Tant, also called Tat, Taant, or Taat is the extremely popular cotton handloom of West Bengal. Characterized by a traditional Bengali identity and the ease of wearing these airy and light sarees during the hot and humid climate of the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent.
Materials
Tant sarees require the craftsmen to adroitly weave fine threads from cotton in order to start the weaving process. These cotton threads, therefore, are the primary materials needed for the weaving process to begin. The Bengal cotton that the yarn is made from is locally procured and popular not just for the weaving of the Tant sarees but for the manufacture of a wide variety of handloom that requires soft and feathery muslin to be sold across the globe.
The quality of the yarn also determines the quality of the manufactured tant saree. If it is made from combed cotton, then the resulting saree would be fine while the regular cotton would lead to the manufacture of a coarser saree.
Weaving Method
The cotton thread bundles are manufactured in the mills and upon reaching the craftsmen, they go through a rigorous process of washing, drying, and bleaching several times in order to purge them of any chemicals. Finally, after being dyed, they are stretched and refined to be fed into the loom. To make this process more convenient, these threads are stretched and processed around bamboo drums.
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The distinguishing characteristic of the Tant sarees is natural the designs on the borders, the body and the pallav. This design can follow either the traditional themes and motifs or might include something new entirely depending on the artist. The artist’s designs meet the loom after being transcribed onto soft cardboard through penetration and perforation and after being suspended.
The entire weaving process usually required two shuttles to be wielded by the craftsmen. Altogether, the entire weaving process takes anywhere from 10 hours to 10 days depending on the complexity of design. Although it used to be done through handlooms traditionally, the weaving process has shifted to be majorly centred around the power looms in recent times. While this has allowed the weaver to incorporate the modern techniques into their traditional weaving style and meet the increasing demands of the market, it also led to the weaving process losing the originality and individuality of the craftsman who created it.
