Textile Travels

Leheriya cloth from Udaipur, Rajasthan, India, 1980. Leheriya cloth from Udaipur, Rajasthan, India, 1980. TRC 2022.2119
Published in Textile Travels

6. Leheriya cloths from Rajasthan, India

Leheria is a type of colourful, diagonally striped textile from Rajasthan, western India, that is particularly associated with the cities of Jaipur, Jodhpur, Nathdwara and Udaipur. The world leheria (laharia, leheriya) is Rajasthani and means ‘wave’ and refers to a form of resist dyeing associated with fine, open weave cotton or silk materials such as chiffon, georgette and cheese cloth.

Sketch of the rolling-up of a leheriya cloth.Sketch of the rolling-up of a leheriya cloth.More specifically it is a type of tie-and-dye cloth in which a length of material is folded in a concertina-manner diagonally from one corner of the cloth to the opposite corner. Prior to dyeing, the roll is bound at regular intervals with a thick, cotton thread that prevents the dye to reach the cloth under the thread. The cloth is bound and unbound, and dyed each time. The process is repeated according to the range and number of coloured stripes required. The dyeing process goes from light to dark colours, so it may start off with a white ground, be tied and dyed yellow, then green, and red before ending with dark blue.

Turban cloth made from letheriya/mothra material, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, 1980 (2022.2122).Turban cloth made from letheriya/mothra material, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, 1980 (2022.2122).A ‘good’ piece of leheria will include five or more distinct colours, which are used to create a series of geometric patterns based upon diagonal lines of varying widths. Leheria is traditionally sold still rolled up with only a small section of the cloth unrolled, so a customer could see the final pattern.

Mothra

A variation of leheria is called mothra (mothara) and is decorated with a small checked pattern with diagonal lines in two directions. The mothra effect is created by rolling the cloth in one direction, binding it and then dyeing it. The cloth is then un-rolled, re-rolled in the opposite diagonal direction, re-bound and then dyed again. In the centre of each square where the diagonal lines cross is a little undyed spot. The little square has the size of a moth bean (vigna aconitifolia), called a moth in Hindi, hence the name of mothra.

Cloth from Nigeria with the depictions of Leheriya cloths (TRC 2022.2322).Cloth from Nigeria with the depictions of Leheriya cloths (TRC 2022.2322).

The long roll created during the leheria process is depicted on a Nigerian printed textile that was bought in the late 20th century, and now in the TRC Collection. The cloth has a selvedge text that states: VERITABLE REAL WAX 2181, imitating the texts on Vlisco labels from the Netherlands. The cloth may have been printed in Nigeria itself or possibly in India for the export trade with West Africa, but it belongs within the tradition of the Wax Hollandais cloth started by Vlisco.

See also a TRC blog: Colourful Leheriya resist-dyed cloth from Rajasthan, India.

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