Cloistering Water: Technological Rupture, Religious Continuity in Sixteenth Century Western India

The introduction of the underground cistern in South Asia, through Western India, offers a fascinating case study of knowledge migration and technological transfers between West and South Asia. It addresses the question of past hydraulic technologies used in the Western Indian cities and the modalities of a fundamental shift in the relationship to water during the 16th century. The present paper is based on my surveys and architectural studies of underground cisterns (tānkā) in Ahmedabad, urbs prima of Gujarat from 1411 onwards. It describes the tānkā system and its archaeological characteristics, with a special focus on the early reservoir of the Shāh Vajihudin Alvi khānqāh. This study, compared with evidences in other urban centres of Western India, brings to light the emergence of underground cisterns in the urban context from the late 16th century onwards. It also shows the pioneering role played by the large cistern built in the Shāh Vajihudin Alvi khānqāh. Beyond this archaeological work, the paper discusses the causes of this radical technological change, and addresses the issue of cultural and religious continuity.