Pattamadai Mat

The Pattamadai mat, or Pattamadai pai, is a finely woven silk-soft sleeping mat made from locally grown korai reed in Pattamadai near Tirunelveli. The finest grades are woven so tightly and with such thin, split reeds that the mat becomes smooth and pliable enough to be folded like cloth, and prized 'pattu pai' mats can carry woven names, patterns or borders. Making a top-quality mat is painstaking work: the korai grass is harvested, split, soaked in the Thamirabarani river water, dried and then woven by hand, sometimes over weeks, often by the women of local Muslim Labbai weaving families. A Pattamadai mat famously featured among gifts to visiting dignitaries and is treasured as a wedding gift for its comfort and fine texture. The craft supports weaver families in the village and represents a rare tradition of luxury reed weaving in Tamil Nadu.