Khandua Ikat Weaving

Motifs dyed into the yarn before a single thread is woven — the feather-edged silks of Jagannath.

The tie-dye ('bandha') silk ikat of Nuapatna and Maniabandha in Odisha, in which warp and weft yarns are resist-dyed before weaving so that soft-edged motifs — conch, lotus, elephant, dancing figures, and lines of temple architecture — emerge as the cloth is woven. The sacred version, Khandua pata, is woven for the deities of the Jagannath temple at Puri.

Nuapatna, Odisha

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Craft at a Glance

Origin

Nuapatna, Odisha

Craft Type

Resist-dyed (ikat) silk handloom

Materials

Mulberry silk (or cotton for everyday cloth); acid and natural dyes; cotton wrapping thread for the resist; a graph pattern; a pit or frame loom.

Known For

Bandha tie-dye, Gita Govinda text cloths, phoda kumbha temple borders, Jagannath ritual pata

Time to Create

Two to six weeks including the tie-dyeing, depending on the number of colours and motifs

Process Steps

Graphing the design

The motif is plotted on graph paper so the dyers know exactly where each colour must fall along the yarn.

Tying the resist

Bundles of yarn are wrapped tightly with thread at the marked points to keep dye out.

Dyeing in stages

The yarn is dyed colour by colour, ties added and removed between baths to build the full palette.

Aligning and weaving

The patterned yarn is mounted so the dyed segments line up, and the cloth is woven, the weaver nudging threads to keep motifs true.

Graphing the design

The motif is plotted on graph paper so the dyers know exactly where each colour must fall along the yarn.

Tying the resist

Bundles of yarn are wrapped tightly with thread at the marked points to keep dye out.

Dyeing in stages

The yarn is dyed colour by colour, ties added and removed between baths to build the full palette.

Aligning and weaving

The patterned yarn is mounted so the dyed segments line up, and the cloth is woven, the weaver nudging threads to keep motifs true.

Technique Glossary

Bandha

The Odia term for ikat — tie-dyeing yarn before weaving so the pattern is in the thread itself.

Phoda kumbha

The stepped 'temple spire' border motif characteristic of Odisha ikat.

Khandua pata

The ritual silk cloth of Nuapatna woven for the Jagannath deities and for religious use.

A Craft Through Time

Medieval

Bandha and the temple

Nuapatna weaves tie-dyed silk for the Jagannath cult at Puri, including cloths inscribed with the Gita Govinda.

Traditional

The Bhulia weavers

The Bhulia community sustains bandha weaving across the Cuttack region for ritual and everyday cloth.

20th century

Odisha ikat's fame

Sambalpuri and Nuapatna ikats gain a national market; Khandua saris become widely sought.

2010

Geographical Indication

Khandua Saree and Fabrics is registered as a GI of Odisha.