 1958-59 of Vikrsma Chola from Mundslapudi, Chsndragiri Taluq, Chittoor dt.
~., Vol.VII, No.98 of the period ofRajaraja I {1001 .A.D.) from Tiruvottifr, Cheyyar, North .Arcot dt. and~., Vol.I, No.99 of the period of~Ira Ballals dated .A.D. 1310
T. T., Vol. VI, No.ll~' dated .A.D. 1538. Referred to under weaviRgtechnology.
period. 219
.1\nother oft mentioned tax is the tari-uudavai. - • T t - ...,..,0 -n erpretting this tax, Sadasiva Pandarattar~~ says
that annually one f!!~d..vaipas collected as tax from the
weavers. But it is more likely that this was a general
tax on cloth since pudavai in that period was probably
loosly used to denote lengthy cloth of any kind. 221
Panjup~ttt constituted the tax on cotton yarn. Cotton
was 2?3 also taxed and is referred to as Parutti-kadamai.~ •
..... - 1')04 Tax was also levied on NulayamG~ (cotton thread) and
- - - 225 - 226 pa~~adai-nulaysm (silk-thread). Kurai Tarsgu ayam,
i.e., brokerage fee on textiles is referred to in an
inscription from Vedaranyam (Tirutturaipundi taluq,
Tsnjore district) dated A.D. 1251. This tax provides an
indication that brokers were employed in the sale of
219.
220.
221.
222.
223.
224.
225.
------------------------A.R.E. 182 of 1916 of vira Rajendra (.A.D.l067) from Kunimedu in Dindivanam (South Arcot dt.) Also S.I.I. Vo1.V, No.l76, S.I.I., VII, No.4, etc.
Sadasi va Pandarattir, Pirk§la Colsrgal (Jmnarnalai University, 1974) p.524
In S.I.I., Vol.III, Pt. 4, No.l51 Tariuuudavai is interpreted as the cloth on each loom. •
Reference to _fanjupel\i comes from S.I·.I., Vol. V No.301 from Nilakottai, Madurai dated .A.D. 1192. Also S.I.I., Vol.VIII No.l77 from Ramnad dt. etc.
S.I.I., Vol.VII,_No.Q36, 13th century Pandya inscription from Tirukkoyilur, Dindivanam, South Arcot dt.
S.I.I., Vol.Vli, No.l09 of Rajanar'Syans Sarnbuvsrsys from Tiruvottur, North :Arcot dt •. Also A.R.E., 68 of 1958-59 from Yalamari, Chittoor dt. snd E.C. IX, Cp.66 from Bangalore
~·, 170 of 1933 from Tirukka};ukkun.:r:sm (Chingleput dt~l towards close of the 14th century.
93
textiles. .Apart from all these taxes, tax was also levied
on the dyers (Kai banns or just bsnnige)~27 Details of the -taxes imposed at the local fairs or Santas on sarees is
given in a 12th century inscription from Bhimavararn228
(Cocanada Taluq, Goda~ari dt.). Rajaraja III is said to
have classified all taxes int1ne~yam (grain tax) and
kssayam (money tax). 229 Here tari-i;~i is listed under
Kas~am~ So it is possible to infer that the various taxes
on the wea~ing industry were generally paid in cash except
where it involved payment in terms of a share of the cloth.
For the incidence of taxation on the wea~ers,
evidence is rather limited for the early period though
94
there is sufficient information for the Vijayanagar period.
Loom tax is said to have been levied at Kovilpa~~i
(Tirunelveli dt.) during the period of Jatsvarman Sri~allabha
(.A.D. 1129), on the 24 looms in the village of Solapuram at
the rate of 10 panams per loom per year. 230 The term Panaro
occurs very rarely in the coinage of the ChOla period. One
such reference is the mention of Panam in an inscription . 23} 232 VI~ I'
from Triplicane (Madras). The Mit~kshata of Vijnesvar§ 1\
226. s.I.I., Vol.XVII, No.452 227. E.C., Vol.IX, Cp.66 from Virupakshspura Hobli,
Chsnnapatna Taluq, Bang~ ore dt. 228. S.I.I., Vo1.V, No.65 229. .A.R.E., 140 of 1915 Rep. 1916 Pons 66 and .A.R.E.
