(R.SQUARE):HISTORY OF MUSLIN

Muslin is a finely woven cotton fabric that is produced in a wide range of weights from delicate sheers to dense sheets. It got its name from the city of Mosul in Iraq, which the Europeans believed to be its source, yet its source is now found further east, especially in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

                                     A woman in fine Bengali muslin; Dhaka, 18th-century

Muslin began its journey more than 400 years ago. Muslin made from ancient Bengal (West Bengal, India) was spread and exported to China.

America, Holland, Germany, Egypt, Italy, markets in various European countries, etc. on the Erythrina Sea Periplus described that Arab and Greek merchant traded between India and the Red Sea (now Eritrea) between Egypt and the adult port of Ethiopia.

At that time, a muslin would be exchanged for ivory, tortoiseshell, and rhinoceros-horn.

The Romans called muslin highly valuable and used gold bullets and coins to buy these things from South India. Muslin was introduced to Europe and eventually, it became very popular. The clarity and clarity of the fabric have been mentioned in various ancient writings.

Roman spouses basically experienced passionate feelings for muslin fabrics. Pliny the Elder, an essayist from old Rome, even "whined" that the roman ladies continued flaunting the lines and bends of their bodies at any rate while clad in the slim inclusion of muslin fabrics.

Scientists like Wood and others note, the muslin from the then Dacca procured exceptional consideration in antiquated Egyptian and Babylonian social orders. As indicated by Wilford, a Babylonian shopping list particularly referenced the muslin from Dacca. With respect to the antiquated Egyptians, muslin was utilized as an extravagance. It is even said that the Egyptian royals, embalmed inside the completion time of the Royal families, around 1462 BC were discovered covered with muslin and hued in indigo from Bengal.

ORIGIN OF THE WORD “MUSLIN”

The earliest Muslin was known as Mulmul or Malmal which is an antiquated variety of Muslin. It was a handwoven fabric made with the finest handspun yarns. There were muslin qualities with 2425 thread count, which are questionable even with advanced technology. Some notable qualities of the Muslin were Mulmul Khas or King's muslin, Eksuti malmal, and Alibal malmals, etc. The yarn count, weights and textures, thread count, origin, and particular use were the main criteria to differentiate them from each other. Muslin then was one of the legendary cloths of East India. These were made with locally grown cotton "Phuti karpas" a species of cotton with the name Gossypium arboreum var. neglecta, The cotton was grown alongside the river banks of Brahmaputra. Some notable varieties were as following. Muslin from eastern parts of ancient India was praised in the international market as woven wind ' and ' wonder gossamer, ' earned a great price

It is not fully cleared of how the word “Muslin” came up. According to Wikipedia, it has been described in Hobson-Jobson, written by Henry Yule and Arthur Coke Burnell, that the word came from ‘Mosul’.

Mosul is a famous trading point in Iraq, where European traders are believed to have first encountered the cloth, but the cloth is native to Bengal. Mosul also said that similar fabrics were made, but not as good as muslin. The British associated the fineness of the fabric with the word "Mosul" and called it "muslin". In the history of Bengal, muslin is directly referred to as the fine garment produced in Dhaka and some surrounding areas.

The process of manufacturing

Since all the processes were manual, the production involved many artisans in spinning and weaving activities, but the protagonist is the material and the julhas.

In ginning: A boalee (upper jaw of the catfish) was used to remove debris and clean it and to scrape the fibers and keep them parallel ready for spinning.

Spinning and weaving: For high humidity, they weave in the rainy season to give elasticity to the threads and prevent breakage. The process was so sluggish that it could take over five months to weave one piece of mulmul.

The muslins were initially made of cotton only. These were thin, transparent, sensitive, and plume light breathable textures. There could be 1000-1800 yarns in the twist and weighing 3.8 Ounces (for 1yard X10 yards). A few assortments of Muslin were slight to such an extent that they could even go through the gap of a woman finger-ring.

 In 1298 CE, Marco Polo depicted the material in his book The Travels. He said it was made in Mosul, Iraq. The sixteenth-century English voyager Ralph Fitch praised the muslin he saw in Sonargaon. During the seventeenth and eighteenth hundred years, Mughal Bengal arose as the preeminent muslin exporter on the planet, with Mughal Dhaka is the capital of the overall muslin exchange. It turned out to be profoundly mainstream in eighteenth-century France and at the end spread across a significant part of the Western world.

