Origins and
history:
In the
history of Indian clothing the sari is traced back to the Indus Valley Civilisation,
which flourished during 2800–1800 BC around the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent.[4][5][6] Cotton was
first cultivated and woven in Indian subcontinent around 5th millennium BC.[16] Dyes
used during this period are still in use, particularly indigo, lac, red
madder and turmeric.[17] Silk was woven
around 2450 BC and 2000 BC.[18][19] The
earliest known depiction of the sari in the Indian subcontinent is the statue
of an Indus Valley priest wearing a drape.[4][5][6]
The sari
evolved from a three-piece ensemble comprising the Antriya, the lower garment; the Uttariya; a veil worn over the shoulder or the head;
and the Stanapatta, a chestband.
This ensemble is mentioned in Sanskrit literature
and Buddhist Pali literature
during the 6th century B.C.[20] This
complete three-piece dress was known as Poshak,
generic term for costume.[21] Ancient Antriya closely
resembled dothi wrap in the "fishtail"
version which was passed through legs, covered the legs loosely and then flowed
into a long, decorative pleats at front of the legs.[4][22][23] It
further evolved into Bhairnivasani skirt,
today known as ghagri and lehenga.[24] Uttariya was
a shawl-like veil worn over the shoulder or head, it evolved into what is known today known as dupatta and
ghoongat.[25] Likewise, Stanapatta evolved into choli by
1st century A.D.[13][14] Between
2nd century B.C to 1st century A.D, Antariya and Uttariya was merged to form a single garment
known as sari mentioned in Pali literature,
which served the purpose of two garments in one-piece.[26][27]
The ancient Sanskrit work, Kadambari by Banabhatta and
ancient Tamil poetry, such as the Silappadhikaram, describes women in
exquisite drapery or
sari.[7][28][29][30] In
ancient India, although women wore saris that bared the midriff, the Dharmasastra writers stated that women
should be dressed such that the navel would never become visible.[31][32] By
which for some time the navel exposure became a taboo and the navel was
concealed.[5][33][34] 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 leftbare
by the sari.[35][36]
Early Sanskrit literature
has a wide vocabulary of terms for the veiling used by women, such as Avagunthana (oguntheti/oguṇthikā), meaning cloak-veil, Uttariya meaning shoulder-veil, Mukha-pata meaning face-veil and Sirovas-tra meaning head-veil.[37] In
the Pratimānātaka, a play by Bhāsa describes in context of Avagunthana veil
that "ladies may be seen without any blame (for the parties concerned)
in a religious session, in marriage festivities, during a calamity and in a
forest".[37] The
same sentiment is more generically expressed in
later Sanskrit literature.[38] Śūdraka, the author of Mṛcchakatika set in fifth
century BC says that the Avagaunthaha was
not used by women everyday and at every time. He says
that a married lady was expected to put on a veil while moving in the public.[38] This
may indicate that it was not necessary for unmarried females to put on a veil.[38] This
form of veiling by married women is still prevalent in Hindi-speaking areas,
and is known as ghoonghat where
the loose end of a sari is pulled over the head to act as a facial veil.[39]
Based on
sculptures and paintings, tight bodices or cholis are believed
have evolved between 2nd century B.C to 6th century A.D in various regional
styles.[40][40] Early cholis were
front covering tied at the back; this style was more common in parts of ancient
northern India. This ancient form of bodice or choli are still common in the
state of Rajasthan today.[41] Varies
styles of decorative traditional embroidery like gota
patti, mochi,
pakko, kharak, suf, kathi, phulkari and gamthi are done on cholis.[42] In
Southern parts of India, choli is known as ravikiewhich
is tied at the front instead of back, kasuti is
traditional form of embroidery used for cholis in this region.[43] In
Nepal, choli is known as cholo or chaubandi cholo and
is traditionally tied at the front.[44]
Red is most
favored color for wedding saris and are traditional garment choice
for brides in Indian culture.[45] Women
traditionally wore various types of regional handloom
sarees made of silk, cotton, ikkat,
block-print, embroidery and tie-dye textiles. Most sought after brocadesilk
sarees are Banasari, Kanchipuram, Paithani,
Mysore, Uppada, Bagalpuri, Balchuri, Maheshwari, Chanderi, Mekhela, Ghicha, Narayan pet and Eri etc.
are traditionally worn for festive and formal occasions.[46] Silk Ikat and
cotton sarees known as Patola, Pochampally,
Bomkai, Khandua, Sambalpuri, Gadwal, Berhampuri, Bargarh, Jamdani, Tant, Mangalagiri, Guntur, Narayan pet, Chanderi,
Maheshwari, Nuapatn, Tussar, Ilkal, Kotpad and Manipuri were worn for both festive and everyday
attire.[47] Tie-dyed and block-print sarees known as Bandhani, Leheria/Leheriya, Bagru, Ajrakh, Sungudi, Kota Dabu/Dabu print, Bagh and Kalamkari were
traditionally worn during monsoon season.[48] Gota Patti is popular form of
traditional embroidery used on saris for formal occasions,
various other types of traditional folk embroidery such mochi,
pakko, kharak, suf, kathi, phulkari and gamthi are also commonly used for both informal and formal
occasion.[49][50] Today,
modern fabrics like polyester, georgette and charmeuse are also commonly
used.[51][52][53]
