RYNDIA

- Written by Priyanka Marboh, Fifth Semester, Media Technologies, 2023

Umden Diwon the home of Eri silk has been declared as the first and the only official Eri Silk village on 12th February 2021 by the government of Meghalaya. Eri Silk, referred to as Ryndia locally, is a well-known traditional fabric woven by the people of Meghalaya. It is made from the domesticated silkworm. The name "Ryndia" comes from the "Rynda" castor leaves, which are the main source of nutrition for silkworms. Ryndia is a major cultural artefact that is passed down from mothers to daughters within families and is highly valued by the local tribes in Meghalaya. Handloom weaving and Eri culture are two important Meghalayan industries that are still thriving in Diwon. Generation after generation, the district's culture and legacy have been shaped by the craft of weaving using Eri silk. The procedure, which is only performed by women, entails spinning and weaving using handcrafted equipment like the Takli and other traditional implements. The complete value chain, which includes weaving, applying natural colours, and raising silkworms, is produced in the state. In Diwon, women are the only ones who actively cultivate and weave Eri Silk, so it is a family task that they perform alone.

Eri Silk is also known as the "Fabric of Peace" or "Peace Silk". This is because Diwon has been extracting silk for years using a non-violent manner that doesn't damage or kill the silkworms. This special kind of silk has a more substantial feel and feels a bit like wool. Due of its superior durability over other silk fabrics, ryndia is a cloth that has been passed down through generations in Meghalaya as an heirloom. The unique characteristic of Meghalayan woven Ryndia is its all-natural dyeing method, which employs plants and plant components like onion peels, turmeric, and plant-based mordants like Sohkhu and Soh tung. The only people who use these dyeing methods are the weavers in Ri-Bhoi, Meghalaya.

The process of making Ryndia:

The process begins with a butterfly, and several cocoons are stitched together so that the silkwarm can lay its eggs on top of the cocoon when it transforms into a butterfly. The butterfly emerges from the cocoon after two to three weeks, and four days later it begins to lay eggs on top of the cocoon or on castor leaves.

The eggs are collected and then stored for a week in paper. When the egg begins to turn black, it is time for it to become a warm. Warms are housed on castor leaves. Known locally as "thiah snep pylleng," they are fed castor leaves for three to four days, following which they sleep for one to two days. When they awaken, they change into white or yellow warmth, consume the castor leaves once more, and sleep for another four days. They sleep four times a day, which is referred to in Khasi as "thiah snep pylleng," "Stem tynmbom," "Ler lieh ktien," and "Ler kjat kmei" until they reach adulthood. When they grow into large warmth, it is the time to feed them properly, not less then thrice a day.

The caterpillar is maintained in castor leaves to build a cocoon after three days of vigorous eating. Following three days for the formation of a cocoon, the caterpillar is removed from the cocoon and placed in a "Pdung," or concave tray, for around two days. To get rid of the fibroin and sericin that hold the filament together, the cocoon is cooked in water for 45 to 60 minutes.

Individual cocoon are stretched or opened up in plain water into thin sheets. Each cocoon sheet id dipped in a small amount of cold water and tapped gently on the full surface to gey round shape fibre sheet. Single fibre sheet are dried in the shade to avoid damage.

The cocoon sheets are spun by hand using a traditional hand spinner called the takli.

They spun yarn in winded to a suitable size to form Eri silk skeins.

They yarn is dyed using natural ingredients like Nuli leaves, turmeric, Iac, Iron ore with three leaves and tree bark as mordants. Yarn is boiled with the dying agents to achieve a variety of colours. Dyed Eri yarn is dried in the sun for colour to seep into the yarn.

The dyed yarn gets converted into a linear thread from and wound on the bobbin to enable laying out of yarn lengths for weaving.

To lay out yarn lengths, yarn from bobbins go through warping a parallel arrangement and winding of wearp yarn form bobbin to the wrap beam.

The frame loom flying shuttle loom, the heald wire is the very important step which help to divide the yarn into two and give space to insert weft yarn and create the fabric. Some they wash the fabric after weaving some they don’t and dry them once done.

The production of the Ryndia fabric is also believe to be a practice that will preserve the culture of the Khasis.