COSTUMES OF KERALA

COSTUMES OF KERALA

1. COSTUMES OF KERALA

2. Geography of Kerala Kerala is located on the Malabar Coast, in the southwest of India. It shares its borders with Tamil Nadu to the east and Karnataka to northeast. There is the Arabian Sea to the west and the Indian Ocean to its south. It is bounded by the Western Ghats in the east. Total area of Kerala is about 38,863 square kilometers . It is situated within the humid equatorial tropics. Kerala's coast is about 580km in length.

3. The major features of the geography of Kerala are the golden seashores, zigzag rocky terrain of the Western Ghats, abundant coconut trees, the beautiful rivers and gushing cascades, along with straggling plantations and paddy fields and fascinating flora and fauna. Of course, without the mention of languid backwaters

4. Kerala's people are very simple, and this innate simplicity is reflected in their costumes. The traditional costumes of Kerala are simple and decent. Women of Kerala are not loaded with make-up. Mundu and neriathu are the traditional dresses for both men and women of Kerala. Saree and blouse is another popular traditional costume for the women of Kerala. The mundu forms the lower garment, while neriyathu is the upper garment. The mundu is worn around the hips, below the navel. This hand-woven cotton cloth is very comfortable during the summer. It is generally cream or white in colour with the coloured border or kara.

5. The traditional attire for men is Kasavu Mundu. It is more popular in the rural areas. It is 3-4 meter long cotton twin cloth with the silk border. 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.

6. Mudu, neriyathu and saree are integral parts of the costumes 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 colour of the blouse is associated with age and marital status of the woman. Unmarried, young girls wear the green blouse while the red blouse is worn by the married women .

7. Like everything, the costumes of Kerala are also undergoing a change. Now-a-days, this traditional costume of mundum-neriathum is being replaced by the set-sari among women The Keralite men are seen in the modern T-shirts, and trousers or jeans. The women also prefer to wear the churidar kurta as well as jeans-top. These traditional and elegant costumes are slowly yielding space to modern trends. Kerala is becoming more trendy, but at the same time, losing some of its class.

8. Mundum neriyathum Mundum neriyathum (set-mundu or mundu-set) is the traditional clothing of women in Kerala , South India . It is the oldest remnant of the ancient form of the saree which covered only the lower part of the body. In the mundum neriyathum, the most basic traditional piece is the mundu or lower garment which is the ancient form of the saree denoted in Malayalam as ' Thuni (meaning cloth), while the neriyathu forms the upper garment added very recently to the mundu.The mundum neryathum consists of two pieces of cloth, and could be worn in either the traditional style with the neriyathu tucked inside the blouse, or in the modern style with the neriyathu worn over the left shoulder.

9. The elegant Kerala Saree, off white with gold border is unique for their natural colour, texture and golden border. These sarees lend an extraordinary elegance to the person wearing it. Every Malayali woman possesses at least one Kerala sari in her wardrobe.

10. The typical Kerala saree is hand woven and is 100 per cent unbleached cotton. It is known for its fineness of count in weaving. The traditional design of a Kerala saree had a 1 inch to 6-7 inch pallu while the body remained plain. But now the pallu goes up to one metre and the border and pallu is decorated with common designs of animals such as peacock and flowers. The sari is now available in checks, stripes and a wide variety of designs as well as in cotton mixed with silk

11. Men in Kerala wear Kasavu mundu or dhothies during festive occasions. In all places of worship, specially in temples, the most preferred dress is the dhoti. This light pure cotton handlooms edged with golden thread is some times touched with contrasting bright colours. Dhoti's are available in regular, large and extra large sizes Kerala is also known for its unbleached cotton handloom crepe popularly known as kora cloth which has entered the foreign markets and occupy a proud place in the garment industry.

12. Kasaragod sarees from the north of Kerala are masterpieces made with high quality yarn using traditional hand made methods. It is known for the design, quality, varied colour pattern and ornamented jaris or borders. The weaving is done in a unique style by giving care to the thread and applying a special kind of paste to make the saree strong and long lasting.

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