History of the word
Pashmina comes from the Persian word for wool, known in the West as cashmere wool. Cashmere derives its name from the old spelling of Kashmir. The origins of pashmina in Nepal date a long way back, when the people of Nepal had to depend on the fabrics they wove for easy travel, warmth and especially survival. The threads used in making this luxurious cloth come from the underbelly of the Himalayan mountain goats, called the Chyangra which live in the in the high regions of the Tibetan Plateau and Nepal. The goats were blessed with a very unique, thin and short inner hair, which gives them the best insulation from the harsh climate. The people living in these temperate regions found the threads to be quite useful and not to mention, comfortable. Thus was born the pashmina we know and love today.
History of manufacture
The art and science of making Pashmina is believed to be as old as 3000 years B.C. For centuries now, cashmere has been woven into shawls and worn by the most powerful people of the ancient civilizations. The soft, intricately made cloth have found favor the kings, emperors, and the aristocracy, which is why this fabric came to be known as the fiber for kings. The wearing of the shawls was introduced into the valley from Turkistan by Zain-Ul-Abdin, then ruler of Kashmir in the 1400s. The ancestors of the Nepalese were the first who perfected the skill of retrieving pashmina of up to about 95% purity. This skill was passed from generation to generation as a heritage of Nepalese artistry and ingenuity. In fact, Kashmir, from where the pashmina originated, has always been famous for its craftsmanship. For a long time, Kashmir was the only place the fiber could be woven into shawls because of the treaties which gave the Maharaja of Kashmir the sole right over Tibet’s pashmina supply. This allowed the cottage industry and art of pashmina-making to flourish even more. Production also benefited from the patronage of the Mughal rulers like Akbar and his successors, and also because of the patronage of the local government.
Political history and spread to Europe
When the Mughal Empire collapsed, it was followed by an increase in demand from Europe, where the shawls became popular in the latter part of the 1700s. In fact, so much was the beauty and luxury of pashmina that its fame spread all over the world, adorning courts from Asia and Europe. It was found in the palaces of Ceasar and was the favorite of the infamous French queen, Marie Antoinette. The Emperor and conqueror Napoleon was so impressed with the unparalleled quality of the pashmina that he presented it to woo Josephine. This further spurred the rage in France, where foreign entrepreneurs started to commission shawls for the French market. Subsequently, the European market for shawls collapsed in 1870 due to factors such as changing tastes, competition from Paisley shawls and economic stagnation of France. The Kashmir weavers then started producing shawls for tourists and colonizers such as the British in India.
Recent pashmina history
Although Pashmina have been popular with aristocracy since the 15th century, pashmina sales in the West suddenly took off in 1998 when designers from London, New York and Paris started including them in their collections. Today, most of the world’s pashmina fabrics are hand woven in Nepal’s Kathmandu valley; there have been some
poetic descriptions written of this procedure. Most are woven on spun silk, giving it more suppleness and durability. Over time, the pashmina fabric has evolved into other, equally beautiful forms, such as the pashmina stoles, scarves, sweaters, mufflers and a host of other pashmina products.
