How it began
Jamdani is a figured muslin that has been produced for centuries on the bank of the Shitalakshya River in Narayanganj district, near Dhaka. It was first known as Dhakai, after the city. The Persian name jamdani came into use under the Mughal Empire, whose emperors patronized production by imperial warrant. The tradition is of Bengali origin.
How it works
Jamdani is a sheer cotton fabric woven on a handloom. The motifs are not printed or embroidered afterward. They are made directly on the loom with the discontinuous weft technique, in which extra pattern threads are worked in by hand only where a motif is needed. Geometric and floral patterns are built up this way in white, black, gold, silver and colored threads. UNESCO calls it time-consuming and labor-intensive.
Who pushed back
Under British rule the jamdani and muslin industries of Bengal declined rapidly because they could not compete with imported textiles manufactured in Great Britain. Of the roughly 28 varieties of muslin once made in the region, jamdani is the one that remained in wide use.
What lasted
Weavers, spinners, dyers, loom-dressers and other craftspeople form a close community around Dhaka. A few master weavers are recognized as bearers of the traditional motifs and techniques and pass them on to disciples. The cloth is traditionally woven by craftspeople and their apprentices in workshops around the city.
Where it stands today
Production has revived in Bangladesh. UNESCO inscribed the traditional art of Jamdani weaving on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013, and Bangladesh received Geographical Indication status for the Jamdani sari in 2016.
