ABSTRACT
This chapter describes artisanal migrations in the medieval period in the context of Peninsular India. It focuses on the economic vicissitudes of weaving communities in Peninsular India. The chapter attempts a longue duree overview of weaver interregional migrations in medieval South India, taking up for study the period from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century. It discusses the interregional migrations are located in medieval South India, also called Peninsular India. The chapter also attempts to map the migrations of some of the traditional weaving communities of South India in the medieval period. The weaving crafts of South India have been associated with certain traditional communities like the Kaikkolar. South India is divided from the north by the Vindhya and Satpura mountain ranges. The thirteenth-century literary composition Itti Elupatu written by the celebrated Chola court poet Ottakuttar, himself a member of the Kaikkola community, celebrates the military prowess of the Kaikkolar.
