Sanket Jain

Dipanjali Singh

Editor

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When a child is born in Karadaga village, families first inform
Somakka Pujari. She is one of the few artists in the village of almost 9,000
people who can still make bangles with sheep hair. These ornaments, known
locally as kanda, are considered
auspicious and placed around the wrists of newborns. 
“Sheep often move across villages in search of pastures, braving
rough weather and meeting all kinds of people,” says Somakka, who is in her
late 50s. Sheep are considered a symbol of endurance, and kanda made from their hair is believed to ward off evil. 



Women belonging to the Dhangar community have traditionally
crafted these bangles. Today, only eight Dhangar families in Karadaga are said to practise this art. “Nimma
gavala ghatla aahe [I have adorned wrists of half of the children
in this village with these bangles],” Somakka says in Marathi. Karadaga village is
located in Karnataka’s Belagavi district which borders Maharashtra, and hence
many residents like Somakka can speak both Kannada and Marathi.  



“People from every caste and religion come to us for kanda,” Somakka says. 



As a child, Somakka would watch her mother, late Kisnabai
Bankar, make some of the finest kandas
in Karadaga. “I was curious to know why she checked every strand of sheep hair
[also called lokar] before making a kanda,” she says, recalling how her
mother used fine strands as they are easier to shape. Hair from sheep being sheared for the first time is used as it is coarser in texture. “Out of a
hundred sheep, the right type of hair will be found in just one.” Somakka learnt how to make kanda from her father, late Appaji
Bankar. She was then 10 years old and it took her two months to learn. Four decades
later, Somakka continues to practise the art and is concerned about its
declining popularity: “young shepherds these days don’t even graze sheep. What
will they know about craft involving sheep hair?”

Somakka explains, “a sheep usually yields 1-2 kilos of lokar in a shearing.” Her family owns
sheep which the men shear twice a year, usually during Diwali and
Bendur (a festival in celebration of bulls held between June and August). A katharbhuni, or a
pair of traditional scissors is used. Shearing a sheep takes about 10 minutes and is
usually done in the morning. Each strand is then checked for quality where weathered hair is discarded. 
 
It takes Somakka 10 minutes to make a kanda.
The lokar that Somakka is using now was sheared during Diwali in the year 2023 – “I’ve kept it safely for
newborns,” she says. 



Before starting to shape the hair, Somakka removes dust and other impurities. She pulls and gives the strands a
circular shape, determining the size of the kanda
according to a newborn’s wrists. Once the circular structure is ready, she rubs
it between her palms. The friction
firms it up. 



Somakka dips this circular frame in water every few seconds.
“The more water you add, the stronger it becomes,” she says, pulling the
strands dexterously and rubbing the frame between her palms. “Children between the ages of 1-3 years wear this bangle”, she says, adding that a pair of kanda lasts for at least three years. Dhangars
are listed as a nomadic tribe in Maharashtra
and as Other Backward Classes in Karnataka. In addition to making these bangles, the community also grazes sheep and looks after farms.

Somakka’s husband, Balu Pujari, began working as a shepherd at
the age of 15. Now 62, he has stopped grazing livestock because of his age.
These days he works as a farmer, cultivating sugarcane in the two acres of land
he owns in the village. 
 
Somakka’s elder son, 34-year-old Malu Pujari has taken over the job of grazing
livestock. Balu says his son grazes less than 50 sheep and goats. “Over a
decade ago, our family owned and grazed more than 200 livestock,” he recollects,
attributing this decline mainly to the decreasing grazing lands around
Karadaga. 



The shrinking herd size makes finding previously unsheared sheep
difficult. That in turn impacts kanda found
in the village.



Somakka recalls accompanying Balu on his daily journeys to graze
sheep and goats. The couple travelled as far as Bijapur in Karnataka 151
kilometres away and Solapur in Maharashtra 227 kms away. “We travelled so much
that fields became our home,” Somakka says of their life till a decade ago. “I
was used to sleeping in the open fields every day. We had stars and the moon
above our heads. There is nothing like this in a home secured with four walls.”



Somakka would also work in
farms in Karadaga and its neighbouring villages – some over 10 kilometres away. She
would walk every day to work and has “even dug wells and lifted stones,” she says. Back in the 1980s, she would be paid 25
paise for digging wells. “During that time, a
kilogram of rice would cost Rs. 2 per kilogram,” she recalls.

