Mashru (also historically spelled mashroo, misru, mushroo or mushru) is a woven cloth that is a

blend A blend is a mixture of two or more different things or substances; e.g., a product of a mixer or blender. Blend Blend may also refer to: * Blend word, a word formed from parts of other words * ''Blend'' (album), a 1996 album by BoDeans * ...

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

and

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

. It was historically a hand-woven

satin A satin weave is a type of fabric weave that produces a characteristically glossy, smooth or lustrous material, typically with a glossy top surface and a dull back. It is one of three fundamental types of textile weaves alongside plain weave ...

silk fabric variety found in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

, and its proper use is described in the 16th-century ''

Ain-i-Akbari The ''Ain-i-Akbari'' ( fa, ) or the "Administration of Akbar", is a 16th-century detailed document recording the administration of the Mughal Empire under Emperor Akbar, written by his court historian, Abu'l Fazl in the Persian language. It for ...

''.

History

Mashru is explicitly mentioned in the administrative document, the ''Ain-i-Akbari'', of the 16th-century

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

, under silken kinds of stuff: "... the ordinary orthodox Muslim was only anxious to wear clothes of simple material like linen and to avoid silk, velvet, brocade, or fur and coloured ... Mashru." Mixed silk-and-cotton textiles were worn, because, by canon, a Muslim must not wear a dress of pure silk.61 ''Ain-i-Akbari'', Blochmann, I, 89". Se
''A Social History of Islamic India''
Yasin, Mohammad; via: books.google.co.in; (1958); p. 39 Varieties containing silk and cotton admixtures gained greater currency in the empire, more particularly after the issuance of the ''Ain-i-Akbari''.''Indian Journal of History of Science''
Volumes 17-18; p. 120 During the

Mughal period The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

, Mashru was used for the

costume Costume is the distinctive style of dress or cosmetic of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, profession, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch. In short costume is a cultural visual of the people. The term also was tradition ...

s of

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the official r ...

s and nobles. Mashru is presumed to be an Indian innovation.

Etymology

The word ''mashru'' means 'permitted', derived from ''mashry'' in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

, and ''misry'' (or ''misru'') refers to a mixture in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

. In India, Mashru is also known under such names as bandha, patolu, telia rumal, chitki, or simply tie. These names generally mean 'permitted', but it is also related to the Sanskrit word misru, meaning 'mixed'.

Texture and types

Production and texture

Mashru has been primarily produced in

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

, and western parts of India. It is a double-layered material with a thick cotton base and covered with an almost single stranded silken warp and woof. Mashru is a stout, silken,

warp Warp, warped or warping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books and comics * WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher * ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!'' * Warp (comics), a ...

-faced fabric textile with a

variegated Variegation is the appearance of differently coloured zones in the leaves and sometimes the stems and fruit of plants. Species with variegated individuals are sometimes found in the understory of tropical rainforests, and this habitat is the s ...

pattern. In its weaving, the loom brings the cotton yarn down and the silk fibers up. This produces a cloth that exhibits a silk face and cotton backing. Hence it was a mix of silk and cotton, although with a satin finish. The result is a thick and heavy cloth with less lustrous and feminine-like pure silk.

Types

Mashru with silk face and cotton inside was useful for various dresses and household items. Indigenous mashru was famous for its strength and aesthetics. "All 'Mushroos' wash well, especially the finer kinds..." There are varieties of mashru clothes, including gulbadan and sufi. Superior kinds of material are categorized as mashru; and lower quality are called sangi. Mashru is less expensive than pure silk.

Religious admonition

The wearing of pure silk, particularly next to the skin, was widely held to be an impious luxury for good Muslims. "Pure silk is not allowed to men, but women may wear the most sumptuous silk fabrics" Unlike pure silk, the

was lawful. Hence, it was an acceptable and popular type of cloth among Muslim men in northern India and Pakistan. A similar type of cloth called ''kutnu'' was found in the

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

. "The ikat velvet pieces which have been located so far and can be identified as Indian are similar in style to the mashru being woven in western India ... for the basic foundation and this may have been prepared specially for the conservative Muslim who did not use silk thread. 19 ''Ain-i-Akbari'' also mentions that Akbar received textiles signed by Giyatyad - Din Ali Naqshband.

References

{{Punjab, Pakistan Silk Cotton Woven fabrics Textile arts of India Textile arts of Pakistan