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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 23

Mats and Matting

page 55

Mats and Matting,

830.1 Sittulputtee mat, pattern black crosses and stripes, Assam, N.E. India.
831.1 mat, figured pattern, Madras.
832.1 mat, figured pattern, Madras.
833.1 piece of matting, 5 yards long, Travancore, Madras.

The internal trade in mats is very extensive, as they are in universal use by both Europeans and natives, and are therefore made of kinds and varieties to suit everybody's taste and means. Europeans use only the better kinds of mats, and almost exclusively for the covering of floors in their houses, but natives employ them for a variety of other purposes, such as to sleep upon, smoke, &c. Every Mahomedan, however poor, after having performed the prescribed ablutions, spreads a small mat before him, while saying his prayers. The Hindoo uses it as a sort of table-cloth; in many a poor hut it constitutes the only piece of furniture perceptible.

Though mats are made in almost every part of India, the finest kinds are manufactured at Midnapore, near Calcutta. These are only manufactured to special order, but can be made of any size required. The price varies according to the size of the border, which is coloured either red or black. But besides these extremely fine mats, a description is manufactured, of which considerable numbers are exported to Madras, Bombay, Mauritius, and South Australia; these are much cheaper, and a good strong mat, about 20 feet square, may be had for £4 if plain, and £5 10s. with a black or red border. The mats next in point of fineness are those from Jessore, also in the vicinity of Calcutta, and called Sittulputtee; these, however, are never made, if Indian, of the size of an entire room-floor, but only in the shape of rugs, and have invariably a red border, sometimes also a red-flowered centre. They are generally made about 4 to 5 feet long and 2 broad, and cost from £2 to £3 each. At Hooghly, near Calcutta, an inferior kind of small mat is made, of which very large quantities are exported by the emigrants to Mauritius and Demerara, and lately several shipments have been made to New South Wales. The largest variety of small mats is, however, made in the Madras Presidency; North Arcot, and the whole of the Malabar coast, are celebrated for these handsome fabrics. There are at least 200 varieties of design and colouring, the price varying from 3s. to £3 per mat, according to quality and length. All mats in India are made by a special caste, who devote themselves exclusively to that description of manufacture. There are no statistical records to show the number and value of mats annually manufactured, but if it be considered that everybody, high or low, rich or poor, uses some kind of mat, it can easily be imagined that a very large number of people must be employed in making mats to supply the demand, not only of the immense local population, but also that for export.*