Handmade in India

CHALLI - WOOLLEN TEXTILES
Challi is a coarse woollen cloth wooven in
strips by men on a fixed heddle ground
loom. Khullu, (yak hair) and raal (goat hair)
are used and it is their respective natural
colouration (deep brown, white, light brown)
that creates the striped pattern in the warp
charecteristic of the challi. The fabric is
always woven in one material that is used as
the weft while the other is selectively used
in the warp to create the pattern. Strips
having the same repeat pattern are joined to
make saddlebags, nugal or changdur (grain
carriers), phatsa (storage bags), taltan (rugs)
and blankets that are placed as a secondary
layer over the tsug-dul in winters. By varying
the number of strips attached, the striped
patterns are altered by every weaver to create a
specific combination that would act as his
`brand`, thus ensuring that the owner of the
saddlebag could be identified by the particular
variation of stripes on it. This practice
originates from earlier times when journeys
for trade were made on pack animals and bags
could be easily mixed up during stoppages.
There are three kinds of saddlebags; small
bags for sheep and goats, and larger bags to be
loaded on horses and yaks.
Inset : A saddlebag used for carrying grain on
horseback.
Production Clusters
Ladakh
Leh district:
Changtang Valley
Products
Blankets, Rugs
Storage bags
Saddle bags
Tools
Ground loom
Shuttle, Spindle
Needle, Scissors
1. Detail of challi made of yak hair. The weave used is known as the dog-teeth design.
2. The reverse of a challi, the strip woven sections stitched together.
3. A large storage bag woven by women who use fine sheep wool and dyed yarns in their
weaving.
HAND-SPINNING
Hand-Spinning is practiced extensively in every
Ladakhi household by both the men and the woven.
The women use the phang - a spindle usually made of
willow that is supported by a bowl made from apricot
kernel - to spin soft yarn such as pashmina and sheep
wool. The drop spindle used by the men is known as
haa and is used for spinning coarser goat hair called
raal. The type of spindle used by men allows them to
spin while they walk; the phang, on the other hand,
requires a surface to rest on and consequently while
the men may be seen spinning while going about
their daily chores, spinning for the women appears to
be more of a congregational activity performed
amidst much chatter. The extremely soft pashmina
wool is obtained from the inner coat of the Changra
goats found predominantly in the Changtang region
and is a highly valued commodity sold to the
Kashmiri shawl includes the extablishment of a
Changra goat-rearing farm at Upshi near Leh; a
department supporting pashmina weaving by women
at the Ladakh Environmental Health Organisation at
Chushot and the setting up of a facilities for
dehairing, spinning and weaving at the Handicrafts
Centre at Leh.
Inset : A detail showing the
phang being supported
against apricot bowl.
1. The haa, a spindle
used by men to spin
coarse goat hair.
2. An old woman at
Khamaling spinning
wool with the phang.
Product Clusters
Leh district:
Changtang Valley
Leh town
Products
Pile rugs
Garments
Footwear
Yarn
Shawls
Blankets
Saddlebag
Slings
Rugs
Tents
Tools
Phang - spindle used
by women
Haa - spindle used by
men
Hand cards
Tal - special comb
1. A braided sling
made of yak hair
and sheep wool,
an object made by
most Ladakhi
men.