491 of 1926 Report 192'7 Pars 87. 230. S.I.I., Vol.XIV, No.221 231. s.I.I., Vo1.VIII, No.543 232. Mitakshsra, ou.cit. Book II, p.236
(12th century) says that anyone who maimed the breeding
bulls was to be fined a 100 pansms. Since the fine for a
minor offence could not have been very high, the value of
""" pans~ must have been lower than other coins like Kalanju, . Hadai, etc. It is, however, impossible to have an idea of . the value of. the panam except to say that since the loom-tax
in the Vijayanagar period averaged around 3 pansms per year, . 10 psnsms in this period just could not have had the same
value.233 Three inscriptions of the period of Hoysala
Ramansthadeva ~ (mid 13th century)234 give the monthly
tax on loom on an average at between 7-8 kasu, that is,
96 kasus per year and says that this was the reduced rate
since the weavers had earlier emigrated in protest. This
will still make it 1 panam per year and this rate seems to . have no relation at all to the previous rate of 10 panams
annual. During the period of Jstavsrman Sundara Pandya 235 6 pansms per loom was the annual rate of taxation at
233. For the rates during the period of the Vijayanagar empire see taxation table under Chsp.IV. A 13th century inscription from Salem CAragalur) says that 100 So1iYa kSsU.s went to make a panam (K •. A. Nilakanta Sastry, Co~as, op.cit., p.619, A.R.E., 439 of 1913).
234. A.R.E., 311 of 1968-69 dated A.D. 1261 from Tripattsve11'Ur, Musiri; .A.R.E. 152 of 1928-29 dated 1267 :from Na~tamsngudi, La1gudi Ta1uq; and A.R.E. 203 of 1928-29 dated from Kandarsdittam, Udaiyarp~1ayam Ta1uq, all fro~iruchirapa1li dt.
235 • .A. R. E. , 300 of 1909 _
95
Tirukkachchiyur (Chingleput dt.). If the value of the
panam in the thirteenth century has any relation to what
it was in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, than - I
this was still very high.
There are instances to show that the weavers
protested against high taxation by emigration and were
invariably successful in inducing the state to reduce the
taxation rate. Thus during the period of Hoysala Ramanatha
deva (1277 A.D.) the Dan9an8yaka Ravideva, made a report
that the weavers of Kandaradittam (Tiruchirspalli district)
had emigrated owing to high taxation, and the king, on the 236
basis of this report, reduced the tax to 8 kSsU per month.
Thus it was the general policy of the state to be as
reasonable as possible towards the weavers' demands. The
State reduced taxes in newly settled areas to attract the
weavers and for the first 2 or 3 years total tax remission
was granted. During the period of Vikrama Chola, in 237 1128 A.D., 20 families of weavers at the rate of 4
families •-from 5 villages were newly settled in
Tiru~anapuram (Nannilam Taluq, Tanjore district), and
granted special privileges including tax remission. In
Junri talur238( Ten ali Taluq, Guntur dt.) the Mahamandalesvara
Chintagupta Tirr~arajayya granted a ~a~le (Charter) exempting
--236. A.R.E., 203 of 1928--29. ill so ;.R.E., 152 of 1928-29
237. ,;.R.E., 508 of 1922-23
238. ,Q.R.E., 628 of 1920
96
the weavers and other professionals from payment of tax
for the first 3 years. In the period of Rajanaraysna
Sambuvaraya, there was remission of taxes on the new • 239 -settlers at N .. rkuq:ram ( Tirul::koyilur, South Arcot dist.)
The attitude of the state in yielding tq threats of
emigration by weavers as protest against high taxation
and its anxiety to attract weavers to new settlements
through inducements like total tax remission for 3 years,
indicates one thing very clearly that during this period,
there '.Jas no general mobility among the Coromandel weavers
unlike as in the later periods, and hence, if the weavers
of s region emigrated, it was difficult to find replacements
and similarly weavers could be attracted to settle in new
colonies only through large-scale concessions.
239. .A.R.E., 218 of 1934-35
97