Screw Pine Craft Screw Pine/Thazhapaya Mats of Kerala

Art history/ Historiography, Crafts, Handlooms, Art, Craftspersons/ Artisanal

Screw Pine Craft Screw Pine/Thazhapaya Mats of Kerala

George, Ligi

One of the oldest cottage crafts of Kerala, the thazhapaya /screw pine mat is a product of daily use. Over 800 years old, this craft is practiced by women in their homes. The plant which grows locally along the banks of the rivers and streams of the region and is used after processing to create products of daily use. The fleshy green plant is peeled into thin strips that are dried in the sun and then diagonally plaited to create thazhapaya mats. When the leaves have been cleaned and split but are still green and moist they are wound into a tharamadi, or wheel, in the direction opposite to that of the spine of the leaf. The wheel is later opened and rewound in the opposite direction; this procedure is followed to ensure that on drying, the leaves are flat instead of curving in a specific direction. The quality of the paya is determined by the size of the strips and the closeness of the weaves achieved. Processed leaves are woven, hand embroidered and shaped to make bed mats, carry bags, table mats, boxes, purses, tea coasters, prayer mats, fishing nets, cordage, paintbrushes, Hut coverings, etc. The craftsmen have extended their skills to the making hand bags for ladies; these may be further embellished with carefully detailed embroidery. The two ply screw pine mat is used for sleeping on; it has a coarse base and a fine upper layer and is stitched at edge with a dyed strip of screw pine. The finest mats are made of very thin leaf splits, with about 22 splits per inch. The mettapaya, a recent variation of the thazhapaya, is coloured red and is made of two layers that ar...
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