Costumes of Garhwali women in Uttrakhand

 

Uttarakhand formerly known as Uttaranchal is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devabhumi"(literally "Land of the Gods").The native people of Uttarakhand are generally called Uttarakhandi and sometimes specifically either Garhwali or Kumaoni depending on their place of origin in either the Garhwal or Kumaon region. The official language of Uttarakhand is Hindi, The other major regional languages of Uttarakhand are Garhwali mostly located in the western half of the state & Kumaoni, spoken in the eastern half of the state

Costumes of Garhwali women     

The Traditional dress of women in Uttrakhand is basically a saree that is worn in a specific manner but the fabric differs with region.

The saree is worn with complete pleats with a full sleeve blouse and then draped from the front and the remaining pallu is tied in the waistband. This kind of draping does not let them interfere during the household chores and they can freely work in fields as well. And mostly a cotton fabric is worn over the waist by the women that help them to carry their stuff.

Also a headscarf is worn that helps them to carry harvest and covering the head is also believed to be respectful.

The fabric of the blouse is woolen for people staying in colder regions basically in upper ranges and people staying in lower range prefer cotton wear.

Costumes of Kumaoni women

 The women in Uttarakhand for eventually who belong to Kumaoni region wear a long skirt with long sleeve shirt (typically called blouse) that is called Ghagri, along with a choli and orni. Out of which Rangwali pichhaura is a very popular traditional outfit in Uttarakhand. This dupatta is considered to be very holy and is worn by women in their respective auspicious occasion including wedding and religious ceremonies. It is made of a yellow fabric with big red circular motif printed on it and the border of fabric is stitched with lace and kinari or jhalar is stitched to make it more colourful & attractive

Traditional Jewellery Of Uttrakhand- Ornaments reflect social status that embraces married women’s complete attire. Some of them is believed to be symbol of married state and holds tremendous social significance in married women’s life.

1.      Hansuli - Hansuli, additionally known by the name of ‘Khagwali’. It is worn around neck. The gold Hansuli was bought by rich people and those who cannot afford gold went for silver. The beautiful set was preferred during festivals and wedding functions by married women.

2.      Galobandh– Galobandh also known as ‘Galabandh. As the name suggests it is tied around the neck. It is designed on a maroon, red or a blue band with golden Square shaped jewellery pieces that is beautifully arranged on it. Even today we may find craze for golaband  in uttrakhand womens

3.      Baluq - Baluq is a nose ornament, worn at the nasal septum. The piece holds a intricate design.The other version of Baluq is bisar. The only difference between baluq and bisar is that bisar had an additional layer of latkan with small golden pearls rooted to entire layer.  But nowadays the craze for Bulaq is over and it is considered as a much older trend.

4.      Nathuli- Nathuli also known as Nath is a nose ring in a ring shaped. The Nath made of gold holds religious significance as well as increases the allure charm in the women wearing it.

Nowadays, craze for nath can be seen in not just in pahari brides but it has fascinated to a lot extent even in non- pahari brides.The weight of nath and the pearls studded in it indicates the status of bride’s family . This beautiful ornament is worn at wedding functions and religious ceremonies in the family. This gorgeous chunk gives us beautiful glimpse of rich heritage of uttrakhand.

  Kamarbandh -Kamarbandh is worn around the waistline by the women of different communities of Uttarakhand. There are two types of Kamarbandh one is made of cloth and the other one is made of silver

6.      Pahunchi- It is basically gold bangles. Pahuchi is yet trending even in recent times. It is usually made with 1tola or more depends upon the family’s status. Pahuchi is usually designed in red fabric and over it gold pearl is studded over it. This is preferred by hitched ladies at family occasions

7.       Pauje – It is basically an anklet that is made out of silver. The design is slightly different than payal as in payal that structure can be either in plain single design or in complicate cross link structure whereas in pauje  it has lot ghunghroos in it.

8.      Bichhuwa- Bichhuwas are basically toe rings and is considered to be significant for married women to wear it. It is made of silver and  one can easily find many designs in bichhuwa  either in modern or traditional design

 

Costumes of Garhwali & Kumauni Men

Although the regions are quite different, but the attire is quite similar of Garhwali’s and Kumauni’s. The traditional dress for men here is basically Kurta-Pyjamas and over it some prefer wearing half jacket. In colder areas men prefer wearing sweater over it and in lower ranges men ace it with Nehru jacket. Many men here could be found wearing Lungi or dhoti with Kurta.

Also for natives in hilly terrain has to walk too much to accomplish their day to day responsibility. So, they prefer attires that can be more comfortable.

Also, Men are fond of wearing topis and that gives a complete traditional look to their outfit.

Even in recent times, men usually wear kurta pyjamas or kurta dhoti in their respective wedding and religious ceremonies

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Milan Tomic

Hi. I’m Designer of Blog Magic. I’m CEO/Founder of ThemeXpose. I’m Creative Art Director, Web Designer, UI/UX Designer, Interaction Designer, Industrial Designer, Web Developer, Business Enthusiast, StartUp Enthusiast, Speaker, Writer and Photographer. Inspired to make things looks better.

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