Sindhi Ajrak and ‘Kamash Ramadan’ in Saudi Arabia.

Before the arrival of Ramadan in Saudi Arabia, the streets and markets are decorated with various items and methods.

Among these items, a red colored cloth is of special importance which is seen in every small and big bazaar and every important building during Ramadan.

In Saudi Arabia, its name ‘Qamash Ramadan’, which means the cloth of Ramadan, has become famous.

A subsidiary of the Saudi Research and Media Group, ‘Thamanya’, recently prepared a report on this cloth, which stated that this cloth is actually a continuation of the ancient art of Egypt, ‘Al-Khayamiyyah’.

What is ‘Al-Khayamiyyah’?

According to the official website of Cairo, the capital of Egypt, al-Khayamiyyah is the art of painting and painting on cloth, which began thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt and has been passed down from generation to generation.

According to the report of ‘Shamanya’, there is a street in Cairo today called ‘Al-Khayamiyyah’, where the experts of this art sit and still a few old artisans paint by hand.

Seeing the centuries-old art of carving on cloth in Egypt, one immediately thinks of the cloths of the subcontinent and the carvings on them, because this art is also very ancient in India, and the Sindhi Ajrak of Pakistan is a clear example of it.

According to a paper by Noor Jahan Bilgrami, an archeologist researching the ancient Sindhi civilization, Ajrak is related to the ancient Mohan Jo Daro civilization.

Now the question arises whether there is any connection between Ajrak of Sindh and Al-Khayamiyyah art of Egypt?

A Scene from Khayamiyyah in Egypt (Hatem Mushir)

Were Manqash cloths exported from India to Egypt thousands of years ago? And after that the art was advanced there? Or was the similarity in the arts of the two regions just a coincidence?

It is difficult to give a final and definite answer to these questions, but the facts about the trade and exchange between the two ancient civilizations that have come to light during the search for answers are not without interest.

Indus Valley Trade

Indus Valley Civilization The Indus Valley Civilization is considered one of the oldest civilizations in the world. The monuments of Mohan Jo Daro and Harappa are the signs of this civilization.

Journalist Zarar Khoro writes in his research report that the total area of ​​the Indus Valley Civilization was almost equal to the area of ​​Pakistan and their commercial activities were extensive.

According to the report, the foreign trade activities of ancient Sindh extended to present-day Iraq and the port of Lothal, which is located in the present-day Indian state of Gujarat, was of particular importance in this trade.

Trade between Ancient Egypt and India

According to the Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, there was regular and constant trade between Egypt and India after the occupation of Egypt by the Roman Empire.

Arab and Subcontinent Trade Routes (Public Domain)

The oldest document in this regard is the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, a seafaring guide written around the first century AD.

In this book, traders from Egypt to India were instructed to leave Egypt in July and not to return from India before November in order to take full advantage of the monsoon season.

According to the Oxford History, at that time cloth was exported from the port of Moserius in South India to the city of Alexandria in Egypt.

Traces of Qusayr al-Qadim

This date proves two things: First, the external trade activities of the Indus Valley Civilization extended to Iraq.

Secondly, during the Roman Empire, there were regular trade relations between Egypt and India, in which clothes were exported from India, among other things.

But is there any evidence of the exchange of the art of iconography and specific patterned cloths between the two regions?

In this regard, the research of archeologist Donald Whitcomb at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago is important, in which he mentioned the archeology discovered in 1982 in the coastal area of ​​Qusayr al-Qadim in Egypt.

According to Donald Whitcomb’s research, among the artifacts discovered in the area Indian patterned clothes There were also traces of which were recovered here.

Indian cloth discovered at Qusayr al-Qadim (TRC Leyden)

Dr. Ruth Barnes, South Asian art historian and Oxford University graduate, has researched the remains of Indian patterned textiles from Egypt preserved at the Kelsey Museum at the University of Chicago.

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According to him, Indian cloth has been exported all over the world for centuries, but it is difficult to preserve the traces of cloth for years.

However, the artifacts discovered in Egypt are important in that they are preserved and provide evidence of centuries-old textile trade between Egypt and India.

This research by Dr. Ruth Barnes is related to block printed fabrics and patterning on ajrak is a type of block printing.

How did Indian cartography reach Egypt?

In the light of the above facts, while talking to Independent Urdu, Aliza Nadeem, a student of social studies, said that the exchange of goods and arts between the two civilizations is a result of trade and cultural diffusion, in which travel, tourism and communication are important. .

He said that it is impossible to say anything definitively in this regard, especially if the process of exchange is centuries old.

“It may be an exaggeration to say anything definitive about the relationship between the clothes used in Ramadan preparations and wages in Saudi Arabia, but it can be said for sure that the ancient civilizations were connected to each other and the time And despite the distance, the different regions had and will always have some basic human values ​​in common.