TYPES OF MUSLIN

Different types of muslin spread out their name and fame as a sign of luxury, differing in appearance and usage. Such as-

Mal-Bush Khash: This fine muslin was the designated fabric for the emperor and his family and was specially made for his use. The name means "real fabric". By the end of the eighteenth century, a similar but better-quality muslin would be prepared. This cloth was called "Mal-Mal

Khash". These fabrics will be 10 gauge long, 1 gauge wide, and weigh about 75 to 88 grams. These slide easily through the finger rings. These were the most exported muslin.

Jhuna: Jhuna was another type of chiffon-like muslin and highly preferred by dancers. According to James Taylor, the word Jhuna comes from the Hindi word "Jhina" means "thin". With a lower thread count (thread count refers to the number of horizontal and vertical threads per square inch), it is much more transparent, like more yards. Each piece will be approximately 20 gauge long, 1 gauge wide, and weigh only 250 grams. These were banned from export and would be sent to Mughal courts. The princess and the members of the harem are in the summer.

Abarwan: Abarwan comes from two Persian words meaning "water" and "flow". This type of muslin was extremely fragile and thin and was therefore compared to flat water. It will be "jhuna", 20-gauge length, 1-gauge width, and weigh only 250 grams.

Khasa: Khasa is a Persian word meaning very fine and thin muslin. The fabric was plain and famous for thick weaving. Sonargaon was famous for making khasa muslin in the seventeenth century. Moreover, in the 18th and 19th centuries, "Jangalbari" was also famous for khasa, which was immediately called "jungle (jungle) khasa". The British would call it "Kusha"

Shubhanam: Shubhanam, meaning "morning dew", was such a fine muslin that if the cloth was kept on the grass to dry, you could hardly tell the difference between it or the dew. Shabnam weighs about 250 to 275 grams with Khasa-like measurements. The fabric will almost resemble the morning mist.

Nyansookh: This is a muslin named originally from Bengali words. It is said that this particular type of muslin brought “pleasure to the eye.” The famous book, Ain-e-Akbar mentions the use of Nyansookh.

The  cloth was famous for being a very thin fabric and was used as a neckerchief.

Buddun-khash: Budun means "body", while khush means "special". The meaning is self-explanatory.

This type of muslin was used to make cloth. It was made with a very delicate fabric, although it did not have this similar texture. One-piece will be about 24 gauges long, 1.5 gauges wide and weigh about 375 grams.

Surbund: The word Surbund comes from Farsi words ‘sur’ and ‘bund’ meaning “head” and “tie.” The ‘surbund’ was mainly used for head attire, i.e., turbans by the high-class employees. The company would export this muslin back to the home country. They were mostly used by the English as scarves.

Doors: Doria, derived from the word Dorakata was a type of striped muslin. It was done by twisting two or more threads on the loop and using three parts cotton and two parts silk. Doria was used to making clothes for both men and women, but mostly for making kids’ dresses.

Jamdani: Muslin that had woven themes was in every case regularly known as Jamdani. ' Jam' implied blossoms and 'Dani' implied a compartment in this manner framing a bloom container of sorts. During 1700, Sherwanis made with planned jamdani were a piece of customs. Other than this, jamdani would be utilized for the customary dress of Nepal, "Ranga". Various kinds of scarves, kurta, turbans, tissues, blinds would likewise be made utilizing Jamdani. Napoleon's better half, Joséphine had her room enriched with jamdani window ornaments. Jamdani had numerous incredible assortments and was consistently popular which made it very costly.

 

Today, jamdani is a greater number of garments woven from Karpas. As the enduring replacement of muslin, jamdani saree holds a unique spot among Bengali ladies. Previously, a muslin with the plan would be called jamdani; while now, we take jamdani as an alternate kind in sarees.

 

Other than these sorts, there were a few different kinds of muslin in Bengal. They incorporate Rongo, Aleballee, Toraddam, Tanzeb, Sarbuti, Charkona, etc. Tragically, similar to each other show-stopper, there have been endeavors to duplicate muslin also, which makes it harder to recognize a real muslin. Be that as it may, the historical backdrop of the muslin, lost around 200 years prior, still makes our hearts vacillate. This basic garment conveys the brilliant occasions alongside the conventions of old Bengal.

Extinction

Under British rule, the British East India Company could not compete with the local muslin by exporting its own to the Indian subcontinent. The colonial government was in favor of importing British textiles. Fabric The colonial authorities tried to suppress the culture of the local fabric. The production of muslin was greatly reduced and the knowledge of the fabric was almost wiped out. It is alleged that the weavers were arrested in some cases and their thumbs were cut off, although this has been refuted as a so-called misinterpretation of a 1772 report. The Bengali muslin industry was suppressed by various colonial policies. As a result, the quality of the muslin deteriorates and the taste of the fabric is lost. And British clothing grew in India.

AUTHOR-M.ZAMAN(RASEL).