The document provides information about the costumes and textiles of Bihar and Jharkhand in India. It discusses the traditional crafts and weaving of the regions, including bamboo baskets and cane products from Bihar and silk production in Bhagalpur. It describes the traditional costumes worn by men, women, and tribes in the areas, which often incorporate religious and marital symbols. Festivals celebrated in Bihar and Jharkhand are also outlined, in addition to details about the symbolic Sujani embroidery and famous Bhagalpuri silk sarees produced in the region.

1. COSTUME
AND TEXTILES OF
BIHAR AND JHARKHAND

2. BIHAR & JHARKHAND
Bihar is a state in East India. It is the 13th largest state of India, with an area
of 94,163 km2. The third largest state of India by population, it is also
contiguous with Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern
part of West Bengal to the east, with Jharkhand to the south. The Bihar plain
is split by the river Ganges which flows from west to east.
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India
carved out of the southern part of
Bihar on 15 November 2000. The
state shares its border with the states
of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh
and Chhattisgarh to the west, Odisha
to the south, and West Bengal to the
east. It has an area of 79,710 km2.
The city of Ranchi is its capital while
the industrial city of Jamshedpur is
the most populous city of the state.

3. CULTURE
tern state of India, includes various unique forms of literature, cuisine, performing a
Craft
The artisans of Bihar have proven adept at creating articles using local
materials. Baskets, cups, and saucers, made from bamboo strips or cane reed
and painted in vivid colors, are commonly found in Bihari homes. A special
container called a "pauti," woven out of sikki grass in the north, is a sentimental
gift that accompanies a bride when she leaves her home after her wedding. The
weavers of Bihar have been practicing their trade for centuries. Among their
products in common use are cotton dhurries and curtains. They are produced
by artisans in central Bihar, particularly in the Patna and Biharsharif areas.
These colorful sheets often feature motifs of Buddhist artifacts, and pictures of
birds, animals, and/or flowers.
Bhagalpur is well known for its sericulture, manufacture of silk yarn, and silk-
weaving. Silk produced here is called tussah or tussar silk.

4. Chhath
Chhath, also called "Dala Chhath," is an ancient and major festival in Bihar. It is celebrated t
FESTIVALS
Shravani Mela
ms, known as Kanwarias, wear saffron-coloured clothes and collect water from a sacred GhaT

5. Pitri Paksha Mela
This is a 15-day fair held on the bank of River Falgu at Gaya during Pitru Paksha
every year. Pilgrims from all parts of India visit Gaya, offering pinda to honor their
ancestors. According to estimates from the Bihar Tourism Department, about
500,000 to 750,000 pilgrims arrive in Gaya each year during the Pitri Paksha Mela
Other local festivals celebrated with fervor in Bihar include:
Teej and Chitragupta Puja
Bihula-Bishari Puja (celebrated in the Anga region of Bihar)
The Sonepur cattle fair, a month-long event starting approximately half a month after
Deepwali. Considered the largest cattle fair in Asia, it is held at the junction of the
Ganges and Gandak Rivers, in the town of Sonepur. However, new laws governing
the sale of animals and prohibiting the trafficking in exotic birds and beasts have
adversely impacted the fair's success.

6. COSTUME & TEXTILE
Bihar, the land that has inculcated traditional
old values to the core, is noted for its hand
woven textiles in the field of costume.
Particularly, the rustic crowd of Bihar adheres
to the traditional pattern of dresses and
jewellery. Though most of the population of
the state still remains in rural areas the
costumes worn by them are still traditional.
The clothes for the people of different
religions are a bit divergent. The senior male
citizens of Bihar, irrespective of Hindu or
Muslim, favour tradition, when it comes to
costumes. If a Hindu elderly person prefers
Dhoti, a Muslim person might dress himself in
Lungi or Pyjama. As an upper garment, men
usually go for Kurta, and shirts.

7. MEN
the men resort to attractive apparels for
ceremonies, festivals and social gatherings.
Kurtas, Churidar, Pyjamas and Sherwani are
the ideal costumes, chosen for such special
occasions, where accurate attitude owes a
lot to an impressive dressing style. The
Muslims, Sikhs, and Christian males are
habituated in luxuriating in the fragrance of
perfumes and "attar" on an every day basis.
It is interesting to note that men of Bihar
inhabit a penchant for ornaments. They
decorate themselves with bala or bali
(bangles) in Shahabads, Kanausi in Patna
and Gaya. Again Gowalas (the milkmen)
flaunt themselves in Kundals (earrings).
However, malas or bead necklaces are on
the rise these days, than, the other
ornaments.

8. WOMEN
The costume of the women folk of Bihar is chosen
carefully in keeping with tradition. As per tradition,
married women, smear the hair- parting zone with
powder of Sindoor or vermillion. Tikli, a forehead-
adorning little ornament is added to the hair-partitioning
area. On the forehead, a Bihari married woman, be she
an urban or a rural one, usually applies bindi. A lot of
Bihari women,
love applying Kajal i.e. eye-pencil, or antimony eye-
make-up called Surma, to improve the appeal of their
eyes. They also indulge in flattering their senses with
soothing aromatic oils that leave them perfumed, and
refreshed, in the mind and body. Tattoo-paintings are
broadly prevalent among Bihari women. They give
detailed attention to their hands, and beautify them with
Mehendi-designs (a kind of tattooing, done with colors
fetched from herbal product like, amla or shikakai).

