How does the names of different txtiles tell about histories?
Answers
European traders first saw fine cotton cloth from India carried by Arab merchants in Mosul in present-day Iraq. Hence, they began to refer to all finally woven textiles as muslino.
When the Portuguese first came to India in search of spices they landed in Calicut on the Kerala coast in south-west India. The cotton textiles which they took back to Europe came to be known as calico, which is derived from Calicut.Printed cotton cloths called chintz, cossaes or khassa and bandanna were also in great demand. The chintz is derived from the Hindi word chhint, a cloth with small and colourful flowery designs. The word bandanna is referred to any brightly coloured and printed scarf for the neck or head. Originally, the term derived from the word ‘bandhna’ (Hindi for tying) and referred to a variety of brightly coloured cloth produced through a method of tying and dying.