Indigo

[katherine eirene ulrich]

Kenneth Hall has an article in the Journal of the Economic and Soial History
of the Orient on "The Textile Industry in Southeast Asia, 1400-1800" that
might be useful.  The new book _Cloth and Human Experience_ (ed. A.B. Weiner
and Jane Schneider) has an essay on indigo in Indonesian textiles, plus
essays by B. Cohn and S. Bean on textiles in the colonial and post-colonial
period (e.g., svadeshi).  There are also some articles on textiles in the
colonial and post-colonial period in A. Appadurai, ed., _The Social Life of
Things_.  In _South Asian Studies_ (vol. 11, 1995), R. Janaway and R.A.E.
Coningham's "Review of Archaeological Textile Evidence from South Asia" has
an extensive bibliography.  Finally, you might try Paul Wheatley,
"Geographical Notes on Some Commodities involved in Sung Maritime Trade," in
the _Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society_ (1959): he
refers to Chinese and early European references to indigo being exported from
Gujarat.

I hope that these are of some use, if only to help you in tracking down what
you need.  I have been doing some research on the silk trade in the Early
Historic Period.  Do you -- or does anyone else -- know about where I might
find references to arguments about non-violence and the necessity of killing
silkworms?  I have only been able to find references to early Chinese
Buddhist works or 19th - 20th century Hindu ones.  Yet it seems reasonable to
think that there was some discussion in pre-colonial South Asia (whether
among Hindus, Buddhists, or Jains), and I would be very grateful if someone
knows where I might find that information.  Thanks.
_________________________
Katherine E. Ulrich
University of Chicago
Divinity School
1025 E. 58th St.
Chicago, IL 60637
keulrich at midway.uchicago.edu
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