1836.] Weaving, Spinning, fyc. in Nepal. 223 



effect, I may mention that the Nepal loom, and the arrangements of 

 the weaver, are superior in some respects to those of the unrivalled 

 manufactures of the Dacca muslin. Mill's account of the Hindu loom 

 corroborates this; he says, "It consists of little else than a few sticks 

 or pieces of wood, nearly in the state in which nature produced them, 

 connected together by the rudest contrivances. There is not so much 

 as an expedient for rolling up the warp." The weaver is therefore 

 obliged to work in the open air, as his house could not c( ntain him 

 and his web at full length; "and every return of inclement weather 

 interrupts him." The Nepal weaver rolls up the warp on its origi- 

 nal frame, and ties it to a peg driven in the ground close to her feet, 

 while a cross beam in front of her receives the web as it is woven*. 



The Thibet woollen cloths are of infinitely superior workmanship to 

 the cotton ones of Nepal, and indeed, are of very fine make and mate- 

 rial, although deficient in width. It is therefore evident that in the 

 earliest of the arts, one which must have been practised by all human 

 societies, so soon as leaves and skins were deemed unfitting clothing, 

 the Nipalese have been left far behind, by the Hindus of India on 

 one hand, and by the Tartars of Bhote on the other. 



Dyeing and printing come naturally enough to notice, after spin- 

 ning and weaving; and the advancement made in these arts has kept 

 an even pace with that in the former. As dyesters the Newars are 

 miserable artists ; they cannot at this day dye a decent blue, although 

 furnished with indigo for the purpose. * 



A dirty red (from madder) and a light fading green, are the colours 

 most commonly dyed by them ; but they are not fast and durable, nor 

 elegant when fresh. The only tolerably good dyeing done in Nepal, 

 is by some Cashmirfs, and people from the plains. 



The coarse cloths of the country are printed, in imitation of the 

 chintzes of India and Europe, and are much worn by all classes of 

 females, who cannot afford to purchase better stuffs ; but the imita- 

 tions are very badly executed, and the colours not durable. The best 

 Nipalese chintz is printed and dyed at Bhatgaon, in the valley ; and 

 in the hills east of the valley, at a place called Dunkutuah. In the 

 small valley of Punouti too, about 24 miles east of Kathmandu, this 

 trade is carried to some extent, and with nearly similar success. 



* The different parts of the loom are not connected so as to form one com- 

 plete machine. For instance, the swinging beam and netting are generally sus- 

 pended from the roof of the house. 



In the commonest European loom, the bench on which the weaver sits, the 

 beam on which the cloth is received, as well as that on which the warp is rolLd, 

 together with the swinging beam and netting, are all joined together. 



