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Costume | Kochi Travel Guide

Kerala's people are very simple, and this innate simplicity is reflected in their . The traditional costumes of Kerala are simple and decent. Women of Kerala are not loaded with make-up. ‘Mundu’ and ‘neriathu’ are the traditional for both men and women of Kerala. Saree and is another popular traditional for the women of Kerala. On the special occasions and festivals, it has an ornamental ‘kara’ with copper, golden coated or artificial coloured designs of peacock or temple. The costumes are also to a large extent guided by the geographical conditions of the region. With the changing trends in and designing, the codes have changed. A multitude of colours and designs are available today. Men and women today are clad in a variety of dresses... Lets have a look into the traditional attire of the people of Kerala. Traditional Attire of Men: Mundu Mundu is a 3-4 meter long piece of cloth worn by men in Kerala that is tied to the and let down till the ankle. It is the simplest form of dressing prevailing in the world. Dhotis (Mundu) are used for normal wearing, but for wedding purposes mundu with Kasavukara are used. The Kasavukara refers to the border done in gold thread. ‘Kaily’ or ‘lungy’ is the informal dress for men. While going outdoors, the men wear shirt and mundu along with a small neriyathu on the shoulder .The style of the Muslims wearing mundu is quite different from that of the Hindus and Christian Keralites. Jubba The men in Kerala wear a full sleeved dress called the jubba which is worn together with the mundu.The jubba is worn only on selected occasions. Jubbas in modern days have been embellished with works. The materials used are cotton, and khadi. Traditional Attire of Women: Mundu Set It is a form of sari in two sets worn with a blouse. The set mundu is available in wood color or white color with silk border or colored border. It is worn in the same fashion of a sari, but without pleats in the front. . The women wear a special type of blouse on the of the mundu. The blouse covers the navel. The neriyathu is worn over the blouse and its one end is tucked inside the mundu, and the other long end is worn across the front torso. It resembles the sari. The colour of the blouse used to be associated with age and marital status of the woman. Unmarried, young girls wore the green blouse while the red blouse was worn by the married women. Sari Sari is the official dress in various ceremonies like wedding, engagement and during various festivals in Kerala. It is a 5 meter long cloth, worn by pleats in the centre and is worn with a small blouse. Kerala sarees in sandalwood colour with exquisite work is a replica of Kerala’s age old culture. Kerala's saree market is highly lucrative with sarees like Kancheepuram Silk, Banaras Silk and Sarees decorated with traditional works, zardosi work, sequins work, thread work and embroidery work. Full and Long Blouse The full skirt with long blouse was the traditional teenage dress of Malayalee girls. Today, however its clad on festive occasions. On ceremonial occasions and festival days the long skirt with pleats and kasavu border with front or back open blouse is worn. Half Saree The half saree that was worn earlier consisted of a full skirt, short blouse and a‘davani’ () and saree blouse. With the advent of the North Indian fashion on a large scale in Kerala, the half saree dress is seldom seen in any part of Kerala. The variation in dressing styles is visible in people of different religions and castes also. Christians The clothes of Christians were relatively similar to those worn by the other communities. The male Christians dressed in the usual Dhoti and Shirt. The traditional attire for men is Kasavu Mundu. It is today popular only in the rural areas. It is 3-4 meter long cotton twin cloth with a ‘kara’or border. The Christian woman wore a white mundu about seven yards in length and 1 ¼ yards in breadth with a fan like frill at the back. They used to cover the upper part of the body with full or half sleeved white called

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'Chatta'. While going out, they threw over their shoulders and bosom another piece of cloth called ‘Kavani’. The women took great interest to beautify the Kavani with embroidery works. Chela (Sari) and blouse were used by the Nadar and Latin Christians. Muslims The Muslims have an entirely different dressing culture. According to their religious concept only the women’s face and palms should be visible in front of outsiders. In olden days they wore a piece of white cloth called ‘Kachimundu’. It didn’t have a silk border but blue and purple coloured borders. It covered them from waist to ankle. They covered their head with a piece of cloth called as Thattam. But in the very olden days it was called as ‘Patturumala’. Both cotton and silk material were used for this. The upper part was covered by a long blouse (shirt like without collars) with full . This type of dress was known as Kachi and Thattam. The Mappilla men’s ordinary dress was mundu or cloth generally with white or purple border or orange, green or plain white. It is tied on the left (Hindus tie it on the right) and kept in position by a waist string to which are attached one or more elassus (small cylinders) of gold, silver or baser metal, containing texts from the Koran or magic chants. They used shirt along with mundu. A small of white or white & black is very commonly worn and round this an ordinary or some bright coloured may be tied. Hindus The men wore a very simple dress that consisted of two pieces of unstitched white cloth. The ‘mundu’ and the ‘neriyathu’. This dress was clad in different styles by the people of the different castes. The Namboodiris The Namboodiri men wore a very simple dress that consisted of two pieces of unstitched white cloth. They dressed themselves in what is called Tattudukkuka, i.e., a cloth six or seven feet long tied around the waist, passed between the thighs and tucked in at the front and back, with the front portion arranged in pleats. The second cloth was thrown over the shoulders called the Melmundu. The Namboodiri’s mundu was always white in color like the other castes, but had a gold border that distinguished them from the other castes. Many castes in old days apparently used to wear blue clothes, but white is now practically universal. The Namboodiri men wore a wooden called Methiyyadi. They apply the sandal paste on their brows and chest. It endowed them with a dignified look. The Namboodiri women were seen in a dress called the Pudava, that was a cloth 7 ½ feet in length and about 2 feet in breadth. One end of the cloth was passed between the legs and fixed in the waist at the back, while the other end was wrapped around. This style was also known as Tattudukkuka. Nayar, Kshatriya and Ambalavasi Their traditional dress also consisted of Mundu, or Neriyathu (an upper cloth). The women belonging to these communities used to wear a Pudava or Onnarramundu in Tattudukkuka style. The upper part of the body was left bare. The Nayar women in Travancore were allowed to dress as they pleased by a Royal Proclamation in 1865. Avarnas Ezhavas, Pulayas and Parayans consisted of this group. Their dresses were mainly of a short loin cloth. In the very ancient times, the Thanta Pulaya and Nayadi used to wear leafy garments. And it was the common practice among the Avarnas to leave the upper part of the body bare both among the males and females. With changing trends, dress codes too have changed and the modern Kerala society is attired in modern outfits. The Keralite men are seen in modern T-shirts, and or . The women also prefer to wear churidar kurta as well as jeans-top.Yet, on festive occasions and functions the traditional wear in all its simple grandeur is a befitting example of the culture of Kerala. Even tourists visiting the state like to wear the traditional dress of Kerala and often shop for the exquisite ‘Kasavu mundu ‘and ‘Kasavu saree’ or Kerala set saree as memoirs of the enchanting land.

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