9. ORNAMENTS AND ACCESSORIES
Ornaments with elaborate designs and extravagant look, such as Chandrahar, Tilri,
Panchlari, Satlari, and Sikri are the common accessories, accompanying a woman in
Bihar. Indeed, the plethora of accessories, replicate upon the craze for jewellery and
ornaments. Women's passions for jewellery are not restricted to necklaces only. They
buy and wear myriad ornaments for arms, wrists and fingers. The most popular are
bangles, rings, for hands and the anklets (worn around ankles). Beauty-consciousness
is an inherent characteristic of feminine nature. And in this respect, even the tribal
women of Bihar, are not lagging behind. Even the men participate in these regular
grooming-sessions. Tribal people, inclusive of both men and women, wrap a thin strip of
cloth round the waist. By rule, they maintain two pieces, of cloth, one for home-use and
the other for going out. Their men are accustomed to wearing Dhotis, whereas women
attire themselves in sarees.
Drawing tattoo on the forehead, arms and legs is very much in vogue among tribal
population. This is especially in harmony with their belief in magic. To sum up, simplicity
is the mantra which provides an aura of elegance to the costume of this tribal elegance
of Bihar. The costumes of Bihar, thus exhibit the richness, refinement and immeasurable
worth of a heritage that remains ever-glorious, even in the face of changing times.

11. SUJANI EMBROIDERY OF BIHAR
• Sujani is most popular form of conventional
art and craft prevailing in Bihar.
• It is a traditional quilt made in the rural
areas
of that state.
• Created with the simplest of stitches, with
readily available fabrics and at times with
well-worn pieces of clothes.
• The Sujani works are generally crafted by
women in their free time at home.
• Today, the presence of various Craft
Councils, NGOs, designers, the craft has
traveled beyond the region of its birth to
urban markets in India and abroad.

12. • Traditionally, at the time of child birth,
patches of different colored cloth from
old saris and dhotis were sewn together
with a simple running stitch to make a
quilt called Sujani.
• Three or four sections of saris or dhotis
were laid on top of each other and
quilted with the thread that was
unpicked from the used garments.
• The stitch filling of the motifs was done
with a simple running stitch and the
outline of the motif was usually done
with a chain stitch in dark color.
• The quilt design depicts the mother’s
intentions and dreams for her new born.
CONCEPT OF SUJANI

13. THEME OF THE CRAFT
• Women stitch their experience, sorrows
and their realities on the Sujani,
transforming
dull 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. Thus, each Sujani
becomes testament of personal trials or of
social change.

14. MOTIFS

15. SYMBOLISM
• This Sujani technique of sewing together layered pieces of old cloth is
deeply rooted in two ancient beliefs.
• First, cloth bound together by Sujani served a ritual function – it invoked
the presence of a deity, Chitiriya Ma, the Lady of the Tatters and stitching
together these disparate pieces symbolically embodied the holistic Indian
concept that all parts belong to the whole and must return to it.
• The second purpose of stitching pieces of old cloth together was to wrap
the newborn;
• to allow it to be enveloped in a soft embrace, resembling that of its mother.
• In fact, the word Sujani itself reflects this principle – ‘su’ means easy and
facilitating, while ‘jani’ means birth.
• Sun and cloud motifs signifying life-giving forces, fertility symbols, sacred
animals, fantastic winged creatures for protection against destructive
forces, and other motifs to attract blessings from the gods.
• Different coloured threads were also symbolically used, such as red,
signifying blood, a life force, and yellow for the sun.

16. PROCESS
The tracing sheet having
the design on it.
Dipping the rough cloth in
kerosene and neel solution.
Then, wiping it on the tracing
sheet which is placed on the
fabric.
Placing the tracing
sheet on the fabric.
Wiping with solution. The
liquid flows through the
perforated tracing sheet.
Tracing done
Artisan traced the design on
the fabricTraced Pattern

18. ABOUT THE EMBROIDERY
Chain stitch :
This stitch appears like a chain
on the face of the fabric. It is
worked from top down. It is
used for heavy outlines. Filling
of motifs can be done as well.
But here, in Sujani, filling is
done by running stitch.
Running stitch :
The stitch is worked through by
passing a needle in and out of
the fabric. Running stitches
may be of varying length, but
typically more thread is visible
on the top of the sewing than
on the underside

19. BHAGALPURI SILK SAREES
Bhagalpur is a small town situated on the banks of the
river Ganga. The speciality of this town is the special
silk fabric known as tusser silk or Bhagalpuri silk. The
silk produced in this town is exported globally.
Bhagalpur is also known as the silk city.
Bhagalpuri silk sarees are loved by women of all age
groups in India and other parts of the world. You may
be wondering why Bhagalpuri silk is always under the
spotlight.
Approximately 200 years ago, Bhagalpur was filled with
a lot of skilled craftsmen who specialised in weaving a
special kind of silk which was later introduced as
Bhagalpuri silk.

20. The dying technique of a Bhagalpuri silk saree is
what sets them apart from the regular art silk
sarees available in India. The popularity of
Bhagalpuri is not just confined within our country.
As per a popular online shopping portal,
Bhagalpuri Silk is talked about in some countries
of Europe, Japan, US, UK and France.
Bhagalpur boasts of over 35000 weavers with
25000 looms and has a total business of 100
crores per annum. Around 1 lac people are
involved in the process of separating silk from the
cocoons.
Renowned fashion designers from India are also
incorporating the usage of Bhagalpuri silk in their
latest collection.

22. THANK YOU