Elements
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Manage No, Sortation, Country, Writer ,Date, Copyright Manage No EE00000051 Country Bangladesh ICH Domain Oral traditions and representations Knowledge and practices about nature and the universe Traditional craft skills Address The traditional weaving of Shital Pati originated in the Sylhet region of Bangladesh and remains concentrated there to date. The region characterized by river valleys and low-lying marshy land offers a natural habitat for Murta, the basic raw material for Shital Pati. However, there are pockets of Shital Pati weavers in many other areas of the country too. Administratively, Sylhet is one of the eight Divisions of Bangladesh comprising four districts, namely Habiganj, Moulavibazar, Sunamganj and Sylhet. Shital Pati weaving takes place in all these four districts while Balaganj of Sylhet district is highly reputed for high quality Shital Pati. Although Murta is the best, Shital Pati can be made from bamboo, hogla, reed and palm leaves as well. Cultivation Murta as well as natural growth of the same in swampy lands of Chittagong, Cox’s Bazaar, Noakhali, Lakshmipur, Feni, Barisal, Jhalakathi, Patuakhali, Comilla, Dhaka, Faridpur, Tangail, Kishoreganj and Netrokona have generated pockets of Shital Pati weavers in these areas of Bangladesh.
| Description | Shital Pati is a handcrafted mat made by weaving strips of a green cane locally known as ‘Murta’ (Schumannianthus dichotomus) pre-dominantly in the north-eastern Sylhet region of Bangladesh. Shital Pati, literally meaning “cool mat”, earned its name from the cold comfort, which offers in the tropical weather of Bangladesh. Visually it is a flat and rectangular sheet which can be rolled up to put away. When spread on floor or bed, its upper surface appears glossy and smooth while the inner surface is rough. The people all over Bangladesh use it as ‘sitting mat’, bedspread or praying mat and size of Shital Pati varies accordingly. Its length normally varies from 2 and a half feet to 7 feet. The width may vary from 2 feet to 6 feet. It is not used as a floor-covering. Although made of flat, thin strips of green cane, its natural look is brown in finished form. The weaving pattern gives it a texture akin to jigsaw puzzle. Cane-strips may be dyed too. Also, the craftspeople known as 'patial' or 'patikaar' (meaning 'mat-maker') may weave cane strips in a way so as to create motifs of birds, animals, flowers and leaves or other symmetric patterns. |
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| Social and cultural significance | For the Shital Pati weavers, the craft represents the major source of livelihood as well as a sense of identity. Being primarily a family-based craft, transmitted from mothers to daughters and fathers to sons within the family, the united craftsmanship reinforces family bonding that extends across the patia or patikaar, the community. Women from the neighbouring families often join the weavers at their courtyards to see and appreciate the skills of weaving and designing of mats, thus creating a harmonious social atmosphere. There exists dozens of villages dedicated to the profession of Shital Pati making. The mastery at Shital Pati weaving commands a social prestige. Although it takes a long time (up to six months), production of fashionable Shital Pati with fine and intricate motifs and patterns fetches individual and family reputation. Women of the family who play a pivotal role in the process of Shital Pati making command respect within the family for their directly productive role in family earning. Traditionally made for sitting or lying, the use of good quality Shital Pati in the interior decoration industry is increasing. This has reinforced bonding between the rural and urban communities. The use of the ethnic motif of Shital Pati by top range fashion designers and book illustrators has enhanced the cultural value of the element. |
| Transmission method | The techniques of Shital Pati weaving are transmitted through the families of craftspeople, from mothers to daughters and fathers to sons, thereby ensuring continuity of the craft from generations to generations. The transmission takes place through non-formal apprenticeship by younger members of the family, by watching preparation of murta strands and weaving and decorating mats. In particular, weaving of motifs and patterns of Shital Pati is the most intricate part of the craft, which takes many years of apprenticeship for young girls, who would become master-weavers themselves in course of time. Shital Pati weaving typically takes place at the inner court yard of rural households where women from neighboring families often gather to watch and appreciate the weaving techniques. This openness of the practitioners of the element has contributed to the horizontal transmission of the knowledge and skills of Shital Pati weaving. The mastery of weaving Shital pati commands respect in the village and new families try to pick up the techniques. Their effort is bolstered by training offered by government and non-governmental organizations. Also, the sustained demand for Shital Pati encourages increasingly people irrespective of castes and religions to learn the techniques of Shital Pati weaving and to take up the crafts for a livelihood. |
| Community | The bearers and practitioners of the element are weavers of Shital Pati (cool mat) mostly living in low-lying villages in the greater Sylhet region of Bangladesh. However, there are pockets of Shital Pati weavers in many other areas of the country too, where there is natural growth of Murta, a slender bamboo like rhizomatous plant the stem of which constitues the basic raw material. All of them have inherited the skills of weaving Shital Pati from their ancestors. Traditionally, the craftsmanship of processing Murta cane and weaving Shital Pati with Murta shreds have been transmitted from generations to generations within the families. Both men and women of a family participate in collecting and processing of Murta with greater participation of women in the weaving of mat. Historically, the craftspeople, locally called 'Patial' or 'Patikar', meaning 'mat maker', came of low-cast Hindu families. With the gradual ebbing of the caste system, more people irrespective of caste and religion, came to take interests in the techniques and skills of weaving Shital pati. It is estimated that almost 4000 families in about 100 villages are directly involved in this craft. |
| Type of UNESCO List | Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity |
| Incribed year in UNESCO List | 2017 |