Sussi is woven in Sindh and iin kit it is woven all the colors of the province, the fabric shine with the colors of Indus mirroring the seasons, and its water lapping with the glorious red of sunset and blue of azure blue skies. In a way the Sussi cloth serves as an introduction to Sindh and its glorious crafts traditions. For the arts of Sindh are nothing if not colorful, the province costumes, pottery, leather arts, proclaim this but sussi cloth, denoting the bridal red color, is something special. In fact the word Sussi stands for the colors to which a betrothed women is partial. The material of this cloth is full of strips in many colors and the many varieties of sussi in existence all proclaim this. Look at their names: Garbi (or western, flushed with the color of sunset), Mothra ( in shades of pearls), Gulbadan (nimble and delicate like the flower petal) and Indlath (throwing on the colors of the rainbow as if form a prism), the Panjpatta ( with five distinctive color frame) and Chokri( square of colors) which is latest and in fashion. Sussi Garbi and Mothra are made in endless variety of striped designs, some in light and some in rather sober colors.
They are named according to the prevailing colors in them: Acctto (white), Karo(Black), Khoonbi (blood red), SoaMothra ( Green), Gadhro (Grey) and Vangan ( Scarlet) or according to the designs or the pattern of the strips Panjkari (five colors), Satrangi (seven colors), Zanzir ( Chain like) and Tillai ( Match Stick).
The silky shimmering sussi is woven in many palces in the province of Sindh but it is especially common to Gumbat, Tando Muhammad Khanand Hala. At one time everything that went into its manufacture was handspun cotton yarn but time have changed and the material now has mixture of cotton, silk and synthetic yarn. Garbi infact has this particular ingredients.
The Mothra sussi has a distinguish and separated
black and white borders after each colorful strips but how you distinguish one grade of sussi from another? How could one say that this material would be Garbi Sussi and not Mothra or any other? The difference really very subtle. The way in which strips are placed between one another distinguishes one from another. The Garbi would be 22 to 24 inches wide and so would be Mothra. Sussi is usually 19 to 20 inches wide but the cloth can be woven to 36 inches, which is the maximum width for pit loom weaves. Mothra and Garbi have a 20 count cotton warps and wefts of 46 to 64 threads per inch. Garbi
also use 32*2 or 40*2 count cotton wefts and warps. Generally an expert weaver would produce 10 to 16 yards sussi in a day at one loom and one can see why the material should be so costly.
A Shalwar can be made from 10yard of it but with the arrival of synthetic material the manufacture of this craft has spilled over to other regions, in Northern Sindh, in Hyderabad and Karach as well as in some
areas of Multan and difficulty in procurement
of raw material pose several problems for this
craft. The chief difficulty is, of course, as stated earlier the introduction of synthetics, but the
gradual decline in the manufacture of natural vegetable dye is an insurmountable difficulty and in a way all these have affected adversely the advance of sussi tradition. So by and large Sussi has become a stuff for fashion seen in use at fashion and cultural shows, displayed artistically in boutiques. But the local persons are finding difficulty in getting it, the stuff is now produced in response to orders. It is the dealer (who secure the orders) who try to bring the raw material to the especially skilled sussi weavers. Even in Hala, once a thriving center of sussi hand-loom pits, is switching over to power looms and naturally with this change some of the glory and romance associated with its preparation has now vanished. Even the number of spinners of yarn are dwindling.
Today we hardly come across the KARI: the weavers were once so named and we rarely see him with his simple tool, as sitting in his OBROH, or the wheel. Once he would sit there sending his spindles from one end to another, watching deeply the perpendicular thin yarn and keeping his feet firmly in the ADANO – loom pit. He would hardly ever come out for a brief interval lof half and hour for his afternoon meal.
Despite this challenge the sussi cloth can never really die, so how could sussi have an end? Sussi will go on to be made notwithstanding the many problems. Artisans like Mr. Raees Abdullah Abro, who was crowned as the chief guest in 1986 Folk Festival of Pakistan have taken upon themselves to ensure that this glorious handloom tradition of Pakistan will endure and prosper. Already he has taken some 300 students in to this art and in upcoming years there will be many more three hundred or three thousands, there will always be some men and women around to make the fabulous and colored sussi and many more to ask for it because the bridal dream is woven in sussi stuff.
