Gendered Identity in Community and Crafts of Himalayan Weavers

Historically, women have run the villages in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand in India, while men sought employment in the more industrialized nearby states, in the absence of local industry or commercial farming. Women have long been the backbone of the rural society and economy of Uttarakhand. T...

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Main Author: Dhriti Dhaundiyal
Format: Article
Language:Bengali
Published: Supriyo Chakraborty, Penprints Publication 2023-07-01
Series:Litinfinite
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.litinfinite.com/wp-content/uploads/Dhriti-Dhaundiyal_15_25.pdf
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author Dhriti Dhaundiyal
author_facet Dhriti Dhaundiyal
author_sort Dhriti Dhaundiyal
collection DOAJ
description Historically, women have run the villages in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand in India, while men sought employment in the more industrialized nearby states, in the absence of local industry or commercial farming. Women have long been the backbone of the rural society and economy of Uttarakhand. They have also been the primary practitioners of crafts and builders of community in the hills. Although some research has documented the role of women in Uttarakhand in the creation and sustenance of livelihoods in difficult geographies, no such research has been undertaken in the craft sector specifically, leaving a lacuna in our understanding of traditional socioeconomic structures in the hills that have been sustained for many centuries. This paper is an exploratory study into the gendered identities of the women weavers in the villages of Uttarakhand and how the practice of this craft has created expressions of gender identity in craft work and the community, at a local, stakeholder and village network level. We document a case study in an organized craft cluster in the state of Uttarakhand in India using ethnographic methods. We used a narrative inquiry methodology to gather insights in this remote craft cluster. Narrative inquiry helped us explore the lived experiences of these crafts- women, exploring their subjectivity and processes of sense-making. We gained deep insights into the construction of beliefs, notions, and community perceptions among them that contribute to their sense of self and social identity.
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spelling doaj.art-aabcc8eb5c784c06b9519897ce2864eb2023-07-31T15:04:23ZbenSupriyo Chakraborty, Penprints PublicationLitinfinite2582-04002023-07-0151152510.47365/litinfinite.5.1.2023.15-25Gendered Identity in Community and Crafts of Himalayan WeaversDhriti Dhaundiyal0Assistant Professor, School of Design, Doon University, Kedarpur, Dehradun: 248001 (Uttarakhand), India.Historically, women have run the villages in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand in India, while men sought employment in the more industrialized nearby states, in the absence of local industry or commercial farming. Women have long been the backbone of the rural society and economy of Uttarakhand. They have also been the primary practitioners of crafts and builders of community in the hills. Although some research has documented the role of women in Uttarakhand in the creation and sustenance of livelihoods in difficult geographies, no such research has been undertaken in the craft sector specifically, leaving a lacuna in our understanding of traditional socioeconomic structures in the hills that have been sustained for many centuries. This paper is an exploratory study into the gendered identities of the women weavers in the villages of Uttarakhand and how the practice of this craft has created expressions of gender identity in craft work and the community, at a local, stakeholder and village network level. We document a case study in an organized craft cluster in the state of Uttarakhand in India using ethnographic methods. We used a narrative inquiry methodology to gather insights in this remote craft cluster. Narrative inquiry helped us explore the lived experiences of these crafts- women, exploring their subjectivity and processes of sense-making. We gained deep insights into the construction of beliefs, notions, and community perceptions among them that contribute to their sense of self and social identity.https://www.litinfinite.com/wp-content/uploads/Dhriti-Dhaundiyal_15_25.pdfgendered identitywomen weavershimalayan study
spellingShingle Dhriti Dhaundiyal
Gendered Identity in Community and Crafts of Himalayan Weavers
Litinfinite
gendered identity
women weavers
himalayan study
title Gendered Identity in Community and Crafts of Himalayan Weavers
title_full Gendered Identity in Community and Crafts of Himalayan Weavers
title_fullStr Gendered Identity in Community and Crafts of Himalayan Weavers
title_full_unstemmed Gendered Identity in Community and Crafts of Himalayan Weavers
title_short Gendered Identity in Community and Crafts of Himalayan Weavers
title_sort gendered identity in community and crafts of himalayan weavers
topic gendered identity
women weavers
himalayan study
url https://www.litinfinite.com/wp-content/uploads/Dhriti-Dhaundiyal_15_25.pdf
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