Shital Pati

History

Shital means cool in Bangla, and a shital pati is a mat that feels cool to sit or sleep on, which makes it welcome in hot, humid weather. People all over Bangladesh use it as a sitting mat, a bedspread and a prayer mat. It is a family-based craft: skills pass from one generation to the next within households of weavers, and mastery of the technique brings social prestige.

In 2017 UNESCO inscribed the traditional art of Shital Pati weaving of Sylhet on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The decision notes that the government allows murta to be grown on state land without tax or rent, and that weaving communities are increasingly organising into cooperatives.

How it's made

The raw material is murta, known to botanists as Schumannianthus dichotomus, a green, cane-like plant that grows around ponds, canals and other water bodies. Both men and women collect and prepare the murta, while women do more of the weaving.

• Cutting: mature murta stems are harvested.
• Splitting: each stem is split lengthwise into thin, flat strips.
• Preparing: the strips are dried in the sun and boiled, and some are dyed.
• Weaving: the strips are woven by hand into a tight mat, and the dyed strips form patterns against the natural beige of the plant.

Decorated mats with woven motifs are called nakshi pati. Their motifs draw on natural and religious symbols, and UNESCO notes that Shital Pati designs have influenced many other kinds of mats and quilts.

Where it's made

• The greater Sylhet region, covering Sylhet, Sunamganj, Moulvibazar and Habiganj districts, where most weavers live in low-lying villages
• Jhalokati in Barishal division, whose official district motto pairs guava with shital pati
• Noakhali, which along with Sylhet is known for nakshi pati
• Murta also grows in Barishal, Tangail, Cumilla, Feni and Chattogram, and smaller groups of weavers work in other parts of the country

How to recognise the real thing

• A murta mat feels smooth and cool against the skin.
• Natural strips vary slightly in width and shade. Perfectly uniform strips with a plastic sheen point to a synthetic mat.