
5 minute read
IKAT –AN ATLAS
The Ties That Bind
"All of my creation is an effort to weave a web of connection with the world: I am always weaving it because it was once broken."
– Anais Nin
The origins of Ikat↗ are blurred, somewhat like its design. But historians believe that Ikat has parallel roots in Southeast Asia where it was called Ikat. It also developed in parallel among the Uyghur settlements of Central Asia where it was called Atlas.
True to its Central Indian name, Ikat has traveled across the world, weaving a complex lattice of warp and weft across far-flung corners of the planet. From Okinawa to Bukhara, Patan to Guadalajara, Ikat has woven itself into the cultural fabric of those places. Over centuries, Ikat textile traditions have crossed borders and been preserved. Handed down from one generation to the next. A fabric of humanity that binds us all together.
There’s an art to it – one that’s painstaking and precise. Ikat weavers first prepare the yarn. Dye is applied to the threads before they are woven, using resistance dyeing techniques, in a kaleidoscope of vibrant colours. You’ll often find Ikats in deep shades of red, purple, yellow, white, black, blue, green and more.
Depending on which threads are dyed, there are warp Ikats, weft Ikats, and the most intricate of them all, the double Ikat. They are usually made with cotton or silk, or occasionally wool.
Once the threads are wound onto a wooden frame, they are then tied into little bundles which are encased in wax. The yarn is encased in thread or another material that prevents the dye from permeating. Once the colouring process has taken place, the yarn is wrapped either as the warp or the weft across the loom, and the weaving process begins.
While the South Americans and Indonesians favour warp Ikats, the Ikats of Japan are usually weft Ikats. In certain parts of India such as Patan and Pochampally, highly skilled artisans produce complex double Ikats, to create stunning silks. In fact, a Patola sari is a treasured heirloom, passed down from mother to daughter with immense love and care.

Weavers from Patan and Rajkot migrated east and settled in Orissa, which gave rise to Orissa’s unique style of Ikat weaving. Today the three major centers of Ikat in India are Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.
Orissa is known for its incredible culture of craftsmanship, and its Ikats are no exception. Orissa’s weavers have even woven entire verses in Urdu into the Ikat, making them some of the most beautiful fabrics known to mankind. The art of double Ikat weaving has recently been revived in the villages of the Nalgonda region in Andhra Pradesh. Pochampally and Puttapaka have been centers of weaving for over 200 years and the Puttapaka sari is a specially designed double Ikat that dates back two centuries!
Most Ikats in India are painstakingly woven by hand by the artisans. It is only as recently as 1999 that machines have been deployed in parts of the process like the “Asu” or the winding of the yarn.
In Central Asia, Ikat originated with the Uyghurs during the Qing dynasty. In those days there were twenty-seven different kinds of Ikat. Of these, only three or four are still being created. In Japan, Okinawa and Oshima remain important weaving centers. Japanese motifs are smaller, more precise, and they use a slightly different spot dying technique, which was later replicated in Java and Bali as well. In fact, in Indonesia, Ikat was the sole preserve of the nobility.
In ancient Persia, Ikat was called Darayee. The word means “property” in Persian and Ikat fabric was coveted as a symbol of wealth in the Persian bride’s trousseau. Persian weaving rose to its greatest heights during the sixteenth century under the Safavid dynasty. Even now, The major weaving center is in Yazd.
Ikats flourish across Central America and the Andean region, dating as far back as the Mayan era. From the traditional Rebozos (shawls) of Mexico to the Mapuche (poncho) of the Chilean horsemen, to the Corto (skirt) of the Guatemaleans, Ikat runs like a common thread. In Mayan times, the technique was known as Jaspe. Ikats were woven on a backstrap loom by the women in those days. Today, just a handful of weavers from the Mapuche community in the southernmost tip of Chile persist with this timeless weaving tradition.
Ikat’s role in society went beyond mere adornment. It was often sent as a gift from one king to another as a gesture of diplomacy. In fact, the King of Thailand gifted a beautiful Cambodian Ikat to the US President in 1856, as a gesture of friendship between the two nations. In Thai culture, the fabric is known as Matmi, and is usually worn only by aristocracy.
Cambodian Ikats were known to be some of the finest in the world. Cambodian weavers were held in high esteem, until the Khmer Rouge wiped out the craft and killed several members of the weaving community. The art had died out completely until 1995, until a Japanese man named Kikuo Morimoto re-introduced Ikat in Cambodia. He brought a couple of ladies from Japan and unearthed a few of the last surviving members of the weaving community in the country, to bring the craft back to its Cambodian roots.