Lac bangles

Contents
Lac bangles 1. Introduction 1.1. Lac handicrafts 2. Producer communities 3. Regions of production 4. Raw materials 5. Tools 6. Process 7. Products and their uses 8. Miscellaneous 9. References

1. Introduction
Lac is a resinous substance secreted by an insect called kerria lacca. The insect hosts itself on the branches of certain trees such as kusum/papal and forms a red encrustation around it. The coated branches are cut and sieved and the material obtained is washed to remove all impurities. The resulting seed lac is used in making several products. Lac is the source of resin, wax, and dye. It collected from forests in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, West Bengal, and Assam. Lac is available in different qualities dark black, brown, and light golden the latter being the best and most expensive. Reference to lac can be found in Vedas. The Atharvaveda provides a detailed account of lac, its production, and uses. Ayurveda stresses the importance of lac in medical therapies. India is one of the largest producers of lac and its principal exporter. It is widely used in food processing, textile, leather, cosmetics, varnish, and printing industries. Being bio-degradable and eco-friendly its usage is becoming highly popular.

1.1. Lac handicrafts

In handicrafts the use of lac is well known in making jewellry. Lac is used to hold the ornament when it is being set with precious/semi-precious stones or enameled. It is also filled inside the ornaments to give strength and hold their shapes. In repousse work, metal sheets are placed on lac and designs hammered on the sheets. Lac bangles from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Hyderabad, and Bihar are extremely popular. Jaipur is a big centre for lac bangles. They are considered a sign of good omen and are worn by married women on all auspicious occasions in Gujarat and Rajasthan with red and green being the traditional colors. In Bihar, lac refuse called kiri forms the core of the lac bangles. The outer colored layer of the bangle is made out of better quality lac. Traditionally, lac bangles in Bihar are worn by married women belonging to Bhumij, Mo, Oraon, Munda, and Santal tribes. Lac bangles are made plain or with lehariya designs on them or studded with glass, precious and semiprecious stones. Lac is also used in making lacquerware toys and furniture.

2. Producer communities
Lakhera or laheri is the hereditary artisan community of Hindus invoved in lac bangle making in Bihar, Bengal, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. Lac bangles are worn by Hindus. In Rajasthan lac bangles are made by Muslims and worn by Hindus.

3. Regions of production
Rajasthan Jaipur and Ajmer are important centres. Bihar - Muzafarpur, Laheriasarai, Madhubani, and Lakhisarai are especially well known for this craft (locally called lahathi). Hyderabad Lad bazaar in old city is the main production centre and market for lac bangles. The base is made in pure lac and embellished with glass pieces of various shapes.

4. Raw materials
Chapdi (black lac), orange chapdi (light golden lac), beroza, giya pathar powder, coal, sequins, semiprecious stones, and colors in powder form pevdi (yellow), safeda (lithophone), mirgam (copper), green, chamki (gold).

Photograph 1- Raw Materials

5. Tools
Angethi (coal burner with flat steel plates/silla on top), kadai (shallow vessel), wooden rod, stone piece, hattha for pressing and shaping lac, iron bangles for sizing, tin foil, round wooden rod/khali for shaping bangles, cutter, tool for picking sequins, haddi or bone shaped wooden tool.

Photograph 2- Coal burner

Photograph 3- Basic tools

6. Process
Lac pieces are first melted in a shallow vessel or kadai. When it is in a semi-molten state, beroza, giya pathar powder, and color are added to it. The mixture is stirred continuously. The colored lac is now stuck on the end of a wooden stick.

Photograph 4- Colored lac The lac (without pigment) stuck around a wooden rod is heated slowly over the coal burner or angethi. It is simultaneously pressed with a stone or a wooden tool called hattha at regular intervals. When it is sufficiently warm and soft, it is wrapped with the desired color by rubbing the colored lac stick on it evenly. For this purpose the colored lac stick also has to be warm enough and is therefore heated over the burner. After the color has been applied to the lac base it is shaped into a thin coil with the help of hattha and cut off from the plain lac rod.

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Photograph 5- Heating the uncolored lac; Photograph 6- Uncolored lac pressed with hattha; Photograph 7- Rubbing the colored lac; Photograph 8- Heating the colored lac; Photograph 9- Coil formation using the hattha; Photograph 10- Cutting the coil The coil is heated over the burner so that the ends can be joined together to form a bangle. After being joined it is slipped through a round wooden beam (with a tapering end for different sizes) and adjusted for size.

Photograph 11- Heating the coil

Photograph 12- Sizing the bangle

The bangle is ready to be embellished with sequins, semi-precious stones, etc. The sequins are placed on a tin foil and heated over a burner. They are warmed so that they can melt the lac surface on which they are placed and stick there after solidification. They are picked up one at a time and stuck on the bangle. The process requires great precision. It takes much longer when working with smaller sized sequins.

Photograph 13- Heating the bangle

Photograph 14- Fixing the sequences

7. Products and their uses

Lac jewelry: bangles, necklaces, and earrings Lac decorative and utility items: boxes, mirrors, photo frames, key chains, pens, penholders, tea coasters, notebooks, phone books, etc.

8. Miscellaneous
Lac bangles are considered auspicious in several cultures of the country and therefore popular during marriage ceremonies in regions like Rajasthan, Hyderabad, and Bihar. In Rajasthan lac bangles continue to be popular among married women. They are preferred as they are soothing to wear and do not cause infections or itchiness like in the case of plastic or glass bangles. Apart from being worn in ceremonial functions, traditional designs are not so popular today. Traditional colors have been replaced by a whole array of pastels and other colors preferred by customers today. Sequins, semi-precious stones, and glass work on lac bangles is quite popular today in Rajasthan and Hyderabad. In the Old City of Hyderabad, once a main center for lac bangles, the number of families practicing the craft has declined substantially. The demand for lac bangles has however increased in the international market. A number of lac artisans have migrated to Gulf countries from Hyderabad in search of bangle making jobs. However, utility products made out of lac such as tea coasters, boxes, notebooks, etc are gaining popularity.

9. References
www.rajasthanheritage.com www.craftandartisans.com www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com