The Exquisite Sarees of Mangalagiri

Mangalagiri in Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh is synonymous with beautiful sarees. This village is located about 12 kilometres from Vijayawada and weaving is one of the main occupations besides paddy cultivation. The uniqueness of Mangalagiri sarees lies in its design.

Mangalagiri Sarees

These beautiful and exquisite sarees feature tribal designs and are woven from cotton. The sarees have borders that are adorned with beautiful brocade. The pallu of the falling edge of the saree usually is embellished with stripes made from gold thread, or zari. The sarees are available in a variety of colours, but all of them have a distinct and unique tribal design and pattern.

History of Weaving Industry in Mangalagiri

Mangalagiri has always been a popular pilgrim destination. The temple dedicated to Lord Panakala Narasimha Swamy attracts droves of devotees who have offered the deity jaggery water for centuries. According to local tradition, devotees have to pay homage to the deity at this temple and then buy a saree woven by a local weaver before leaving the village. This tradition gave impetus to the weaving industry in the area.

According to ancient inscriptions found on pillar here, it is claimed that in 1593, the rulers from the Qutub Shahi dynasty increased taxes on handloom textiles in this region. Unable to meet the rise in taxes, the local weavers migrated to other regions. This dealt a severe blow to Mangalagiri weaving industry and caused the rulers to take a second look at the tax rise and reduce it. This history evidence shows that the weaving industry of Mangalagiri is more than 500 years old, making it an ancient craft.

Uniqueness of Mangalagiri Sarees

The weavers who painstaking weave exquisite fabric for sarees and other attire use a pit loom to weave pure and durable cotton fabric. The resultant fabric does not have any weave design. The sarees woven in Mangalagiri has a border known as Nizam border, which can be found just in this village. Another uniqueness of the fabric woven here is that there are no gaps on the weave at the edge of the material.

Today, Mangalagiri weaving community consisting of nearly 5,000 weavers are a happy lot, as they have been conferred GI status. This means a lot to the artisans, who will be able to get global recognition. Already the weavers of this village are facing intense competition from powerlooms and thanks to the GI certification, they will be able to hold their own in the handloom garment industry.