“Strawberry Festival” Kawandi Quilt | Siddi Artist Rajamabi Mujavar x Anitha N Reddy
“Strawberry Festival” Kawandi Quilt | Siddi Artist Rajamabi Mujavar x Anitha N Reddy
Description
Bring home a rare and powerful piece of living textile history. These one-of-a-kind quilts are created in collaboration with cultural anthropologist Anitha N Reddy and master artisans from the Siddi community of Karnataka, India.
Details
- Design Name: Strawberry Festival
- Origin: Karnataka, India
- Facilitator: Anitha N Reddy
- Made by: Rajamabi Mujavar, Siddi Quilter
- Technique: Hand-stitched kawandi (appliqué patchwork)
- Materials: Reclaimed cotton textiles (saris, garments, cloth remnants)
- Year: 2026
- Size: 50 x 60 inches
Hand-stitched using the traditional kawandi (or kavandi) technique, each quilt is composed from layers of reclaimed fabrics such as old saris, garments, and cloth fragments, carefully arranged into striking geometric compositions. This method is deeply rooted in generations of knowledge, where every stitch carries memory, meaning, and cultural continuity.
The Siddi people of India are descendants of Africans brought to South Asia during the 16th century through colonial trade and enslavement. Over time, communities formed as individuals resisted and escaped bondage, establishing settlements in remote regions of India and Pakistan. Within this community, kawandi quilting emerged as a distinct and deeply rooted textile tradition unique to the Siddi people.
Traditionally, Siddi quilts were created for family use and often gifted to mark meaningful life events, such as weddings and the birth of a child. Today, through Reddy’s long-term collaboration with Siddi women, these works are recognized as significant contemporary textile art and have been exhibited internationally, including in museum contexts.
