Origins and
history
The word 'sari' evolved
from the Prakrit word 'sattika' as mentioned in earliest Jain and
Buddhist literature.[2]
The history of Indian clothing trace the sari back to the Indus
Valley Civilization, which flourished during 2800-1800 BCE around
the western part of the Indian Subcontinent.[1] The earliest known
depiction of the saree in the Indian subcontinent is the statue of
an Indus valley priest wearing a drape.[1]
Ancient Tamil poetry, such as the Silappadhikaram and the Kadambari
by Banabhatta, describes women in exquisite drapery or saree.[3] In
ancient Indian tradition and the Natya Shastra (an ancient Indian
treatise describing ancient dance and costumes), the navel of the
Supreme Being is considered to be the source of life and creativity,
hence the midriff is to be left bare by the saree.[4]
Sculptures from the Gandhara, Mathura and Gupta schools (1st-6th
century AD) show goddesses and dancers wearing what appears to be a
dhoti wrap, in the "fishtail" version which covers the legs loosely
and then flows into a long, decorative drape in front of the legs.
No bodices are shown.[5]
Other sources say that everyday costume consisted of a dhoti or
lungi (sarong), combined with a breast band and a veil or wrap that
could be used to cover the upper body or head. The two-piece Kerala
mundum neryathum (mundu, a dhoti or sarong, neryath, a shawl, in
Malayalam) is a survival of ancient Indian clothing styles, the
one-piece sari is a modern innovation, created by combining the two
pieces of the mundum neryathum.[6]
It is generally accepted that wrapped sari-like garments, shawls,
and veils have been worn by Indian women for a long time, and that
they have been worn in their current form for hundreds of years.
One point of particular controversy is the history of the choli, or
sari blouse, and the petticoat. Some researchers state that these
were unknown before the British arrived in India, and that they were
introduced to satisfy Victorian ideas of modesty. Previously, women
only wore one draped cloth and casually exposed the upper body and
breasts. Other historians point to much textual and artistic
evidence for various forms of breastband and upper-body shawl.
In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, it is indeed documented that women from
many communities wore only the sari and exposed the upper part of
the body till the 20th century.[7] Poetic references from works like
Silappadikaram indicate that during the sangam period in ancient
Tamil Nadu, a single piece of clothing served as both lower garment
and head covering, leaving the bosom and midriff completely
uncovered.[3] In Kerala there are many references to women being
bare-breasted,[7] including many pictures by Raja Ravi Varma. Even
today, women in some rural areas do not wear cholis.
Styles of draping
The most common style is for the sari to
be wrapped around the waist, with the loose end of the drape to
be worn over the shoulder, baring the stomach.[1] However, the
sari can be draped in several different styles, though some
styles do require a sari of a particular length or form. The
French cultural anthropologist and sari researcher, Chantal
Boulanger, categorizes sari drapes in the following families:[8]
Nivi – styles originally worn in Andhra Pradesh; besides the
modern nivi, there is also the kaccha nivi, where the pleats are
passed through the legs and tucked into the waist at the back.
This allows free movement while covering the legs.
Bengali and Oriya style.
Gujarati – this style differs from the nivi only in the manner
that the loose end is handled: in this style, the loose end is
draped over the right shoulder rather than the left, and is also
draped back-to-front rather than the other way around.
Maharashtrian/Kashta; this drape is very similar to that of the
male Maharashtrian dhoti. The center of the sari (held
lengthwise) is placed at the center back, the ends are brought
forward and tied securely, then the two ends are wrapped around
the legs. When worn as a sari, an extra-long cloth is used and
the ends are then passed up over the shoulders and the upper
body. They are primarily worn by Brahmin women of Maharashtra,
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Dravidian – sari drapes worn in Tamil Nadu; many feature a
pinkosu, or pleated rosette, at the waist.
Madisaara style – this drape is typical of Brahmin ladies from
Tamil Nadu and Kerala
Kodagu style – this drape is confined to ladies hailing from the
Kodagu district of Karnataka. In this style, the pleats are
created in the rear, instead of the front. The loose end of the
sari is draped back-to-front over the right shoulder, and is
pinned to the rest of the sari.
