Sari History - From Ancient India to fashionable India

This article is about the garment. For other uses, see Sari (disambiguation).
"Saris" redirects here. For other uses, see Saris (disambiguation).


Girl and woman dressed in traditional Maharashtrian sari.


Picture shows sari draping style of North Karnataka by Raja Ravi Varma. Hora kacche or Melgacche
A sari (sometimes also shari or saree)^{[note 1]} is a garment from the Indian subcontinent^[1] that consists of an unstitched drape varying from 4.5 to 9 metres (15 to 30 feet) in length^[2] and 600 to 1,200 millimetres (24 to 47 inches) in breadth^[3] that is typically wrapped around the waist, with one end draped over the shoulder, partly baring the midriff.^[4][5][6] It is traditionally worn in the countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. There are various styles of sari manufacture and draping, the most common being the Nivi style ^[7][8] The sari is worn with a fitted bodice commonly called a choli (ravike or kuppasa in southern India, and cholo in Nepal) and a petticoat called ghagra, parkar, or ul-pavadai.^[9] In the modern Indian subcontinent, the sari is considered a cultural icon.^[10]

Etymology[edit]
The Hindustani word sāṛī (साड़ी, ساڑی),^[11] described in Sanskrit शाटी śāṭī^[12] which means 'strip of cloth'^[13] and शाडी śāḍī or साडी sāḍī in Pali, and which evolved to sāṛī in modern Indian languages.^[14] The word śāṭika is mentioned as describing women's attire in ancient India in Sanskrit literature and Buddhist literature called Jatakas.^[15] This could be equivalent to the modern day sari.^[15] The term for female bodice, the choli evolved from ancient stanapaṭṭa.^[16][17] Rajatarangini, a tenth-century literary work by Kalhana, states that the choli from the Deccan was introduced under the royal order in Kashmir.^[9]
The petticoat is called sari (साड़ी, ساڑی) in Hindi-Urdu,^[11] parkar (परकर) in Marathi, ulpavadai (உள்பாவாடை) in Tamil (pavada in other parts of South India: Malayalam: പാവാട, romanized: pāvāṭa, Telugu: పావడ, romanized: pāvaḍa, Kannada: ಪಾವುಡೆ, romanized: pāvuḍe) and sāẏā (সায়া) in Bengali and eastern India. Apart from the standard "petticoat", it may also be called "inner skirt"^[18] or an inskirt.
Origins and history[edit]

Terracotta figurine in Sari-like drape, 200-100 BCE.

Tara depicted in ancient three-piece attire, c. 11th century CE.

Lady being offered wine, Deccan, 1600 CE.
History of Sari-like drapery is traced back to the Sindh region of the Indus Valley Civilisation, which flourished during 2800–1800 BCE around the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, present day Pakistan.^[4][5][6] Cotton was first cultivated and woven in Indian subcontinent around 5th millennium BCE.^[19] Dyes used during this period are still in use, particularly indigo, lac, red madder and turmeric.^[20] Silk was woven around 2450 BCE and 2000 BCE.^[21][22]
The word sari evolved from śāṭikā (Sanskrit: शाटिका) mentioned in earliest Hindu literature as women's attire.^[23][15] The sari or śāṭikā evolved from a three-piece ensemble comprising the antarīya, the lower garment; the uttarīya; 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 BCE.^[24] This complete three-piece dress was known as poshak, generic term for costume.^[25] Ancient antariya closely resembled the dhoti 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][26][27] It further evolved into Bhairnivasani skirt, today known as ghagri and lehenga.^[28] Uttariya was a shawl-like veil worn over the shoulder or head, it evolved into what is known today known as dupatta and ghoonghat.^[29] Likewise, the stanapaṭṭa evolved into the choli by the 1st century CE.^{[16][17][30][31]}
The ancient Sanskrit work, Kadambari by Banabhatta and ancient Tamil poetry, such as the Silappadhikaram, describes women in exquisite drapery or sari.^{[9][32][33][34]} 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.^[35][36] By which for some time the navel exposure became a taboo and the navel was concealed.^[5][37][38] 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 left bare by the sari.^[39][40]
It is generally accepted that wrapped sari-like garments for lower body and sometimes shawls or scarf like garment called 'uttariya' for 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.^[15] The works of Kalidasa mention the kūrpāsaka, a form of tight fitting breast band that simply covered the breasts.^[15] It was also sometimes referred to as an uttarāsaṅga or stanapaṭṭa.^[15]
Poetic references from works like Silappadikaram indicate that during the Sangam period in ancient Tamil Nadu in southern India, a single piece of clothing served as both lower garment and head covering, leaving the midriff completely uncovered.^[32] Similar styles of the sari are recorded paintings by Raja Ravi Varma in Kerala.^[41] 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 kūrpāsaka or stanapaṭṭa and occasionally a wrap called uttarīya that could at times be used to cover the upper body or head.^[15] The two-piece Kerala mundum neryathum (mundu, a dhoti or sarong, 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 medieval period based on its appearance on various temple murals in medieval Kerala.^{[42][5][6][43]}
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.^[44] 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".^[44] The same sentiment is more generically expressed in later Sanskrit literature.^[45] Śūdraka, the author of Mṛcchakatika set in fifth century BCE 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.^[45] This may indicate that it was not necessary for unmarried females to put on a veil.^[45] 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.^[46]
Based on sculptures and paintings, tight bodices or cholis are believed have evolved between the 2nd century BCE to 6th century CE in various regional styles.^[47] 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.^[48] Varies styles of decorative traditional embroidery like gota patti, mochi, pakko, kharak, suf, kathi, phulkari and gamthi are done on cholis.^[49] In Southern parts of India, choli is known as ravikie which is tied at the front instead of back, kasuti is traditional form of embroidery used for cholis in this region.^[50] In Nepal, choli is known as cholo or chaubandi cholo and is traditionally tied at the front.^[51]
Red is most favoured colour for wedding saris and are traditional garment choice for brides in Indian culture.^[52] Women traditionally wore various types of regional handloom saris made of silk, cotton, ikkat, block-print, embroidery and tie-dye textiles. Most sought after brocade silk saris are Banasari, Kanchipuram, Gadwal, Paithani, Mysore, Uppada, Bagalpuri, Balchuri, Maheshwari, Chanderi, Mekhela, Ghicha, Narayan pet and Eri etc. are traditionally worn for festive and formal occasions.^[53] 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.^[54] 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.^[55] 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.^[56][57] Today, modern fabrics like polyester, georgette and charmeuse are also commonly used.^[58][59][60]
Styles of draping[edit]


1928 Illustration of different styles of sari, gagra choli & shalwar kameez worn by women in India.
There are more than 80 recorded ways to wear a sari.^[61] 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, baring the midriff.^[62] 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 of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh.^[63] The French cultural anthropologist and sari researcher Chantal Boulanger categorised sari drapes in the following families:^[5]
The Sari Series,^[64] a non-profit project created in 2017 is a digital anthology^[65] documenting India's regional sari drapes providing over 80 short films on how-to-drape the various styles.