Jain Miniature Paintings from Western India c11.s2.1

c11.s2.1

Interesting details of the Gujarātī costumes and ornaments are preserved in Western Indian miniatures, which confirm the description of the costume of Gujarāt given by Ibn Haukal (11th century), Chao-Ju-Kua (12th century), and Duarte Barbosa (stayed in India from 1500—1516 A.D.). Ibn Haukal says⁵⁷ that the people of the Gulf of Cambay and Malabar coast wore *izār* and *mizār* after the fashion of the Muhamadans settled there. This costume acted as a guard against the extreme heat, and for that very reason it was adopted by the people of Multān. The merchants wore the respective costume of their countries. Chao-Ju-Kua⁵⁸ describes the costumes and ornaments of the 12th century Gujarātīs, both men and women as follows : “ Both men and women have double rings hanging down their ears ; they wear tight clothes, and are wrapped in plain cotton cloth ; they wear on their hair white hoods, and on their feet shoes of scarlet leather.” From the above descriptions of the costumes of the Gujarātīs in the 11th and 12th centuries, it is clear that the men, perhaps after the fashion of the Muhammadans, wore shorts and jackets, as the light clothes of Chao-Ju-Kua and the *izār* and *mizār* of Ibn Haukal would signify. Then, according to Chao-Ju-Kua, the women wore *sārīs*. Both men and women also covered their heads with scarves and perhaps wore shoes.