Pattamadai Pai: Weaving Silk-Fine Korai Mats

A Village on the Thamirabarani

Pattamadai lies near Cheranmahadevi, about 20 km west of Tirunelveli, where the Thamirabarani river runs past paddy fields and stands of korai grass. Families of the Labbai Muslim community have woven mats here for generations, and the finest of them — the pattu pai, or "silk mat" — is so supple it can be folded like a sari. Fathima Beevi weaves in the front room of her home with her daughters and neighbours.

From Riverbank Grass to Silk Mat

Fathima shows you each stage of preparation. Korai is cut from the riverbanks, soaked in water for days, then dried and split by hand into strands so fine they look like thread. The strands are dyed — traditionally deep red, black and green — and dried in the sun. The weavers will tell you it is the Thamirabarani's water that gives the grass its softness.

At the Loom

The mats are woven on a simple floor loom with a cotton-thread warp. Each strand of korai is fed in by hand and beaten down tightly; the finer the strands, the more go into every inch and the longer the mat takes — the best can take weeks. Patterns are counted rather than drawn, and wedding mats often carry the couple's names and the date woven right into the field.

Your Sample

You will prepare a few strands yourself, then sit at a small loom and weave a coaster-sized piece with a simple border, which Fathima finishes for you to take home. Pattamadai Pai is GI-registered, and mats are sold directly from the household — including wedding mats with names woven in, made to order.