The Siddi cloth craft is as much of a rarely known art form, as is the community itself. This vibrant style of art gradually came to become an important part of the culture of the Siddi community. With every piece speaking about the story and thoughts of an artist, this craft is worth knowing and preserving.
From not being recognised within the community as a source of art and financial sustenance, to becoming a defining piece of culture for the community, the Siddi cloth art has come a long way.
This article will talk about the Siddi community and its lesser-known artform.
The Siddi Community in India
Scattered across the remote parts of Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu, reside the Siddi community. They are said to be of African descent, particularly from the Bantu people of East Africa. According to a few historical accounts, the people of this community first migrated into the Indian subcontinent in the 7th century along with a few Arab merchants. Some accounts also note that the Portuguese and the British were also responsible for the migration of this community to India mainly as slaves, carpenters, and masons during the 16th century.
Although the Siddi community has long been a part of the Indian population, their numbers have been few and are dwindling further. There are approximately 2,50,000 of them all over India. They have found themselves to be struggling financially as well as socially since the time immemorial. It is one of the reasons why they are recognised as Scheduled Tribe by the Indian government. The Siddi community has had to fight for their subsistence and most of the people still live in penury, grappling with the lack of aid and representation that they deserve.
The community has mostly blended itself with the Indian community and has many similarities to the Indian way of living. Most of the people of the community follow Islam and its practices. The men and women have been found to wear Indian traditional clothes such as saree, ghaghro (broad petticoat), and choli (blouse) in the case of females; and khamij (Shirt), patloon (trousers), and safo (turban), in the case of males. Their eating habits as well as their lifestyle are subject to variation according to the Indian states they inhabit.
Along with the scarcity of healthcare, education and financial aid for this community, the community is also suffering from the threat of erasure of their culture and traditions. It is all the more important to know about this community and how it adds to the diverse beauty of India.
Kavands – Heritage of the Siddi Tradition
The Siddi community has a distinct tradition of quilting, where they use scraps of clothes to stitch quilts. These make for a vivid style of quilts which captivate one’s eye for their mosaical portrayal of these scarps. These quilts are known as Kavands in the local language.
The tradition of making Kavands was not brought by the community from their African roots rather, it was inculcated within the community through other communities around them in India. This tradition of quilting was also borne out of necessity and the belief amongst the community members that no piece of cloth be thrown out for waste, but instead be reused and recycled with a more practical use in mind.
Therefore, most of these quilts were and are still made out of clothes that have been worn out or are no longer needed by the individuals. It was also an innovative way of dealing with the poor economic status of the members of the community, who could barely make ends meet.
Furthermore, Kavands were typically made by the women within the family and for their families. The concept of these quilts evolved as a tradition only during the later times with the recognition that they slowly gathered. Prior to this, these quilts were understood solely as chores mainly done by the women of the families.
Kavands are a visual feast as they incorporate scraps of different colours and prints of textiles that are stitched together. A defining feature in these quilts is the running concentric stitches across the different patches of textiles, making for one huge quilt. Making for a vibrant piece of quilt, most of the stitched pieces of clothes had an emotional connection for the maker. The makers would often use clothes and pieces of textiles used by their loved ones, and hence these quilts used to carry memories and nostalgic emotions for them and their families.
In most of the families, it is made by mothers for their children as a way of warding off negative energies, as they believe the abstract and colourful pattern on these quilts would distract these energies.
These quilts were initially used till they were completely tattered or the pieces of fabric became shreds. Since these quilts were thoroughly used to their last shreds, there was no frequent need for stitching them and hence they suffered the danger of fading away into history. It is only in recent times that the art of Kavands has seen a revival and renewal amongst the community. With the appreciation and representation of this craft by some curators and art enthusiasts, the people of the Siddi community have come to realise the value Kavands hold, culturally as well as financially. What was earlier done out of necessity for the community’s survival is now being touted as a defining cultural moment for the people.
The craft is now perpetuated through women of the community from one generation to another, as well as through workshops. It has helped put the community on the Indian map and has not only aided the women financially but has also made them artists. It has empowered them to earn for their families and also build a deeper communal relationship with other women in the community. The men of the Siddi community have also come to embrace the craft of Kavands in recent times. It has thus bridged the gap between the parity of chores between the two genders within the community and brought about growth for all.
These unique and vivid quilts have helped the Siddi community realise and preserve their cultural identity.
References
Featured image credit: thebetterindia.com
- Abhiram Loknath. 2022. “The Story of Siddi Community and Their Stint with Sports.” Simply Sport. April 28, 2022. https://www.simplysport.in/post/the-story-of-siddi-community-and-their-stint-with-sports-the-origins.
- “Afro-Descendants: A Global Picture.” 2024. March 6, 2024. https://minorityrights.org/afro-descendants-a-global-picture/.
- Anitha N. 2023. “Mosaics of Cloth • V&a Blog.” V&a Blog. February 10, 2023. https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/projects/mosaics-of-cloth.
- Dsouza, Krystelle. 2023. “Art Historian Puts Siddi Community’s Traditional Craft of Quilt Making on the World Map.” The Better India. May 9, 2023. https://thebetterindia.com/317479/art-historian-anitha-n-works-with-siddi-women-to-sell-kavandi-quilts-karnataka/.
- Nast, Condé. 2022. “How Karnataka’s Siddi Women Quilters Are Helping Revive an Age Old Craft.” Architectural Digest India. November 1, 2022. https://www.architecturaldigest.in/story/how-karnatakas-siddi-women-quilters-are-helping-revive-an-age-old-craft/.
- Rao, Bindu Gopal. n.d. “Recognising the Siddi People of India.” FairPlanet. https://www.fairplanet.org/editors-pick/recognising-the-siddi-people-of-india/.
- “Siddi in India.” 2023. Minorityrights.org, October. https://minorityrights.org/communities/siddi/.
- Today, India. 2016. “Meet the Siddis: India’s Very Own African Community.” India Today. June 11, 2016. https://www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/siddi-community-in-india-indian-africans-south-africa-13632-2016-06-11.
