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Brooms in Inner Spaces
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Brooms used in indoor spaces tend to be made out of tender leaves and delicate fibres,
including the flowering ends of the panni grass called sirki, and
the thin stems of the daab, kaas and jeniya grasses, among other varieties.
These household brooms are generally used to sweep the floor of interiors, both
in rural and urban spaces, which encompass a variety of materials - clay, cement,
stone, and all plastered surfaces. Such brooms would rarely be used in the courtyard
and never in the cow-shed.
As the variation of their names suggests - buari and havarni - household
brooms are regarded as feminine. Often associated with Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth,
such brooms are stored carefully and kept in safe places out of the reach of children.
They are generally placed in a horizontal position under the cot, so as to avoid
being brushed against or crossed over.
All kinds of rituals are associated with household brooms, which are made on specific
days in the week. Brooms are never made on inauspicious days like Amavasya, the
no-moon day. Some brooms are used for giving jhada in order to get rid of
evil forces.
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Brooms in Outer Spaces |
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Brooms are specially made for use in outer spaces, including mud or cow-dung plastered
courtyards, cattle-sheds, the ground surrounding open shrines, and the cement or
stone surfaces of streets and pavements in urban spaces.
Outdoor brooms are never used indoors. As the different variations of their names
suggest-- bungra, buaro, buara, baro, khuaro, havarno and haveno -
the gender of the broom used in outer spaces is invariably 'male'.
A wide variety of indigenous grasses and shrubs are used for the making of outdoor
brooms, including the string used to bind the brooms together and form handles.
More recently, villagers are using plastic and left-over rags and pieces of cloth
to hold their handmade brooms together.
Other contemporary materials used by professional broom-makers include wire and
strips of old rubber tyres, which are slit with used razor blades.
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The following are short descriptions
of brooms which are made out of particular grasses and shrubs: |
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Panni
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The panni grass grows in loose soil in the monsoon season and is cut during the
month of Kartik (October-November).The professional Harijan sweeper community
uses this grass to make brooms, which are used to sweep roads, public spaces and
residential colonies. For this work they are paid either by the government, contractors,
or individual families.
Generally, Harijan men make the broom by arranging the panni leaves in such
a way so as to form a firm handle which is bound with string. A killi, a
wooden nail made out of bamboo or bambul wood, is inserted into the centre
of the handle so as to tighten it. Then the uneven and fragile strands of grass
at the end of the broom are trimmed. Just below the handle a ganda, a controlling
string, is encircled. It can be shifted up and down to facilitate the specific requirements
of cleaning in relation to the distance and texture of the surface being swept.
A single broom can be made from a bundle of panni, which is generally purchased
for Rs. 20. This broom lasts for around fifteen days. The old broom is either thrown
away or burnt after the killi (wooden nail) is removed from it. This killi
can be used for making other brooms.
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Baans (Bamboo)
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Bamboo is used exclusively by the professional Harijan broom-making community. Basically,
the bamboo is spliced into thin splints with a knife. These splints are clustered
and bound together with an iron wire. A wooden spike (killi) is wedged into
the handle to tighten it. At times a tall wooden stick is attached to the handle
so that there is no need to bend while sweeping. The bamboo broom is primarily used
by municipal sweepers to clean roads and public spaces all over Rajasthan. The sweepers
are paid Rs. 150 per month by the municipality for the making of such brooms.
Ironically, though the bamboo broom is lowest in the hierarchy of brooms in terms
of its association with dirt and sewage, it is the most expensive of all brooms
costing around Rs. 60 in the market. Sturdy and long-lasting, this broom is nonetheless
being replaced in urban homes by the plastic broom, which is particularly resilient
in dealing with the wet surfaces of the bathroom.
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Daab
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The grass daab grows around water-bodies and fields. It is used for many
rituals relating to birth, marriage and death. Following a cremation ceremony, the
daab grass is immersed in water which is then sprinkled over the bodies of
men and women when they re-enter the house. This water serves to purify the mourners
and signal the end of an inauspicious period of time (sutak). Likewise, the
daab is immersed in water and preserved until the grahan (eclipse)
ends. Daab is also used in rituals following the death of a person when the eldest
son is made to wear a ring made out of the daab grass, which is tied around
his left index finger. In shraddha or death-anniversary ceremonies, daab
is used for offering water to one's ancestors (tarpan). The daab grass
has Ayurvedic medicinal value. It is also used for making brushes and whitewashing
the interiors of houses. Ropes for the surface of sleeping cots (macha) are
also woven out of daab. The root of the daab (khas-khas) is
used for making perfumes.
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Kheemp
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Kheemp is a shrub which is normally found on sand-dunes, barren land or the
boundary walls of farms. The brooms made out of kheemp are used by villagers
in the cattle-sheds and for sweeping the house. Other uses of kheemp include
the thatching of the roofs of huts. Unripe kheemp twigs are also woven together
as ropes, which are used for tying different objects. Kheemp ropes are also
used for drawing water from the wells. Villagers make rings of kheemp twigs
on which earthen pots of water and grain are rested. The tender fruits (kheempoli)
of the kheemp shrub can also be eaten as vegetables. Villagers believe that
different kinds of skin diseases can be cured by applying the liquid of unripe kheemp
onto the infected area of the skin.
