Modernizing of a craft: Tie-dyeing in Rajasthan, India

This dissertation gives an ethnographic account of the tie-dyeing craftspeople in Rajasthan, India. The research material analyzed was gathered during 1991-92 in Rajasthan, particularly in Jaipur and Jodhpur.;The dissertation focuses on the impact of change on both craft and the craftspeople. It looks at how the craftspeople are reduced to hired labor owing to complete lack of and control over resources and how the traditional craft struggles to compete with industrial processing. It looks at the significance and relevance of tie-dyed garments in Rajasthani life. Men's turbans and women's scarfs made of tie-dyed material are distinct markers of Rajasthani identity.;Using network analysis, I attempt to explain the marginalization of craftspeople (women and men) involved in this labor-intensive craft. Their dependence upon middlemen for establishing links with local and international markets that are currently experiencing rapid transformation leaves them with few options. The study shows how little or no direct access to the market severely affects their already minimal living.;The work highlights the importance of work women engage in and the incongruence between the importance and their lowly position the women are accorded under the prevailing system of traditional male dominance. Although women contribute significantly they are given little or no credit for their skills. This work also examines the role of government and non-government agencies in protecting and providing opportunities for the craftspeople and their traditional family craft.;The data analyzed in this thesis comes from a number of sources which include the tie-dyeing craftspeople, the middlemen, personnel at various government and non-government offices and the Rajasthanis, for whom tie-dyed garments are an important part of their traditional costume.