A sari (; sometimes also saree,*
sharee, or sadi)The name of the garment in various regional languages include:
is a draped cloth and women's garment in the Indian subcontinent. It consists of an un-stitched stretch of woven fabric arranged over the body as a dress, with one end attached to the waist, while the other end rests over one shoulder as a stole, sometimes baring a part of the midriff.Alkazi, Roshan (1983) "Ancient Indian costume", Art HeritageGhurye (1951) "Indian costume", Popular book depot (Bombay); (Includes rare photographs of 19th century Namboothiri and nair women in ancient sari with bare upper torso) It may vary from 4.5 to 9 yards (4.1 to 8.2 metres) in length, and 24 to 47 inches (60 to 120 centimetres) in breadth, and is a form of ethnic clothing in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Pakistan. There are various names and styles of sari manufacture and draping, the most common being the Nivi style.Linda Lynton(1995), The Sari: Styles, Patterns, History, Technique , page 187; Quote: It is in the Karnataka (Mysore) and western Maharashtran area that the nivi style is believed to have originated.. The sari is worn with a fitted bodice also called a choli ( or in southern India, choli in northern India, and in Nepal) and a petticoat called , , or . It remains fashionable in the Indian subcontinent and is also considered formal attire in the countries of the region.
Etymology The Hindi word (), described in Sanskrit which means 'strip of cloth' and or in Pali, ಸೀರೆ or sīre in Kannada, and which evolved to in modern Indian languages. The word is mentioned as describing women's dharmic attire in Sanskrit literature and Buddhist literature called the Jatakas.Sachidanand, Sahay (1975) Indian costume, coiffure, and ornament. Chapter 2 'Female Dress', Munshiram Manoharlal publishers Pvt Ltd. pp 31–55 This could be equivalent to the modern day sari. The term for the female bodice, the , evolved from the ancient .Prachya Pratibha, 1978 "Prachya Pratibha, Volume 6", p.121Agam Kala Prakashan, 1991 "Costume, coiffure, and ornaments in the temple sculpture of northern Andhra", p.118 Rajatarangini, a tenth-century literary work by Kalhana, states that the choli from the Deccan was introduced under the royal order in Kashmir.
The petticoat is called () in Hindi, () in Marathi, (, "inner womens' clothing") in Tamil ( in other parts of South India: , , ), () in Bengali and eastern India, and () in Sinhalese. Apart from the standard "petticoat", it may also be called an "inner skirt" or an inskirt.
Origins and history
The history of sari-like drapery can be traced back to ancient India, between 2800 and 1800 BCE, around the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Cotton was first cultivated and woven on the Indian subcontinent around the 5th millennium BCE.Stein, Burton (1998). A History of India. Blackwell Publishing. , p. 47 Dyes used during this period are still in use, particularly indigo, lac, red madder, and turmeric. Silk was woven around 2450 BCE and 2000 BCE.
The word sari is derived from (), which is mentioned in early Hindu literature as women's attire.Mohapatra, R. P. (1992) "Fashion styles of ancient India", B. R. Publishing corporation, The sari, or , evolved from a three-piece ensemble comprising the , the lower garment; the , a veil worn over the shoulder or head; and the , a chestband. This ensemble is mentioned in Sanskrit literature and Buddhist Pali literature during the 6th century BCE.
The ancient antariya closely resembled the dhoti wrap in the "fishtail" version, which was passed through the legs, covered the legs loosely, and then flowed into long, decorative pleats at the front of the legs.Linda Lynton (1995) "The Sari: Styles, Patterns, History, Techniques.", p.170Dipak Sharma (2012) "SOUVENIR of 2nd International Science Congress (ISC-2012).", p.282 It further evolved into the Bhairnivasani skirt, today known as the ghagri and lehenga.J. Correia-Afonso, (1984) "Indica, Volume 21, Issue 2", p.126 Uttariya was a shawl-like veil worn over the shoulder or head. It evolved into what is known today as the dupatta and ghoonghat.Chintaman Vinayak Vaidya, (2001) "Epic India : India as Described in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana", p.144 Likewise, the evolved into the choli by the 1st century CE.Roshen Alkazi, 1996 "Ancient Indian Costume", p.48
The 7th century Sanskrit work Kadambari by Banabhatta and ancient Tamil poetry, such as the Cilappatikaram, describe women in exquisite drapery or saris.Emma Tarlo (1996) "Clothing Matters: Dress and Identity in India.", p.154Govind Sadashiv Ghurye (1951) "Indian Costume.", p.154 In ancient India, although women wore saris that bared the navel, the Dharmasastra writers stated that women should be dressed such that the navel would never become visible, which may have led to a taboo on exposure of the midriff at some times and places.Encyclopedia of Indian Women Through the Ages: Ancient India – Simmi Jain.Linda Lynton, Sanjay K. Singh (2002) "The Sari: Styles, Patterns, History, Techniques.", p.40
It is generally accepted that wrapped sari-like garments for the lower body and sometimes shawls or scarf like garments called 'uttariya' for the upper body, have been worn by Indian women for a long time, and that they have been worn in their current form for hundreds of years. In ancient couture, the lower garment was called 'nivi' or 'nivi bandha', while the upper body was mostly left bare. The works of Kalidasa mention the , a form of tight fitting breast band that simply covered the breasts. It was also sometimes referred to as an or .
