Drop Spindle Spinning

– Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Thailand, Uzbekistan

Afghanistan

Afghani cotton spinning is done on a drop spindle.[1] Wool is also spun on a drop spindle, and is usually done thick.[2]

 

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The woman in the middle is spinning! And it does look like drop spinning! So weird![3] One thing noted about her "spindle" is that it seems to be all whorl. I'm not sure how common this type of "spindle" is, but I really want to try it out!

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Bhutan

In Bhutanese culture, drop spindles are called phang.[4] Wools are typically made from yak, sheep, and goat.[5] They are spun on both drop spindles and on wheels.[6]

 

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I love her spindle. I want to look at it closer![7]

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Cyprus

Excavations have been done in Cyprus, and they have found that spindles were two-piece constructions, with stone or terracotta for the whorl and wood for the spindle.[8]

 

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Clay spindle whorl from Cyprus.[9]

 

Kazakhstan

Most of Kazakhstan was a nomadic society. Thus they would have used spindles to do their work. Also, they probably worked mostly with animal fibers.

 

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A spindle typical of one found in Kazakstan[10]

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Kyrgyzstan

The nomads of Kyrgyzstan mostly spun with spindles. Even when the Kyrgyzstani people settled down so they were mostly living in cities, they continued to spin with spindles.[11] These spindles were top whorl. Which indicates that they may have been used for drop spinning, not supported spinning.

 

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The article mentions rocks being formed to make spindles, then parts of power lines. This whorl looks like it could be from a power line…[12]

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Mongolia

No evidence of wheels used in Mongolia in medieval times found, which makes a certain amount of sense given they were a nomadic culture and moving around with something as large as a wheel (even one that is typical of Asia at the time) could have been problematic

From looking at pictures of historical reenactments, they appear to have used bottom whorl drop spindles. But these are reenactments. I’m not finding primary sources, or even secondary.[13]

 

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Hohhot reenactor spinning. I’m dubious, as that spindle looks more European than anything else I’ve seen doing this research, but I’m good at being wrong.[14]

 

Nepal

In Nepal, depending on material, the spindle spinning could be done as drop or in hand. Animal fibers were mostly done drop, while plant fibers were mostly done in hand. While this did vary from region to region, this seems to have been fairly consistent across Nepal.[15]

Thailand, Whorls for cotton thread have been found in excavation sites in Sukhothai.[16] But I’m not sure what these would have looked like. My guess would have been a takli, especially with all the other Indian influences they have had, but I wouldn’t consider the takli a two piece spindle.

​​​​​​​​​​​Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan had a lot of nomads who would spin on drop spindles.