Ancient Indian Costume c8.s3: Costume : Women
Ancient Indian Costume c8.s3
- Language
- English
Costume : Women
c8.s3.1
In the case of male costume it is easier to trace the influence, which came mainly from the invaders and traders. In female costume, however, the variety is much greater and hence it is more difficult to pin-point the exact sources.
c8.s3.2
The *antariya* which was 18–36 inches wide and 4–8 yards long was worn in several different ways. The short or long *antariya* was worn in the *kachcha* style or as a *lehnga*, in which case it was first wrapped around the right hip then around the body and tucked in at the left hip. It was drawn very tight across the hips accentuating their curve most seductively, and was normally calf length. Another form of the *antariya* was worn in the *kachcha* and *lehnga* styles together. This was usually a very short *antariya* only up to mid-thigh called the *calanika*. It was drawn up first in the *kachcha* style, the longer end of the three-yard long material was then wrapped around like a short *lehnga*. A common form was a skimpy *antariya* made of cheap linen worn mainly by the lower classes. Normally the ankle-length *antariya* was worn by the nobility and women of high rank, attendants usually wore the shorter form. But in all cases it was tied under the navel and supported by the hip bones.
c8.s3.3
The *antariya* was occasionally worn like the Indonesian sarong—a wide garment reaching from under the armpits to mid-thigh in a simple wraparound fashion. The main difference in the Gupta period, as distinct from the previous periods, is that the *kachcha* style became less popular with women, being replaced gradually by the more feminine *lehnga* or *lungi* as we call it today, although the queen and other ladies of the royal family remained conservative. This conservative *kachcha* style is still adopted by the women of Maharashtra and South India.
c8.s3.4
The skirt, *bhairnivasani*, evolved from the *antariya* which when stitched on one side became tubular and was worn gathered together at the waist, and held by a girdle. This was one of the earliest forms of a clumsily stitched skirt and used as early as the Early Bronze period by the Germanic race. The *bhairnivasani* was first used by the Jain and Buddhist nuns, and arose from the idea that a woman's body was sinful and had to be covered. Also, the *kachcha* and the *lehnga* styles were considered too seductive as they entailed the *antariya* to be pulled tightly across the hips. With the Jain sect in particular, an extraordinary amount of clothing was worn by the nuns to completely hide the shape of the female form. From the *bhairnivasani* evolved the skirt with the drawstring or *nada*, called the *ghagri*. The *ghagri* was a narrow skirt six feet long—the same length as the original *antariya*. It was worn mainly by village women, and was very attractive since the border of the cloth was used vertically in the centre to decorate it.
c8.s3.5
A heavily gathered skirt, an elaboration on the *ghagri* probably introduced by foreigners, is also seen. It seems to be mainly used by dancers, so that the swirling effect is enhanced by its many folds which may have been gored. This skirt is still worn by many rural peoples, including the Lambadi and Banjara gypsies of India.
c8.s3.6
Women wore *langoti* type of drawers, the *ardhoruka*, which had evolved from the needs of modesty. This was a short strip of cloth worn around the waist with an attached piece from the centre of the waist, which was drawn up between the legs and tucked in behind. Like the *bhairnivasani* this too was an early garment originally used by women ascetics. Jain nuns wore four of these *ardhorukas* one on top of another, something like the medieval 'chastity belt'.
c8.s3.7
It would be interesting to find a satisfactory answer as to why, at this particular juncture, Indian women frequently began to clothe the top half of their bodies. For many centuries before, they had moved around unselfconsciously nude above the waist. There were probably two reasons. One was that the female attendants in the king's court, thrown into the company of beautiful foreigners who wore upper garments, must have realized that covering the bosom could be even more attractive than exposing it, and accordingly emulated the dress style of the foreigners. Also, with the impact of Buddhism, Jainism, and Christianity the belief that the body was sinful and must be concealed to avoid temptation was percolating through India. In medieval Europe, around this time, similar changes were occurring in female clothing, and women began covering themselves from head to foot.
c8.s3.8
The breast-band had been used since Vedic times, as with the Greeks, mainly as a support for the breasts rather than to cover them. There was in addition to the breast-band, an indigenous stitched garment known as *cholaka*, *chola*, *choli*, *cholika*, and *kancholika*, which is mentioned in early Sanskrit literature. The primitive *choli* was cut very simply from a square piece of cloth, with a slit for the neck. This was also the early form used as protection by the women of the Germanic or Teutonic races in the Early Bronze age. This evolution from the unstitched to the stitched garment had an inescapable logic as it evolved for purely functional purposes. In the case of the Germanic races it was protection from the cold, and in India it served the purpose of modesty.
