Berhampur Patta

What is Berhampur Patta?

Berhampur Patta is a silk saree woven at Brahmapur in Odisha, India. The town is known as a silk city because of this craft. Alongside the saree, weavers make a joda, a matching cloth for men. Its identity comes from a local weaving style, with kumbha, the pot form, and phoda, a temple-shaped pattern, worked into the border. The zari border is what the sources point to as the mark that sets this saree apart from others. The cloth is registered under India's Geographical Indications law.

Where does Berhampur Patta come from?

The weaving method is said to have begun more than two hundred years ago; the sources offer no firmer date. Fine cloth from Brahmapur was once shipped from Gopalpur port to southeast Asia and to other countries. What the weavers make now are two forms of the same work, the saree for women and the joda for men, and the craft was entered in India's Geographical Indications register under application number 220.

How is Berhampur Patta made?

The saree is woven in silk on handlooms at Brahmapur. Weavers follow what the sources call an Odissi style of weaving, a local way of building the cloth that gives the saree its character. The pattern work sits mainly in the border, where zari, thread wrapped in gold or silver, is woven in. Two shapes recur there: kumbha, a pot, and phoda, a temple-like form. The sources do not say how long one saree takes, and they name no dyeing method.

Colours, motifs and borders

The design is a temple type, called phoda, and it sits at the border rather than across the body of the cloth. Zari is the material used for it, and the sources describe this border as unlike the border work of other sarees. Kumbha, the pot motif, belongs to the same pattern family. No field colours, body motifs or pallu design are named in the sources, so those are left blank here.

How Berhampur Patta is worn

The Berhampur Patta is the woman's garment of the pair; the joda is its counterpart for men. The sources describe the two forms but give no detail on the drape, the length of the cloth or the blouse worn with it. What they do record is a religious use: these cloths dress the images of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra in the temple town of Puri.

When Berhampur Patta is worn

Beyond the temple, the sources name no particular occasions such as weddings or festivals, so nothing further can be claimed here. The cloth has a ritual role, since the three images in Puri are dressed in it. The sources also do not say whether the saree is worn as everyday dress or kept for ceremonies, or whether families pass pieces down.

Styles of Berhampur Patta

Two forms come off the same looms: the saree and the joda, the men's set. The sources do not discuss powerloom copies or regional versions, so the difference between handloom and machine work is not set out for this cloth. What they do describe is how the weaving reaches buyers. Three weavers' cooperative societies work in Brahmapur town, and the cloth is also sold through Boyanika, through a society website and through online shopping sites.

What Berhampur Patta means

The saree carries an official mark: it is registered under India's Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, application number 220. It is also the reason Brahmapur is called a silk city, an identity resting on this one craft. Three weavers' cooperative societies in the town sell goods worth roughly 1.5 to 2 crore rupees a year, the figure the sources give. The old sea trade through Gopalpur port rounds out its standing.

Questions people ask about Berhampur Patta

Good reading and sources

• Berhampur Patta on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data