Silk and Weavers of Silk in Medieval Peninsular India

This article proposes to review the culture of silk in medieval Peninsular India through the prism of the everyday lives of the silk weaving communities. It looks at silk in the medieval Indian imagination, the traditional weaving castes and their historical location as well as aspects of migration. Beginning with the humble weavers, the article will seek to encompass the broader issues of production and trade in silks. The survey stops at the threshold of the coming of the East India Companies and carries a post-script referring briefly to the colonial dominance over silk production and the weavers of silk, many of whom became a part of the colonial Black Towns.