Ringaal Basketry of Uttarakhand

During winters when the fields are being sowed and the farmers don’t have much work to do they take up the craft of basketry. The baskets are prepared with a special type of bamboo which is locally known as Ringaal.

Ringaal is a smaller species of bamboo grass growing up to 3 to 5 meters only. The length is also affected by the altitude; a grass grown at 3000 to 5000 feet is serviceable for basketry. The stalk of the grass made flat and the outer skin is used as splits to interlace into basket. Firstly the warp split is beaten to become flat which is then intertwined in a twill weave and extra weft interlacing at the bottom and rim to provide strength and support. The extra weft twining is locally known as tyal weaving. The mat made through ringaal bamboo is made with a basket weave and winnows are made in close weave with twill pattern. The flooring of many traditional houses in Kumaon and Garhwal region is done with ringaal mat pasted on mud base flooring.