The Nilgiris were home to several ethnic tribes like the Badagas, Kotas, Kurumbhas and Irulas. one of them, the Todas have been around for several centuries, but the population has dwindled down to few hundreds today
The Toda 'Dairy' Temples which look similar in structure to the bamboo huts they live in, are surrounded by stones in a circular pit and have a head priest in attendence
The patterns over Toda Shwals reflect the creativity of each Toda woman who is inspired by nature and mythological stories so that every single piece will be unique.
The patterns over Toda Shwals reflect the creativity of each Toda woman who is inspired by nature and mythological stories so that every single piece will be unique.
Women have been practicing this art since ages. the base cotton material, normally bleached and pale white in color, is hand woven in single width and the weave is such that it allows for the embroidery to be done by counting of threads
These traditional shawls Puthukalis showcase intricate symmetry and geometric designs symbolic of the nature around them, and are embroidered by the women in the community with minimum tools and help
Not only is the language, rituals, clothing and dressing vastly distinct from the nearby tribes, even their ancestry is sometimes claimed to be linked to pandavas or sometimes even to the Greek Army of Alexander.
Tucked away in Northern tamil Nadu lie the beautiful Nilgiri Hills or the Blue Mountains most popular as Ooty or OOtakamund as local tribes call it
Occasions like wedding ceremonies see the tribesmen sporting a variety of these shwals, each with the traditional red and black stripes over a white plain cloth
The typical ringlets hair fashion of Toda women which they believe to keep their hair healthy
The Todas, the initial owners of Ooty are pastoral community, with their livelihood traditionally centered around buffalo herding for centuries now. In fact most of their religion and rituals involve practices around dairy and buffalo
Having created the design hundreds of times, the women replicate it on the cloth without tracing the pattern or referring to a book. A unique aspect of the finished cloth is that is reversible with both sides having a usable finished look to it.
The traditional three colors also have great significance to the tribes. The Cream/pale white stands for the purity and innocence, while red stands for youth and black stands for maturity
The embroidery is worked on the reverse of the cloth and a little tuft of thread is left behind while drawing the needle back, thereby producing a rich, embossed effect on the surface
The ladies of the tribe work on the fabric with a simple darning needle and thread without the assistance of modern tools
The women do not refer to a stitching pattern as one would normally do for creating cross stitch designs, neither is a frame used to keep the cloth in place
The Patterns over these cloth are inspired from nature. Rabbit Ears, Bull Horns are some of the elements that are used that signifies different spiritual meanings to the Todas.