Poetic references from works like Cilappatikaram indicate that during the Sangam period in ancient Tamil Nadu in southern India, a single piece of clothing served as both a lower garment and head covering, leaving the midriff completely uncovered. Similar styles of the sari are recorded in paintings by Raja Ravi Varma in Kerala. Numerous sources say that everyday costume in ancient India until recent times in Kerala consisted of a pleated dhoti or (sarong) wrap, combined with a breast band called or and occasionally a wrap called that could at times be used to cover the upper body or head. The two-piece Kerala mundum neryathum (mundu, a dhoti or sarong, and neryath, a shawl, in Malayalam) is a survival of ancient clothing styles. The one-piece sari in Kerala is derived from neighbouring Tamil Nadu or Deccan during the medieval period based on its appearance on various temple murals in medieval Kerala.Wall paintings in North Kerala, India: 1000 years of temple art, Albrecht Frenz, Ke. Ke Mārār, page 93Miller, Daniel & Banerjee, Mukulika; (2004) "The Sari", Lustre press / Roli books
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.Govind Sadashiv Ghurye (1951) "Indian Costume.", p.236
In the Pratimānātaka, a play by Bhāsa, the avagunthana veil is described as follows: "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". The same sentiment is more generically expressed in later Sanskrit literature.Sulochana Ayyar (1987) "Costumes and Ornaments as Depicted in the Sculptures of Gwalior Museum.", p.152 Śūdraka, the author of Mṛcchakatika, set in the fifth century BCE, says that the Avagaunthaha was not used by women every day and at every time. He says that a married lady was expected to put on a veil while moving in public. This may indicate that it was not necessary for unmarried females to put on a veil. 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.Kusumanjali Prakashan, 1993 "The Natyasastra tradition and ancient Indian society", p.63
Based on sculptures and paintings, tight bodices, or cholis, are believed to have evolved between the 2nd century BCE and 6th century CE in various regional styles. Early cholis were front coverings tied at the back; this style was more common in parts of ancient northern India. This ancient form of bodice, or choli, is still common in the state of Rajasthan today. Various styles of decorative traditional embroidery like gota patti, mochi, pakko, kharak, suf, kathi, phulkari and gamthi are done on cholis. In southern parts of India, choli is known as ravikie, which is tied at the front instead of the back, kasuti is a traditional form of embroidery used for cholis in this region.History of Kasuti is mentioned by In Nepal, choli is known as cholo or chaubandi cholo and is traditionally tied at the front.Indra Majupuria (2007) "Nepalese Women: A Vivid Account of the Status and Role of Nepalese Women in the Total Spectrum of Life, Religious, Social, Economic, Political, and Legal.", p.291
Red is the most favoured colour for wedding saris, which are the traditional garment choice for brides in Hindu weddings.Ava Laboy Capo (2013) "Wedding Traditions from Around the World.", p.18 Women traditionally wore various types of regional handloom saris made of silk, cotton, ikkat, block-print, Ilkal sari, embroidery, and tie-dye textiles. The most sought after brocade silk saris are Banarasi, Kanchipuram (sometimes also Kanchipuram or Kanjivaram), Gadwal, Paithani, Mysore, Uppada, Bagalpuri, Balchuri, Maheshwari, Chanderi, Mekhela, Ghicha, Narayan pet and Eri etc. are traditionally worn for festive and formal occasions.
Silk Ikat and cotton saris 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.Jay Narayan Vyas, Textile Review, 2007 "Indian Textiles 2015: Comprehensive Forecast on Indian Textiles Industry in 2015 with an Exhaustive Buyer's Guide for Textile Machinery", p.126 Tie-dyed and block-print saris known as Bandhani, Leheria/Leheriya, Bagru, Ajrakh, Sungudi, Kota Dabu/Dabu print, Bagh and Kalamkari were traditionally worn during monsoon season.
Gota Patti is a popular form of traditional embroidery used on saris for formal occasions; various other types of traditional folk embroidery, such as mochi, pakko, kharak, suf, kathi, phulkari, and gamthi, are also commonly used for both informal and formal occasions.Anne Morrell (1995) "The Techniques of Indian Embroidery.", p.68 Today, modern fabrics like polyester, georgette, and charmeuse are also commonly used.
Styles of draping
There are more than 80 recorded ways to wear a sari. 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, exposing the navel. However, the sari can be draped in several different styles, though some styles do require a sari of a particular length or form. Ṛta Kapur Chishti, a sari historian and recognised textile scholar, has documented 108 ways of wearing a sari in her book, 'Saris: Tradition and Beyond'. The book documents the sari drapes across fourteen states: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh. The Sari Series, a non-profit project created in 2017, is a digital anthology documenting India's regional sari drapes, providing over 80 short films on how to drape the various styles.
The French cultural anthropologist and sari researcher Chantal Boulanger categorised sari drapes into the following families:Boulanger, Chantal; (1997) Saris: An Illustrated Guide to the Indian Art of Draping, Shakti Press International, New York.