Gond – sari styles found in many parts of Central India. The
cloth is first draped over the left shoulder, then arranged to
cover the body.
the two-piece sari, or mundum neryathum, worn in Kerala. Usually
made of unbleached cotton and decorated with gold or colored
stripes and/or borders.
tribal styles – often secured by tying them firmly across the
chest, covering the breasts.
The nivi style is today's most popular sari style. (Dongerkerry
K. S. 1959).[9]
A highly embroidered wedding sari
The nivi drape starts with one end of the sari tucked into the
waistband of the petticoat. The cloth is wrapped around the lower
body once, then hand-gathered into even pleats just below the navel.
The pleats are also tucked into the waistband of the petticoat.[9]
They create a graceful, decorative effect which poets have likened
to the petals of a flower.[9]
After one more turn around the waist, the loose end is draped over
the shoulder.[9] The loose end is called the pallu or pallav. It is
draped diagonally in front of the torso. It is worn across the right
hip to over the left shoulder, partly baring the midriff.[9] The
navel can be revealed or concealed by the wearer by adjusting the
pallu, depending on the social setting in which the sari is being
worn. The long end of the pallu hanging from the back of the
shoulder is often intricately decorated. The pallav may either be
left hanging freely,tucked in at the waist, used to cover the head,
or just used to cover the neck, by draping it across the right
shoulder as well. Some nivi styles are worn with the pallu draped
from the back towards the front.
The Nivi saree was popularised through the paintings of Raja Ravi
Varma.[10] by modifying the south indian saree called mundum
neriyathum. In one of his painting the Indian subcontinent was shown
as a mother wearing a flowing nivi saree.[10]
In Bangladesh
Silk Sari Weaving at Kanchipuram, Tamil
Nadu
The Sari is worn by women throughout Bangladesh. There are many
regional variations of Saris in both silk and cotton. But the
Jamdani Tanta/Taant Cotton, Dhakai Benarosi, Rajshahi silk, Tangail
Tanter Sari, tashar silk and Katan Sari as the most popular in
Bangladesh.
In Pakistan
In Pakistan, the wearing of saris is less
common than the more traditional shalwar kameez which is worn
throughout the country. The sari does however remain a popular dress
for formal functions such as weddings.[11] The sari is sometimes
worn as daily-wear, mostly in Karachi, by those elderly women who
were used to wearing it in pre-partition India[12] and by some of
the new generation who have re-introduced the interest in
saris.[13][14] [15] The reason why the sari lost popularity in
Pakistan, was due to it being viewed as a Hindu dress. Although she
was seen wearing them,[12] Fatima Jinnah, the "Mother of the
Nation", called the sari "unpatriotic" and the wife of former
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf stated that she never wears the
garment.[16]
In Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan women wear saris in many styles.
However, two ways of draping the sari are popular and tend to
dominate; the Indian style (classic nivi drape) and the Kandyan
style (or 'osaria' in Sinhalese). The Kandyan style is generally
more popular in the hill country region of Kandy from which the
style gets its name. Though local preferences play a role, most
women decide on style depending on personal preference or what is
perceived to be most flattering for their figure.
The traditional Kandyan (Osaria) style
consists of a full blouse which covers the midriff completely, and
is partially tucked in at the front as is seen in this 19th century
portrait. However, modern intermingling of styles has led to most
wearers baring the midriff. The final tail of the sari is neatly
pleated rather than free-flowing. This is rather similar to the
pleated rosette used in the 'Dravidian' style noted earlier in the
article.
Kandyan style is considered as the national
dress of Sinhalese women. It is the Uniform of air hostesses of Sri
Lankan Airlines.
In
Nepal
In Nepal, a special style of draping is
used in a sari called Haku patasi. The sari is draped around the
waist and a shawl is worn covering upper half of sari which is used
in place of "pallu".
The sari as cloth
Woman doing Block Printing on a sari,
Halasur village, Karnataka
Saris are woven with one plain end (the end that is concealed inside
the wrap), two long decorative borders running the length of the
sari, and a one to three foot section at the other end which
continues and elaborates the length-wise decoration. This end is
called the pallu; it is the part thrown over the shoulder in the
Nivi style of draping.
