Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge Vol. 7(1), January 2008, pp. 70-73 Throw shuttle weaving of Ambasi panje (lungi) Jyoti V Vastrad 1* & Shailaja D Naik 2 Department of Textiles and Apparel Designing, College of Rural Home Science, UAS, Dharwad 580 005, Karnataka E-mail: profshailajanaik@yahoo.co.in; jyoti_vastrad@rediffmail.com Received 17 July 2007; revised 23 November 2007 Dhoti or the waistcloth of men is a scanty piece of cloth fastened round the waist, its ends being carried tightly between the two legs to the back and tucked. The dhoti or the lungi worn casually or as a daily wear gained its popularity when woven with a contrast border using traditional motifs. One among such traditionally produced made-ups is the contrast- bordered lungi, locally famous as Ambasi phadiki dhadi panje woven at the village, Lakkundi. The off-white lungi has contrast borders on either sides with rudraksha and chrysanthemum motifs and was woven on the throw shuttle pit loom during 1916 and even before. Weaving process of the same that gave rise to various contrast bordered made-ups is discussed here under. Key words: Traditional weaving, Pit loom weaving, Throw shuttle weaving, Lungi IPC Int. Cl. 8 : D01 Indian culture is older than history. Its beginnings take us back to immemorial antiquity and introduce us to the golden age of civilization, the ruins of which have been unearthed at Harappa and Mohenjo Daro in Sindh. From the excavations in these buried towns, the people who dwelt in the Indus Valley more than four thousand years ago, wore a robe with or without embroidery over the shoulder and under the right arm, extending well below the knees. Another skirt like garment was secured around the waist by a running cord and either in the form of bruches or alternately a close clinging dhoti. The dhoti or the waistcloth of men is a scanty piece of cloth fastened round the waist, its ends being carried tightly between the two legs to the back and tucked. In the developed form it is much fuller and more dignified attire. Similarly lungi is a yardage of cloth with broad checked borders worn by Mohammedans in Bengal and Punjab. Hindus wrapped it round the waist with one end gathered in the front and tucked at the waist. The dhoti or the lungi worn casually or as a daily wear gained its popularity when woven with a contrast border using traditional motifs. One among such traditionally produced made-ups is the contrast bordered lungi, locally famous as Ambasi phadiki dhadi panje (Fig.1), woven at the village, Lakkundi 1-3 . Lakkundi located at about 12 km to South-East of Gadag, is a place of antiquarian interest with as many as fifty temples and 29 inscriptions, spread over the period of the later Chalukyas Kalachuries, Seunas and the Hoysalas. Lakkundi has the pride of capitalship during the period of Hoysalas. Lakkundi was also called as Lokkigundi, derived from two different words of Kannada literature. Lokki, denotes plant of a particular species that was abundantly available in Gundi, a lowland area / place. Lakkundi was also famous as Lohakhandpura. Lakkundi is a place of complex temples with beautiful architecture. History records the existences of 101 temples of Chalukyan art and 101 steep wells artistically built with small- canopied niches inside the walls of the wells enshrining lingas. The place is also known by the famous Danachintamani Attimabbe. She sanctified every niche and corner of the place and was a patronage for Kannada literature. The inscriptions of the Kalyana Chalukyan King Irive Bedanga, narrates in two stanzas of Ajithanatha Purana the details of the donations and constructions made by Attimabbe. An inscription also mentioned about the then existing Mulasangha Devange sect of Jain saints, whose descendants formed a dominating portion of the weaving community in Karnataka. With an approximate population of 12,000, Lakkundi at present has seven Jain Basdis, ten Shaiva, three Vaishnava, six Veerashaiva temples and a mosque. —————— *Corresponding author