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Sinya |
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Sinya is a particular kind of shrub which normally grows on sand dunes or
in wastelands. The broom is primarily used to clean cattle-sheds in rural areas.
Sinya has multiple uses, ranging from the thatching of roofs to the making
of ropes.
Sinya is also used to separate the grain of bajra (pearl-millet) from
its husks. First, the sinya is spread over the soil and bajra is placed
on top and beaten with a wooden stick. Or else, tractors or bullocks move over the
sinya-covered ground crushing the bajra placed over it. In the process,
the grain gets embedded in the sinya and is then collected.
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Khejur
(Date-Palm)
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A variety of brooms can be made using
the leaves of the date-palm tree. Here are a few examples:
Karvat Khejur Jhadu
This broom, which is
made out of the whole leaves of khejur (date-palm), is around 5-6 feet in
length. It is shaped in the form of a karonth or iron saw from which the
word karvat is derived. The spine of the broom is woven together with three
whole khejur leaves. The broom is used for sweeping the floors of outer spaces and
courtyards but not for roads. It is made by the professional broom-makers of the
Verma nomadic tribe who are based in Gujarat. In the year 2004, they paid Rs.16,000
to the Munger village panchayat to shred the date-palm trees in the area. After
making brooms for a month at their temporary settlement in Munger village, the brooms
were transported on trucks to Vadodara and Dahod in Gujarat.
Topan/Gajra Jhadu
The head of this
khejur (date-palm) broom forming the handle is called topan, which is
derived from topi (hat). Gajra refers to the circular binding of the broom
with blades of the khejur leaf. There can be one, two, or three gajras
depending on the specific design of the broom. This broom is mostly used in towns
for the sweeping of cement or stone surfaces. Even as the broom gets shorter through
repeated use, its remaining stump is further used for cleaning the joints between
two surfaces and for clearing drains.
Guncho-khejur-jhadu
This broom is made by
the Bhil community. It is a “ready-made” broom in so far as it uses the remnant
of dried fruit from the date-palm tree, which is collected whole. Villagers use
this broom in the cow-shed and to remove cobwebs. |
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Bald
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A two to four feet tall shrub that grows in black soil, bald is used to make
brooms primarily for cleaning cattle-sheds and sweeping courtyards. The seeds of
the bald are mixed with urd-ke-dal (lentil) and mixed with ghee to make ladoo.
This is generally eaten during the winter months and is considered to be beneficial
for joint-pains and for strengthening the muscles. Likewise, the seeds of bald
can be separated from its husks and boiled with milk to make kheer. |
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Jhoonjhli
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The jhoonjhli grass grows in the forest and on mountains in southern Rajasthan.
It is collected by the Garasiya and Bhil communities and sold to the villagers at
the rate of one rupee for a bundle, or else it is bartered at the rate of two brooms
for one kilogram of wheat. This broom is used inside and outside the house but only
on floor surfaces that are made of mud and plastered with cow dung. |
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Narial (Coconut) Jhadu |
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The narial (coconut) broom is made out of the stems of dried coconut leaves,
which are generally imported to Rajasthan from the southern states of India. This
broom, of which there are many variations throughout India, is widely used on wet
surfaces in the bathroom and other outdoor spaces. Valued for its flexibility and
endurance, the narial jhadu is made by professional broom-making communities
and sold primarily in the cities.
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Phul-Jhadu
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The most familiar broom used throughout urban India is the phul-jhadu, which
is manufactured in large quantities in Rajasthan itself. However, the reed from
which the broom is made --Thysanolaena maxima -- grows exclusively in the
seven North-Eastern states of Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland,
Tripura, and Mizoram. Only in Meghalaya are the reeds grown in privately owned plantations.
For the rest of the North-East region, the land on which the reed grows is owned
by the Forest Department of different state governments.
Between December-February every year, the reed of the phul-jhadu is hand-plucked
by local villagers or labourers, who are employed by broom traders called mahaldars.
These traders pay a fee to the local Forest Department which gives them permission
to pick reeds within specific areas (mahals). The reeds are then collected,
packaged, and transported by truck or train to different parts of India.
Not unlike the context of the broom in Rajasthan, the phul-jhadu (or jaru,
as it is known in Assam) is subject to a number of beliefs and customs. It is considered
inauspicious to cross over it. During festivals like Bohag Bihu, a new broom is
generally purchased for the household. Brooms are also used in ceremonies involving
magic.
However, this King of Brooms in most parts of India would seem to be a relatively
recent innovation in Assam where there is more folklore and traditional knowledge
relating to the barhoni, a broom made of bamboo sticks.
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