In past times, saris were woven of silk or cotton. The rich could
afford finely-woven, diaphanous silk saris that, according to
folklore, could be passed through a finger ring. The poor wore
coarsely woven cotton saris. All saris were handwoven and
represented a considerable investment of time or money.
Simple hand-woven villagers' saris are often decorated with checks
or stripes woven into the cloth. Inexpensive saris were also
decorated with block printing using carved wooden blocks and
vegetable dyes, or tie-dyeing, known in India as bhandani work.
More expensive saris had elaborate geometric, floral, or figurative
ornaments or brocades created on the loom, as part of the fabric.
Sometimes warp and weft threads were tie-dyed and then woven,
creating ikat patterns. Sometimes threads of different colors were
woven into the base fabric in patterns; an ornamented border, an
elaborate pallu, and often, small repeated accents in the cloth
itself. These accents are called buttis or bhutties (spellings
vary). For fancy saris, these patterns could be woven with gold or
silver thread, which is called zari work.
Sometimes the saris were further decorated, after weaving, with
various sorts of embroidery. Resham work is embroidery done with
colored silk thread. Zardozi embroidery uses gold and silver thread
and sometimes pearls and precious stones. Cheap modern versions of
zardozi use synthetic metallic thread and imitation stones, such as
fake pearls and Swarovski crystals.
In modern times, saris are increasingly woven on mechanical looms
and made of artificial fibers, such as polyester, nylon, or rayon,
which do not require starching or ironing. They are printed by
machine, or woven in simple patterns made with floats across the
back of the sari. This can create an elaborate appearance on the
front, while looking ugly on the back. The punchra work is imitated
with inexpensive machine-made tassel trim.
Hand-woven, hand-decorated saris are naturally much more expensive
than the machine imitations. While the over-all market for
handweaving has plummeted (leading to much distress among Indian
handweavers), hand-woven saris are still popular for weddings and
other grand social occasions.
Types of saris
Girl standing in a veranda wearing a
Pochampalli sari, Painting by Hermann Linde, 1895
While an international image of the 'modern style' sari may have
been popularised by airline stewardesses, each region in the Indian
subcontinent has developed, over the centuries, its own unique sari
style. Following are the well known varieties, distinct on the basis
of fabric, weaving style, or motif, in South Asia:
Northern styles
Banarasi – Uttar Pradesh
Shalu – Uttar Pradesh
Western styles
Paithani – Maharashtra
Bandhani – Gujarat and Rajasthan
Kota doria Rajasthan
Lugade – Maharashtra
Patola – Gujarat
Central styles
Chanderi – Madhya Pradesh
Maheshwari – Madhya Pradesh
Kosa silk – Chattisgarh
Southern styles
Kanchipuram (locally called
Kanjivaram) – Tamil Nadu
Coimbatore – Tamil Nadu
Chinnalapatti – Tamil Nadu
Chettinad – Tamil Nadu
Madurai – Tamil Nadu
Arani – Tamil Nadu
Pochampally – Andhra Pradesh (GI rights applied) [17]
Venkatagiri – Andhra Pradesh
Gadwal – Andhra Pradesh
Guntur – Andhra Pradesh
Narayanpet – Andhra Pradesh
Mangalagiri – Andhra Pradesh
Balarampuram – Kerala
Mysore Silk – Karnataka
Ilkal saree – Karnataka
Eastern styles
Tussar Silk – Bihar
Tangail cotton – Bangladesh
Jamdani – Bangladesh
Dhakai Benarasi – Bangladesh
Rajshahi Silk – Bangladesh
Mooga silk – Assam
Tant famous Bengali cotton – Shantipur, West Bengal
Dhaniakhali cotton – West Bengal
Murshidabad silk – West Bengal
Baluchari silk – West Bengal
Sambalpuri silk – Orissa
Kotki (from Cuttack) – Orissa
Ikkat (from Orissa)
Women in Sari
North Indian Women in Sari
Banarasi Sari from Baily Road, Bangladesh
A Sambalpuri Handloom Sari From Orissa
Keralite woman in Sari South India
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