Muslin Tour
On 8th February, 2016, during the Muslin Festival, a select group of textile experts, including Rosemary Crill and Sonia Ashmore from the V&A Museum, UK, were taken on a tour that started off from Dhaka. The group visited areas around Rupganj and Narayanganj, which were the homes of muslin weavers in the past and are the centres of current jamdani weaving. They witnessed the vital stages of muslin manufacture, including shanas (reeds) being made from bamboo, the fine yarn being processed and spun on the natai (spindles), and observed master weavers work on the loom, while sipping daab (green coconut) water.
The group lunched at the Kumudini center, Narayanganj, visited Sonargaon, the ancient capital city of the Bengal Sultanate (14-16th CE) and a significant textile center in the past, ending the tour with a look at the Folk Art & Craft Museum.
Sonia Ashmore, textile expert, in a ballroom at Sonargaon
Our local crafts being demonstrated to the group
The tour group on a boat near the weavers village
– Ralph Fitch (1550-1611), English merchant and traveller.