The Loom of Kalash

 

The Loom of Kalash

A fundamental part of Kalash religious beliefs and demonstrate that everything, from location, behavior, gender and objects, is separated into the spheres of pure (Onjesta) and impure (Pragata).

{The Kalasha historical and cultural expert, Khrosh Nawaz, says: “The Loom is pragata, because a Baira made the first loom for his wife. Baira are the people, who became very pragata, because they married a too close relative and so had to convert into Islam”

As the loom is pragata (impure, belonging to the sphere of women), it is never placed inside the family houses, but always kept outside

-         When not in use, the posts are lying or standing somewhere

-         When in use they are leaning towards a wall or a tree.

The other tools for the weaving – the finely carved sword, the shed stick with fine teeth cut along the edge, the heavy “comb” and the hedges are a woman’s treasuries –like the spindle, they are made by a man and given to the woman as a token of devotion. The woman using the tools tells who made it, and never forgets. As the house are very dark, outside is the best place for weaving anyway.

 When done in public, the weaving also becomes a nice social act sometimes, like before the festivals of Chaomos and Joshi, when new dress parts are being produced; several looms are placed beside each other

-and always the woman at work has the company of other women, who admire or frequently “give a pattern”, insert a border, they know. In this way the knowledge of patterns is spread.

The small girls start learning to weave as early as at the age of 5-6

-         They may start by helping behind the loom, when the warp is set

-         Later they help doing the work itself.

The first work of a girl may be a new shu’shut for joshi – rather a simple and short work.

The loom consists of two long posts with holes punched out at special intervals for the different warp lengths needed for the different dress parts.

 Through the holes the horizontal warp beams are inserted supported by stones. The stones can be removed gradually, if the warp shortens.

In principle it is round warped loom, but the warp is divided by a stick, which is taken out after weaving and then the resulting loops can be twisted into fringes.

When the warp it set, the shed is formed around the wooden aword.

After the setting of the warp, the sword is pushed upwards, and an extra stick is inserted into the shed made from the dividing stick. The shed stick is provided with small teeth, which arrange the warp threads in regular intervals.

After this leaches are made around one heddle for plain weave (used for dresses, leggings, trousers, jackets, shawls and head-dresses) and around 4 heddles more for the twilled weave used for the women’s belts to prevent them from slipping loose. Before the leaches are made, the sword is inserted to lift up the threads for the leaches. Then a thread is shot in along the sword and the leaches are lifted up between the warp threads around the heddle.

The warp threads are mostly finer than the weft. So the tissue mostly comes out warp faced (with the warp covering the weft). The weft is wound on a spool stick, and the weaving can start. For each shoot, the sword is pressed down and the weft is hammered down with a heavy wooden “fork”

When weaving the women sits on the ground and the work is done upwards. As the warp –though divided- is round, it can be pulled down gradually as the work proceeds. In this way the optiman working position is always there.

Borders are inserted with the fingers: Loose or skeined threads hanging on the front of the loom are inserted and left there after the work is finished.

In women’s belts and tja’rushdi-shawls, in pants, leggings and (during the last 2-3 years) also in the shu’shut a miniature “Kelim technique” is used – diagonal designs with small holes, where colours meet. In dresses, pants, shawls and kupas, the Soumak technique   is used – the weft is alternating with extra coloured threads inserted like stitches around the warp.

Also a particular Kalash technique  (Kao’shelaak) is used for horizontal dotted or multi coloured stripes. It is made by attaching loops of coloured yarn at one side of the warp and putting the loops into each other alternating up and down around some few warp threads to the other side of the warp.}¹

 

¹ Sperber Glavind, Brigitte, 1990. Kalash: Dresses, Body Decorations and Textile Techniques. In Proceedings of the Second International Hindu Kush Cultural Conference,  pp 49-51