Ajrak
Encyclopedia
]
Ajrak is a name given to a unique form of blockprinted shawl
s and tiles found in Sindh
, Pakistan
. Ajraks are also worn by the Seraiki
people of Southern Punjab
and Kutch. These shawls display special designs and patterns made using block printing by stamps. Common colours used while making these patterns may include but are not limited to blue
, red
, black
, yellow
and green
. Over the years, ajraks have become a symbol of the Sindhi culture and traditions.
Early human settlements in the region which is now the province Sindh in Pakistan along the Indus River
had found a way of cultivating and using Gossypium arboreum
commonly known as tree cotton to make clothes for themselves. These civilizations are thought to have mastered the art of making cotton fabrics as early as 3000 BC. A bust of a king priest excavated at Mohenjo-daro
shows him draped over one shoulder in a piece of cloth that resembles an ajrak.
What came as a formidable explanation for this observation was the trefoil
pattern etched on the person's garment interspersed with small circles, the interiors of which were filled with a red pigment. Excavations elsewhere in the Old World
around Mesopotamia
have yielded similar patterns appearing on various objects most notably on the royal couch of Tutankhamen. This symbol illustrates what is now believed to be an edifice depicting the fusion of the three sun-disks of the gods of the sun, water and the earth. Reminiscent geometry of the trefoil is evident on most of the recent ajrak prints.
The level of geometry on the garment comes from the usage of a method of printing called the woodblock printing
in which prints were transferred from geometric shapes etched on the wooden blocks by pressing them hard on the fabric. Block printing is thought to have been first used in ancient China, at least as far as moveable type is concerned. On its way through the populous regions of the Indus Valley, this technique of fabric printing was adopted at Mohenjo-daro.
The tradition still prevails centuries later, and people still use the same methods of production that were used in the earlier days to create an ajrak. The garment has become an essential part of the Sindhi culture and apparel of Sindhis. Men use it as a turban, a cummerbund
or wind it around their shoulders or simply drape it over one shoulder. Women use it as a dupatta
or a shawl and sometimes as a makeshift swing for children. Ajraks are usually about 2.5 to 3-meters long, patterned in intense colours predominantly rich crimson
or a deep indigo
with some white and black used sparingly to give definition to the geometric symmetry in design.
Ajraks are made all over Sindh
, especially in Matiari
, Hala, Bhit Shah
, Moro
, Sukkur
, Kandyaro, Hyderabad
, and many cities of Upper Sindh and Lower Sindh.
The ajrak is an integral part of Sindhi culture and Sindhi nationalism
. Its usage is evident at all levels of society, and is held in high esteem, with the utmost respect given to it. According to Sindhi traditions, ajraks are often presented as gifts of hospitality to guests. They are also worn on festive occasions such as weddings and cultural events. Many prominent politicians from Sindh publicly adorn Ajrak, including the deceased former Pakistani Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto
.
Ajrak is a name given to a unique form of blockprinted shawl
Shawl
A shawl is a simple item of clothing, loosely worn over the shoulders, upper body and arms, and sometimes also over the head. It is usually a rectangular or square piece of cloth, that is often folded to make a triangle but can also be triangular in shape...
s and tiles found in Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Ajraks are also worn by the Seraiki
Saraiki people
The Saraiki people or Multani people are an ethnic group from the central and south-eastern areas of Pakistan, especially the former princely state of Bahawalpur and the districts of Multan, Lodhran, Vehari, Khanewal, Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh,...
people of Southern Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
and Kutch. These shawls display special designs and patterns made using block printing by stamps. Common colours used while making these patterns may include but are not limited to blue
Blue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
, red
Red
Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
, black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
, yellow
Yellow
Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–590 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of red and green...
and green
Green
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
. Over the years, ajraks have become a symbol of the Sindhi culture and traditions.
Indus River
The Indus River is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It also has courses through China and India.Originating in the Tibetan plateau of western China in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region, the river runs a course through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and...
had found a way of cultivating and using Gossypium arboreum
Gossypium arboreum
Gossypium arboreum, commonly called tree cotton, is a species of cotton native to India and Pakistan and other tropical and subtropical regions of the Old World. There is evidence of its cultivation as long ago as the Harappan civilization of the Indus Valley for the production of cotton textiles...
commonly known as tree cotton to make clothes for themselves. These civilizations are thought to have mastered the art of making cotton fabrics as early as 3000 BC. A bust of a king priest excavated at Mohenjo-daro
Mohenjo-daro
Mohenjo-daro is an archeological site situated in what is now the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Built around 2600 BC, it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, and one of the world's earliest major urban settlements, existing at the same time as the...
shows him draped over one shoulder in a piece of cloth that resembles an ajrak.