Making kanda by hand
can look deceptively simple but there are several challenges involved. The hair
often enters the nose and the mouth of the maker, leading to bouts of coughing
and sneezing. Then the free nature of the work – no money is exchanged – along
with the decline in grazing lands has hit the craft hard. After the ceremony where Somakka puts the kanda around the wrists of a newborn, she usually receives halad-kunku (turmeric-vermillion), topi (traditional cap), paan (betel leaf), supari (betel nut), jhampar (blouse piece), saree, naral (coconut), and tawal (towel). “Some families even give a little money,” says Somakka, adding that she never asks for anything in return. “This art has never been about earning money,&quot; she insists.  



These days, some even mix black thread with sheep hair and sell it as kanda for as low as Rs. 10 in fairs. “It
has become tough to find original kanda,” says Somakka’s younger son, 30-year-old Ramchandra, who is a priest at a
village temple and also farms with his father.

Somakka’s daughter, 28-year-old Mahadevi has learned this skill
from her. “Very few are interested in it now,” says Somakka, recalling a time
when every woman from the Dhangar community knew how to make a kanda. 



Somakka even knows how to weave threads from lokar (sheep hair) by rolling the strands together on her thighs. The friction often burns her skin, which is why some use a wooden charkha for such weaving. Her family sells woven lokar to Sangars, a community renowned for making ghongadis – blankets made from sheep
hair. While these blankets are sold for over Rs. 1,000 to customers, Somakka sells
the woven thread for as low as Rs. 7 per kg. 



The threads are sold at the Vitthal Birdev yatra held every year
between October and December in Kolhapur’s Pattan Kodoli village. Somakka works
long hours in the run-up to this yatra, weaving at least 2,500 strands of
thread the day before the yatra begins. “This often makes my legs swell,&quot; she says.
Somakka walks to this site 16 kilometres away carrying over 10 kilos of thread in a
basket on her head – all she earns for this is Rs. 90.



Despite the hardships,
Somakka’s enthusiasm for making kanda has
not waned. “I am proud that I keep this tradition alive,” she says, her
forehead smeared with bhandara (turmeric). “I was born in the fields with sheep and goats around me,&quot; Somakka adds, &quot;and will
keep this artform alive till I die.” This story is part of a series on rural artisans by Sanket Jain, and is supported by the Mrinalini Mukherjee Foundation.

Making bangles from sheep hair in Karadaga

بھیڑ کے بالوں سے کڑے بنانے کا ہنر

కారదగలో గొర్రె వెంట్రుకలతో గాజుల తయారీ

கரடகாவில் தயாரிக்கப்படும் செம்மறி ரோம வளையல்

ਭੇਡ ਦੇ ਵਾਲ਼ਾਂ ਤੋਂ ਕੰਗਣ ਬਣਾਉਣ ਦੀ ਕਲਾ

କାରଦଗାରେ ମେଣ୍ଢା ଲୋମରୁ ତିଆରି ଚୁଡ଼ି

കരഡഗയിൽ ആട്ടിൻ‌രോമംകൊണ്ട് വളകളുണ്ടാക്കുന്നവർ

ಕಾರದಗಾ: ಉಣ್ಣೆ ಕಡಗದ ತಯಾರಿಕೆ

भेड़ों के बालों का बना कंगन

કારદગામાં ઘેટાંના વાળમાંથી બંગડીઓ બનાવાય છે

करदागा मं नंदावत जावत मेढ़ा के रोंवा ले चुरी बनाय के हुनर

खतम हो रहल बा भेड़ के केस से बाला बनावे के कला

কারদগায় ভেড়ার লোমের বালা তৈরির কারিগরি

ভেড়াৰ নোমৰ পৰা খাৰু বনোৱা

कारदग्याच्या सोमाक्कांचे लोकरीचे कंडे

Belagavi taluku, Karnataka, 591103, India

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Making bangles from sheep hair in Karadaga

In Karnataka’s Karadaga village, bangles made of sheep hair are considered auspicious and placed around the wrists of newborns. With the decline in the number of shepherds and pasture lands, this craft has few takers these days

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