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

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

and

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, 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 ...

. It was historically a hand-woven

satin A satin weave is a type of Textile, fabric weave that produces a characteristically glossy, smooth or lustrous material, typically with a glossy top surface and a dull back; it is not durable, as it tends to snag. It is one of three fundamen ...

silk fabric variety found in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

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

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

''.

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 period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

, 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, Mashru was used for the

costume Costume is the distinctive style of dress and/or makeup of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, occupation, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch—in short, culture. The term also was traditionally used to describe typica ...

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 officia ...

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 Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

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

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

. 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 (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

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-faced fabric textile with a variegated 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 blend 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 () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

. "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