What came as a formidable explanation for this observation was the trefoil
Trefoil
Trefoil is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and Christian symbolism...
pattern etched on the person's garment interspersed with small circles, the interiors of which were filled with a red pigment. Excavations elsewhere in the Old World
Old World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....
around Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
have yielded similar patterns appearing on various objects most notably on the royal couch of Tutankhamen. This symbol illustrates what is now believed to be an edifice depicting the fusion of the three sun-disks of the gods of the sun, water and the earth. Reminiscent geometry of the trefoil is evident on most of the recent ajrak prints.
The level of geometry on the garment comes from the usage of a method of printing called the woodblock printing
Woodblock printing
Woodblock printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper....
in which prints were transferred from geometric shapes etched on the wooden blocks by pressing them hard on the fabric. Block printing is thought to have been first used in ancient China, at least as far as moveable type is concerned. On its way through the populous regions of the Indus Valley, this technique of fabric printing was adopted at Mohenjo-daro.
The tradition still prevails centuries later, and people still use the same methods of production that were used in the earlier days to create an ajrak. The garment has become an essential part of the Sindhi culture and apparel of Sindhis. Men use it as a turban, a cummerbund
Cummerbund
A cummerbund is a broad waist sash, usually pleated, which is often worn with single-breasted dinner jackets . The cummerbund was first adopted by British military officers in colonial India as an alternative to a waistcoat, and later spread to civilian use...
or wind it around their shoulders or simply drape it over one shoulder. Women use it as a dupatta
Dupatta
Dupatta Dupatta(Urdu: دوپٹا, Hindi: दुपट्टा, Bengali: ওড়না, Sindhi: پوتي, Tamil:துப்பட்ட) Dupatta(Urdu: دوپٹا, Hindi: दुपट्टा, Bengali: ওড়না, Sindhi: پوتي, Tamil:துப்பட்ட) (alternative names include chadar (in Pakistan), orni/odhni, chunri, chunni, orna, and pacheri, is a long,...
or a shawl and sometimes as a makeshift swing for children. Ajraks are usually about 2.5 to 3-meters long, patterned in intense colours predominantly rich crimson
Crimson
Crimson is a strong, bright, deep red color. It is originally the color of the dye produced from a scale insect, Kermes vermilio, but the name is now also used as a generic term for those slightly bluish-red colors that are between red and rose; besides crimson itself, these colors include...
or a deep indigo
Indigo
Indigo is a color named after the purple dye derived from the plant Indigofera tinctoria and related species. The color is placed on the electromagnetic spectrum between about 420 and 450 nm in wavelength, placing it between blue and violet...
with some white and black used sparingly to give definition to the geometric symmetry in design.
Ajraks are made all over Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
, especially in Matiari
Matiari
Matiari is the capital city of Matiari District, Sindh, Pakistan....
, Hala, Bhit Shah
Bhit Shah
Bhit Shah may refer to:* Bhit , in Sindh, Pakistan, is the town where the shrine of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, the patron saint of Sindh, is located.* Bhit Shah Island is located near Kiamari Town in Karachi, Sindh....
, Moro
Moro, Pakistan
Moro is a city in the Naushahro Feroze District, of Sindh, Pakistan. The city is administratively subdivided into 3 Union councils and is located in the centre of Sindh at an altitude of 28m and is 12 km of the River Indus. The population of Moro is 93 486...
, Sukkur
Sukkur
Sukkur, or Sakharu , formerly Aror and Bakar, is the third largest city of Sindh province, situated on the west bank of Indus River in Pakistan in Sukkur District. However, the word Sakharu in Sindhi means "superior", which the spelling of the city's name in Sindhi suggests is the origin of the...
, Kandyaro, Hyderabad
Hyderabad, Sindh
is the second largest city in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the seventh largest city in the country. The city was founded in 1768 by Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro upon the ruins of a Mauryan fishing village along the bank of the Indus known as Neroon Kot...
, and many cities of Upper Sindh and Lower Sindh.
The ajrak is an integral part of Sindhi culture and Sindhi nationalism
Sindhi nationalism
Sindhi nationalism is the political expression of ethno-national consciousness of the Sindhi people, who inhabit the ethno-linguistic region of Sindh started by the Ghulam Murtaza Shah, which lies in current day Pakistan....
. Its usage is evident at all levels of society, and is held in high esteem, with the utmost respect given to it. According to Sindhi traditions, ajraks are often presented as gifts of hospitality to guests. They are also worn on festive occasions such as weddings and cultural events. Many prominent politicians from Sindh publicly adorn Ajrak, including the deceased former Pakistani Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
.