Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c7.74

c7.74

The dress of women of high caste consisted of a heṭṭaya with mante like that of a man, and a cloth (helaya) round the loins arranged in various ways (Pl. XXXVI., 2, 3, 4). Otherwise, the end of the cloth, then called ohoriya, is thrown over the shoulder, in the Tamil fashion (Pl. II.), but this seems to have been rare in the eighteenth century, as it is never seen in the pictures. The ohoriya (sāri) is no doubt of Tamil origin.