Cultural Heritage
CRAFTS AND CULTURES OF KUTCH : Kutch is a district known for its handicrafts. It is almost synonymous with its rich variety of embroideries with different communities dwelling in the district, like the Ahirs, Rabaris, Jats, Mutwas, Meghwars, Sodha Rajputs,etc and their sub-groups, specialising in their own styles and motifs.
As mentioned earlier, other handicrafts too thrive in Kutch like weaving on traditional looms, rogan-painting that is only practiced by a few remaining artisans, block printing, appliqué-work and bandhani (tie-and-dye). Besides textiles, Kutch is also known for its metal work (copper bell making),Wood (wood carving),and terra-cotta work.
A special feature of crafts of Kutch is that they are very much a living tradition. Artisans of the Banni region, especially women decorate the mud walls of their homes with relief patterns and murals inlaid with mirrors. Embroidery in Kutch is also done for personal traditional clothes and for a girl’s trousseau, for camel caparisons, for door-hangings called torans and other domestic consumption. The other crafts too are part of the lifestyle of the dwellers of the villages of Kutch.