Alka Mehra
Independent Researcher
India
Abstract
This manuscript investigates the centrality of textile production and trade in medieval South India (c. 1000–1500 CE), arguing that textiles constituted a dynamic and hitherto underappreciated economic engine that drove regional prosperity, craft specialization, and cross-cultural exchange. Drawing on a synthesis of epigraphic records, traveller accounts, archaeological findings, and a contemporary survey of 200 stakeholders—including handloom weavers, textile merchants, and historians—this study reconstructs the organization of weaving centres, the modalities of guild patronage, and the contours of Indian Ocean trade networks. It elucidates how South Indian cotton and silk textiles, renowned for their fine counts, innovative dyeing techniques (such as resist and mordant processes), and distinctive motifs, underpinned local livelihoods and sustained a vibrant export economy linking the Coromandel and Malabar coasts with ports in Arabia, East Africa, and Southeast Asia. The findings demonstrate that royal and temple patronage fostered guild monopolies that regulated quality and prices, while merchant communities managed long-distance caravan and maritime routes. Survey data reveal contemporary practitioners’ deep awareness of medieval craft lineages, even as public recognition of this heritage remains limited. The study concludes by advocating for integrated heritage initiatives—combining community-led weaving schools, digital reconstructions of trade routes, and enhanced museum displays—to revitalize medieval textile traditions and acknowledge their enduring socio-economic legacies.
Keywords
Medieval South India, Textiles, Indian Ocean Trade, Economic History, Craft Specialization
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