Mojari
Encyclopedia
Mojari or mozari is a style of South Asian handcrafted
footwear
produced in India
and Pakistan
.
Mojari are made by artisan
s mostly using vegetable-tanned leather
. The uppers are made of one piece of leather or textile
embroidered and embellished with brass nails, cowry
shells, mirrors, bells
and ceramic
bead
s. Even the bonding from the upper to the sole is done by cotton thread that is not only eco-friendly but also enmeshes the leather fiber
s with great strength. Some product range also uses bright and ornate threads.
In ancient times
these were worn by multitude and royalty. As it evolved through the centuries and is being produced by individual artisans, products vary in designs and colours. It encapsules cultural diversity
, local ethos and ethnicity.
The ethnicity of the traditional skills accentuate into poetry when intermingled with the contemporary colours and designs. Applique in form of differently designed figures are cut out of leather and sewn on the vamp manually. The design would dictate the nature, colour and shape of the appliqué. It could range from an intricate appliqué which itself could incorporate other design features like embroidery, punches, weaves, etc., to a simple cut out shape from any material like leather, textile, synthetic, etc.
has a very long tradition of leather crafts ranging from handbags, leather stools to Mojaris, Khussa, Kolhapuris and Jootis centered at Rajasthan
, Delhi
, Karnataka
& Punjab
. The production of these heavily embroidered jutti
s date back to the period of Kings and Queens. In those times, these juttis were embroidered with real gold and silver threads and decorated with precious gems and pearls. But, with the passage of time, these were replaced by artificial materials, beads, bells etc, in order to make them affordable for everyone. These juttis & mojaries are made of buffalo, cow or camel leather soles, while the upper part comprises leather or simply textile. Both the parts are joined together by a paste and then stitched by white cotton threads.
Mojari is referred to a man's closed shoe with an extended curled toe, while as juttis have flat fronts. In juttis, rear is normally covered but mojaris have an open look from behind. Produced mainly in Jaipur
and Jodhpur
, cities of Rajasthan
, these juttis were flat soled and there were no left-right distinctions between them.
Handicraft
Handicraft, more precisely expressed as artisanic handicraft, sometimes also called artisanry, is a type of work where useful and decorative devices are made completely by hand or by using only simple tools. It is a traditional main sector of craft. Usually the term is applied to traditional means...
footwear
Footwear
Footwear consists of garments worn on the feet, for fashion, protection against the environment, and adornment. Being barefoot is commonly associated with poverty, but some cultures chose not to wear footwear at least in some situations....
produced in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Mojari are made by artisan
Artisan
An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools...
s mostly using vegetable-tanned leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
. The uppers are made of one piece of leather or textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
embroidered and embellished with brass nails, cowry
Cowry
Cowry, also sometimes spelled cowrie, plural cowries, is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries...
shells, mirrors, bells
Bell (instrument)
A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
and ceramic
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
bead
Bead
A bead is a small, decorative object that is usually pierced for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under to over in diameter. A pair of beads made from Nassarius sea snail shells, approximately 100,000 years old, are thought to be the earliest known examples of jewellery. Beadwork...
s. Even the bonding from the upper to the sole is done by cotton thread that is not only eco-friendly but also enmeshes the leather fiber
Fiber
Fiber is a class of materials that are continuous filaments or are in discrete elongated pieces, similar to lengths of thread.They are very important in the biology of both plants and animals, for holding tissues together....
s with great strength. Some product range also uses bright and ornate threads.
In ancient times
Ancient history
Ancient history is the study of the written past from the beginning of recorded human history to the Early Middle Ages. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, with Cuneiform script, the oldest discovered form of coherent writing, from the protoliterate period around the 30th century BC...
these were worn by multitude and royalty. As it evolved through the centuries and is being produced by individual artisans, products vary in designs and colours. It encapsules cultural diversity
Cultural diversity
Cultural diversity is having different cultures respect each other's differences. It could also mean the variety of human societies or cultures in a specific region, or in the world as a whole...
, local ethos and ethnicity.
The ethnicity of the traditional skills accentuate into poetry when intermingled with the contemporary colours and designs. Applique in form of differently designed figures are cut out of leather and sewn on the vamp manually. The design would dictate the nature, colour and shape of the appliqué. It could range from an intricate appliqué which itself could incorporate other design features like embroidery, punches, weaves, etc., to a simple cut out shape from any material like leather, textile, synthetic, etc.
History
IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
has a very long tradition of leather crafts ranging from handbags, leather stools to Mojaris, Khussa, Kolhapuris and Jootis centered at Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
& Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
. The production of these heavily embroidered jutti
Jutti
The jutti or Punjabi Jutti is a type of footwear of Punjabi origin that is common in North India and Pakistan. They are traditionally made up of leather and with extensive embroidery, in real gold and silver thread in olden days, though now with changing times different juti with rubber soles are...
s date back to the period of Kings and Queens. In those times, these juttis were embroidered with real gold and silver threads and decorated with precious gems and pearls. But, with the passage of time, these were replaced by artificial materials, beads, bells etc, in order to make them affordable for everyone. These juttis & mojaries are made of buffalo, cow or camel leather soles, while the upper part comprises leather or simply textile. Both the parts are joined together by a paste and then stitched by white cotton threads.
Mojari is referred to a man's closed shoe with an extended curled toe, while as juttis have flat fronts. In juttis, rear is normally covered but mojaris have an open look from behind. Produced mainly in Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....
and Jodhpur
Jodhpur
Jodhpur , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located west from the state capital, Jaipur and from the city of Ajmer. It was formerly the seat of a princely state of the same name, the capital of the kingdom known as Marwar...
, cities of Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, these juttis were flat soled and there were no left-right distinctions between them.
External links
- http://www.mojari.com/
- Leather Mojari/Footware of Rajasthan
- Indian Mojari / Khussa / Jutti from Delhi
- http://www.jodhpurijuti.com