Shapaya Batik Weavers: The Forgotten Artisans of Pre‑Partition Dogra Villages

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In rural Jammu before 1947 were the Shapaya, Muslim artisan families skilled in the batik dyeing tradition, who lived alongside local weavers a craft that has all but vanished.



Origins & Craftsmanship

In rural Dogra villages, before the partition in 1947, there once thrived modest batik dyeing traditions served by Shapaya weaver families mostly Muslim artisans living side by side with Dogra communities. Their craft involved resist batik, These Shapaya families practiced resist-dye batik, using wax to create designs before dyeing cloth most often on local cotton.
Brought into Jammu to work after cotton harvests, they temporarily set up dyeing hubs/industry in villages accustomed to handloom culture.



A story of a Women from the weaver family

In village Bhaddu before partition, a Shapaya woman a Muslim artisan skilled in batik dyeing worked beside her Dogra neighbors as seasons passed. Every harvest, she set up her dye pit behind the courtyard, transforming cotton into vibrant cloth for weddings and rituals. She laughed and shared meals with the women, her hands stained with wax and color. When 1947 upheaval came, her family left, but her youngest son stayed, tending fields with the Dutt family until his twilight years. Decades later, a taxi driver in New York turned out to be her grandson still unknowingly linked to those old dye rituals and shared stories.


Why This Matters

Cultural loss: An indigenous Batik tradition tailored to Jammu’s rural aesthetics has virtually disappeared.

Communal Heritage: These families were bridge between Hindus and Muslims communities, unified by craft.

How We Can Revive This Memory

•Oral Interviews with elders of villages such as Bhaddu or others where shapaya families once lived.
•Textile study of any remaining batik prices
•Exhibition where the Batik work could be shown 
•Making documentaries 


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