c8.s3.9
A further development of the *choli* was the fold back at the bottom edge and the introduction of strings, attached to make it backless, very like the garment worn today by women in Rajasthan and elsewhere. The apron-like attachment at the front of the *choli*, visible in some of the frescoes, could have evolved from the need for protection against the cold for the front part of the body, as the back was normally covered by the head-veil, or as a modest covering over the stomach which was exposed, the skirt or *lehnga* being worn below the navel. Here again the back was covered by the head-veil.
c8.s3.10
Another *choli* which ends just above the waist is made of diaphanous material and seen particularly in the dress of princesses and other royal ladies. This *choli* appears to be fastened in front, probably knotted, as is the case with certain *cholis* in use today. This would cover the back completely, but expose most of the midriff in front. The Persian shirt or *kurta*, with its side-opening at the neck, slit sides and four-poted hemline had become thoroughly Indianised and was commonly used even by women. Another style of the *kurta* was with crossover flaps and side-opening in the *angarkha* style. Ankle-length fitted tunics in brocade still appear foreign and may have been a Turanian Tartar (a nomadic race of Mongolian stock from Central Asia) contribution to the fashions at court.
c8.s3.11
The *uttariya* remained, but was worn very sheer and more as a flattering accessory, rather than as the substantial article of clothing it had once been. It is normally seen in Ajanta, delicately wafting behind, like the floating ribbon decoration which was also in fashion at the Persian court at this time.
c8.s3.12
Simple plaits were no longer visible, and hair was so elaborately dressed at times, that the help of maid-servants who were expert hair-dressers was obviously essential. There seemed to be broadly two styles of foreign origin, while the complicated ways of dressing long hair were mainly derived from south Indian and Deccani styles. The latter became extremely popular in the Gupta age. The use of *missi* to darken the gums and lips, and henna to redden the palm and soles of the feet was fairly prevalent.
c8.s3.13
Of foreign origin was the short hair which was sometimes frizzed in front with luxuriant ringlets quite unlike anything seen today, or just left hanging loose to the shoulders or lower, held by a fillet or a chaplet of flowers.
c8.s3.14
The indigenous style showed itself in long hair worn in a bun either high or low on the neck or knotted at the side of the head, or with the coil wound on the left on top of the head. The bun itself was sometimes a simple tight knot, at other times in the shape of the figure eight, or large and loosely wound, but almost always surrounded by flowers or had large lotus blossoms tucked into it. In addition, there could be a, *ratnajali*, jewelled net or a net of pearls called *muktajara*, worn over the bun.
c8.s3.15
Tiaras were often used with short or long hair, and pearl strings could define the parting of the hair as could a jewelled band. Fillets both simple and elaborate were commonly used to hold back short hair. Turbans too had not disappeared completely and women wore them very effectively, sometimes made of brocade or striped material, and completely covering the hair.
c8.s3.16
The profuse use of flowers cannot be overemphasized in this period. Besides surrounding the bun they were used as tiaras, and in as many ways to dress the hair as could conceivably be imagined by the women wearing them. In the Deccan, hair styles of the lower classes (even those belonging to the menial orders) or the peasant women could be as elaborate as those of the higher-class women.
c8.s3.17
For men, a tiara or crown with a band inset with pearls and sometimes festooned with garlands replaced the turban. This slowly became more common for the king when informally dressed in indigenous garments; attendants wore this as well with shoulder-length hair. On the Gupta coins, however, the king is shown in Parthian-Kushan dress and wears a skull cap or helmet as headgear. This latter costume was probably used by the king on formal occasions which required military regalia, or at sports like hunting.
c8.s3.18
In the royal entourage, the turban continued to be worn by high officials, like the chamberlain, ministers, military officers, civic officials and so on, where it had become a distinctive symbol of their respective ranks. It could be of fine muslin tied over a large knot of hair at the centre of the forehead or a striped turban worn flat and twisted giving a rope-like effect to the cloth when wound. The ministers were often Brahmins with all their hair shorn keeping only the ritual top knot.
c8.s3.19
Generally, hair was worn loose by men, shoulder-length and curled, in the *gurnakuntala* style, sometimes with a head band to hold it in place, or adorned with a strand of pearls. Very short hair was also fairly common and looked much like the hair worn today except that a clear parting in the hair was seldom visible.
c8.s3.20
There were, however, fashions in the dressing of men's hair, which was sometimes cut unevenly at the edges, giving the appearance of a wig; at other times the earlier form of a top knot was employed, but in a more decorative manner, using only a portion of the hair, the rest hanging in curls to the shoulder.