In 2012, Active Travel asked me to design a tour to Sri Lanka, the country of my birth, with a focus on the variety of textiles practised there. These include hand loom weaving, mat weaving, embroidery, batik and lacemaking, and although the traditional crafts have waxed and waned under the influence of successive rulers, the mid 20th C. has seen an exciting resurgence of innovative textile production inspired by both local and International designers.
Sri Lanka’s textile history goes back to recordings of splendid garments being worn by its King Ravana in the Ramayana, one of the two great epic poems of India dating from 3000 BC. The Mahavamsa, the chronicle of the rulers of Sri Lanka written between 540 BC and 1798 AD, states that when the banished prince Vijaya of India arrived in Sri Lanka to meet Queen Kuveni, she was spinning yarn. It is recorded that as early as 1232 AD weavers were imported from South India to weave fine cloth and that a substantial weaving industry was established.
As a magnet for the spice trade, and by virtue of its central geographic position at the centre of the spice and silk routes, Sri Lanka was conquered and ruled by the Portuguese from 1506 – 1658, the Dutch from 1658 – 1798 and the British from 1798 – 1947. Like every civilization, textiles have developed alongside and have been integral to the development of the country’s culture.
Join us on this voyage of exploration from the sea swept East coast towns of Colombo and Galle to the picturesque central hill country and on to the ancient capital of Kandy, home to a dynasty of kings, as we visit textile collections in museums, talk with contemporary artists, see small businesses that specialise in batik and lace making, and trek to a village of weavers in the remote Dumbara Valley whose traditional techniques date back centuries.
Kalpitya,' en plein air' tapestry, Cresside Collette, 2011
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