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Sujani Embroidery of Bihar
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One of the many styles of the embroidery art, Sujani, the stitching tradition of Bihar (also known as Kantha in Bengal, Gudadi in Rajasthan) is also a woman's tradition. The art has been preserved in the remote villages by the women who prepare articles of great aesthetic value, primarily meant for household use.
Initially a technique whereby red and white stitch from old saris were used to sew together pieces of old cloth, layer over layer, the purpose of using old cloth with sujani was very specific – to wrap the newborn, to allow it to be enveloped in a soft embrace, resembling that of its mother. New cloth was considered to be harsh on its skin. When dissected, the term sujani reflects the above-mentioned functional nature of this practice – su means easy and facilitating, while jani means birth. A woman would be attributed as a sugrahini, if she recycled the used cloth and make it into new, to be meant for not just her
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children, but
grandchildren as well.
As an age-old practice among women in almost all parts of the country, the style of sujani has evolved over time by incorporating unique narrative elements in its embroidery. Women today stitch their experience, their sorrows and their realities on the sujani, transforming a mundane quilt into a testimony of their lives. Each sujani tells a tale – the trauma of being a woman in a man's world, domestic violence, female infanticide, effects of alcoholism and gambling on a family and similar issues. Social concerns like evils of dowry, education of girls, lessons in health-care and AIDS are also depicted.
Quilters of Bihar outline and fill motifs in a circular manner with colored quilting stitches, while the background is covered with white stitching. The circular stitching creates a dimensional distortion that gives these quilts a unique surface character. This technique of sewing together pieces of old cloth, layered together, has its age-old function in two belief systems.
First, cloth bound together by sujani served a ritual function – it invoked the presence of a deity, Chitiriya Ma, the Lady of the Tatters. In it, is enshrined the holistic Indian concept that all parts belong to the whole and must return to it.
Apart from the straight running long stitches, sujani has also been seen as vivid geometric patterns and motifs. These fertility oriented motifs and patterns, like the sun and moon (life giving forces), animal and bird motifs and fantastic winged animals for protection against destructive forces, and motifs to attract the blessings of their gods. Colors of the threads also signify the elements, such as as red, signifying blood, a life force, and yellow for the sun.
This tradition of needle-craft has also taken several directions since the last two decades. For example, under the guidance of organizations like ADITHI, unique narrative elements were incorporated in its embroidery. Women stitched their experience, their sorrows and their realities on the sujani, transforming a mundane quilt into a testimony of their lives.
Images sourced from Google Search Engine, using the term 'Sujani' |
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