|
|
|
Dresses
of Garhwal
|
 |
The
people of Garhwal wear a wide variety of
dresses. These are influenced by the variables
listed below:
|
| (A) Traditions
(primarily governing designs and decorative
motifs) |
| (B) Locally available
materials |
| (C) Working habits of
the people |
|
|
(D)
Climatic conditions (main temperature)
|
| Dresses
do not vary widely with respect to caste and religion.
|
|
They have evolved due to a
combination of the factors listed above. The clothes for
the womenfolk are suited to working in the fields.
|
|
|
|
These are worn in a way that
they do not become entangled in the bushes while walking
through the forests. However, economic status does have a
bearing on the dress of the people.
|
|
In towns and cities like
Dehradun, Rishikesh and
Srinagar
, dresses have changed due to the influence of western
culture. Menfolk who return from the plains bring the
tradition of wearing well tailored dresses.
|
|
On
the basis of the dresses worn by the people, Garhwal may be
divided into the following regions or zones:
|
|
1.
Upper Garhwal
|
| This
zone consists of the tracts lying above an elevation of about
2300 mts. and extends to the upper limit of human habitation.
The upper reaches of Garhwal are inhabited by tribes such as
the Bhotias and Gujars. The cold season is very severe and heavy snowfall
is received in this tract. The Bhotias wear clothes made of
goat/sheep wool which is locally woven by them.
|
 |
|
The
men folk wear loose
trousers over which they put on a loose gown, girt around the
waist with a woollen cloth called patta and a cap of wool on
the head. A loose undergarment of wool is worn by
|
|
|
the women
instead of trousers. The upper garments resemble those of men.
The womenfolk also put on woollen skirts with a white woollen
waist coat. Woollen clothes are rarely washed and the clothes
are worn till the end of their useful lives.
|
|
Clothes
made of cotton are not worn. Nowadays, in large Villages, one
may come across people wearing synthetic trousers, shirts and
coats.
|
|
2.
Middle Garhwal
|
|
This
zone covers the middle hills of Garhwal between elevations of
1000 and 2300 mts. Wool, hemp and cotton are used for clothing
in the middle valleys of the rivers Alaknanda, Bhagirathi and
Yamuna.
|
The
males put on close fitting trousers and a buttoned up long
coat or achkan. They may sport a Gandhi cap on their heads.
The women- folk put on a long skirt or ghaghrai; a type of
blouse, and a scarf like
cloth is tied around their heads.
|
|
The
grazer communities of middle Garhwal put on a type of
sleeveless unstitched gown that extends to just below the
knee. It is made of goat wool.
|
|
In
the recent past, clothes like shirts, trousers and coats have
been adopted by men. The sari and blouse, or the pyjama and
kurta suits are now being worn by women in the urban and
semi-urban centres of Garhwal.
|
|
3.
Lower Garhwal
|
|
This
zone includes all areas below an elevation of about 1000 mts.
Lower Garhwal is relatively more developed and the people have
adopted dresses worn in the plains and western countries. The
men-folk put on shirts, trousers, coats, bush-shirts, and
safari suits. The women wear the sari and blouse, as also
pyjama-kurta suits.
|
The impact of western
dresses is more in this zone. The younger generation has taken
to jeans and other western clothes in a big way.Persons who
have retired from government service (e.g. army) wear
well-tailored clothes.
|
|
|
|
|
