History of Muslin fabric | Types of Muslin fabric

 

History of Muslin fabric

Muslin is a brand name in pre-colonial Bengal textiles, especially of Dhaka descent. Muslin is made with locally produced cotton by local experts in Dhaka city and some nearby stations and Dhaka has gained a worldwide reputation as a muslin. The origin of the word muslin is obscure; some say the term originated in Mosul, an old trading center in Iraq, while others believe that muslin was associated with Musulipattam, the headquarters of the European Business Organization in southern India.

Muslin is not a Persian word, neither Sanskrit nor Bengali, so most likely the name Muslin was given by the Europeans to cotton cloth imported from Mosul and from other eastern countries through Mosul, and when they saw the fine cotton product of Dhaka, they gave the same name to Dhaka cloth. The name given to the muslin by the Europeans is slightly doubtful because not only Dhaka cotton cloth but also the cotton products imported by the Europeans from other parts of India like Gujarat, Golconda, etc. were called muslin.

Their main settlement was near Hughli, on the banks of the river Bhagiratha; The Dutch settled in Chinsura, the Portuguese in Hughli, the English first settled in Hughli but later moved to Calcutta and the French settled in Chandernagar. The Ostend Company came in the early 18th century. They procured Dhaka muslin through brokers, wholesalers, and their own officials. When they found their muslin exports very lucrative, they settled in Dhaka. At the beginning of the 17th century and of course in the middle of that century, Portuguese trade declined. The Dutch set up their factories in Dhaka in 1663, the English in 1669, and the French in 1682.

In the past, Europe received muslin through Iranian and Armenian merchants, but the arrival of European companies and their settlement in Bengal greatly increased the export of Dhaka muslin. The volume of export trade of European companies increased every year, so much so that they had to set up settlements and factories in Dhaka to increase the volume of trade. European companies did not have a local market for imports, so companies imported hard cash, and bullion, to meet the growing demand in Bengal and Dhaka in particular. The available estimates show that in 1747 Dhaka exported cotton goods, of which the material purchased for the emperor, nawab, etc. was valued at rupees twenty-eight lakh and a half.

Dhaka's muslin industry declined after the Battle of Palashi, in 1757; by the end of the 18th century, Dhaka muslin exports had come down to about half of 1747 and by the middle of the 19th century its value was less than one million rupees. Dhaka Muslin fell due to the loss of patronage of Mughal emperors, nawabs, and other high-ranking officials. The Mughals not only lost their power and prestige but also their ability to buy and spend. After the Battle of Palashi, with the establishment of the East India Company's monopoly on Bengal trade, the business of other European companies and merchants of other citizens was virtually shut down. But the most important reason for the decline and final extinction of the muslin industry was the Industrial Revolution in England, which ushered in modern inventions in production. Expensive covered cotton products, especially muslin, are lost in competition with cheap industrial products in England.

Types of Muslin fabric

There are different types of Muslin fabric as below-

Mal-Bush Khash: This delicate muslin was the designated fabric for the emperor and his family and was specially made for their use. The name means "real cloth". By the end of the 18th century, similar quality muslin would have been produced. The name of this cloth was "Mal-Mal Khash". These fabrics will be 10 yards long, 1 yard wide, and weigh about 75 to 88 grams. These can easily slip through the finger rings. These were mostly exported muslin.

Jhuna: Jhuna was another type of muslin that was like a yard and was highly preferred by the dancers. According to James Taylor, the word Jhuna comes from the Hindi word "Jhina" which means "thin". With a low number of threads, it was extremely transparent, rather like a yard. Each piece will be about 20 gauges long, 1 gauge wide, and will weigh only 250 grams. These were banned from export and would be sent to Mughal courts. The prince and the harem members used it in the summer. Also, the dancers loved to wear Jhuna while performing.

Abrawan: Abrawan comes from two Persian words meaning "water" and "flow". This type of muslin was extremely fine and thin and was thus compared to flowing water. Its size and weight is close to that of "Jhuna", the length will be 20 yards, the width of 1 yard, and the weight will be only 250 grams.

Khasa: Khasa is a Persian word meaning very fine and thin muslin. The fabric was simple and famous for its thick weave. Around the seventeenth century, Sonargaon was famous for making khassar muslin. Apart from that, during the 18th and 19th centuries, "Jangalbari" was also famous for khassa, which was then called "jungle khasa" and the British called it "Kusha".

Shubnam: Shubnam which means ‘morning dew’ was so delicate muslin that if the cloth was placed on the grass to dry, no one could distinguish between it and the dew. Shabnam weighs about 250 to 275 grams with similar measurements of Khassa. The cloth looked almost like the morning mist.

Nyansookh: It is a muslin that originally came from the Bengali word. It is said that this particular type of muslin brought pleasure to the eye. The famous book, Ain-e-Akbare mentions the use of Nyansookh. The cloth was famous for being a very thin cloth and it was used as a neckcloth.

Baddun-khash: Buddun means body and khash mean special. The type of meaning explains itself. This type of muslin was used to make cloth. It was a very fine fabric although it was not textured very closely. A piece of it would be about 24 yards long, 1.5 yards wide, and weigh about 375 grams.

Surbund: The word Surbund comes from the Persian words ‘sur’ and ‘bund’ which means “head” and “tie”. ‘Surbund’ was mainly used for headgear, such as turbans for upper-class employees. The company will repatriate this muslin. These were mostly used by the English as scarves.

Dooria: Doria was a type of striped muslin derived from the word Dorakata. This was done by twisting two or more threads in a loop and using three parts cotton and two parts silk. Dooria was used to make clothes for both men and women, but mostly for children's clothing.

Jamdani: Muslin with woven motifs has always been known as Jamdani. 'Jam' means flower and 'dani' means a container that makes a flower vase. During the 1700s, sherwanis made with designed jamdani were part of the tradition. Apart from this, Jamdani will be used in the traditional dress of Nepal "Ranga". Different types of scarves, kurtas, turbans, handkerchiefs, and curtains were also made using jamdani. Napoleon's wife, Josephine, decorated her bedroom with jamdani curtains. There were many large varieties of jamdani and there was always a demand which made it extremely expensive.