We have been having discussion about the manner of making up the sanghati, or monastic patchwork outer robe, which I would like to continue here under a new heading.
I would like to explore the idea that the concept of this garment is continuous with kantha patchwork in India today- a myth which is promulgated by makers of kantha patchwork themselves.
A number of historical religious figures in India have been described as wearing a kantha (i.e. the patchwork garment made of kantha which is folded on the shoulder). E.g. Chaitanya. My guess is that this is the same as our sanghati.
Basically everywhere in India has some version of this by different names.
This is kantha: you may have seen it before in Indian style blankets.
Today’s theory:
The “ghatI” part of word saNghATI is actually Sanskrit kanthA, rags.
The garment which is called saNghATI in Buddhism is called kanthA in general in Sanskrit, and is a garment for outcastes and ascetics.
The equivalence of these terms is evidenced by Chinese term 伽黎 (=gadi or gadli?) for 僧伽黎 (samgadi/samgadli).
In many Indian languages today, this word is pronounced as kata, but is spelled as kanthA due to Sanskritisation. There is also a parallel feature of Prakrit nasalisation which might also be responsible for the presence of the intrusive “n” sound.
It is Sinhalese kaDa.
In the commentaries (someone help me find the reference please), men are given ordination in the clothing they had previously after removing the padding: this style of patchwork was used in society in general but with additional cotton inserts.
“The most important forms of kantha were made by women for use in their own homes such as bed quilts or coverings, coverlets, seating mats, pillow covers and all-purpose wrappers. A traditional full-sized kantha was roughly six feet long (183cm) and five feet wide (152cm) and was used by the poor as a protective layer for sleeping in the winter (Zaman, 2012).” Kantha - Asian Textile Studies
A folk etymology links the word “kantha” to the word “khetta” (ksetra), which may be the origin of the story that the Buddha had wished for monastic robes to be made up like the “fields of Magadha”. In Eastern dialects, kantha is pronounced as “ketha” or “kentha” today. I am personally dubious that this request was actually made by the Buddha, as it seems a little contrived. But this may be the link between fields and patchwork.
TRADITIONAL KANTHA MAKING
To produce a kantha quilt, a base fabric was made from layers of old cloth, traditionally between five and seven, and this was embroidered using the yarns recovered from the borders of old saris, lungis and dhotis. More recently, modern kanthas are often made with new materials and those made with much coarser cotton can suffice with only two layers. Once the main embroidery decoration is completed, the layers making up the kantha are quilted.
The process began by preparing the separate layers so that they all had the same dimensions. If some cloths were too small they were stitched together, sometimes almost invisibly, to obtain the required width. Several women would work together to spread the layers of cloth on the ground, making sure there were no folds or creases. Traditional kanthas tend to be somewhat uneven in shape because they were not stretched in a frame. The layers were held flat on the ground, either weighted on each corner or fastened together with needles or thorns, while the edges were folded in and stitched. Then two or three rows of large stitches were made down the length of the layered cloths to hold them together and to provide a frame for the later placement of motifs. At this stage the layers could be folded and put away so that they could be worked on at a later date.
and just generally enjoy a good thread on requisites (pun unintended).
Though I came up with various dodgy theories and design ideas last night.
Carry on!