THECOSTUMEHI

STORYOF
SANGAM ERA

Gayat
hri
.
V.S.
 MOZHI
PEYARDESAM

Kanc
hi

TONDAI
NADU
A
AL
ERUMAI
NADU
RAK DUR ARAVANADU
KO TI A

I
NTRODUCTI
ON:
NK KU TAG
AN
AM I
LA
Ezhi
lMalai Pazhi LMA
I
L
Chel
l
ur KO
SI
TANADU
PU

PUN
TheSangam per iodi sspeculatedt ohavel asted
ZH

PU

KARK
NN
I

ANA
NA

S
around 300 BC t o 300 AD i n r egions of
U

Pugar

LA\
AD

D
DU

A
U

DU
N

Kar
uvur
ANA

Tondi
Tami l
nadu,Ker ala and par ts ofSr i
lanka.The
U
G
N

Nagapa-
KO
DU

CHO
Ur
aiyur foll
owi ngar t
icl
ei st hestudyoft hec os t
umesof
KU

-t
ti
nam
DA

Sangam er a whi chi s at onc ec ompl ex and

PA
NA

PAR
NJ

Vanchi
uns ophisti
cated,hi ghlyc ult
ured and pr i
miti
ve,
DU

INA
AM
CH

Muzi
ri KOONAKADAL
extraordinari
lyval orousandyeti ncr
edi blygent l
e
DU

Madur
ai
BU
ER

MA

Mani
pal
l
am ands oftwithr eferencetot heage- oldSangam
AS

LAI
KU

l
iterature,Sc ul
pt ures and paint i
ngs .Caus e all
T

Nagat
heevu
S
TAN

l
iteratureandot herar tsarebutt heof fs pri
ngsof
YA

KUDAKADAL AYKKUDI
AD

Mant
hai
thear tist
’spass i
onf oral i
fe,af ull
erlife,andhi s
D
U

NAGANADU
i
nexhaus ti
ble i nterest in r epr esent i
ng t he
PA
VE

Ar
ippu
NA

Kor
kai artefacts.
DU

Kumar
i

Kal
yani I
l
akkal
KUMARIKADAL

Oc
eansandr
iver
s Kat
hir
kamam
Smal
lki
ngdoms
,capi
tal
s,por
ts

Empi
re
TEXTI
LESOFSANGAM ERA:
Udumeanst oputon( asclothes ),tos urround, enc i
rcl
e
ort odres sones elf
. Thewor d“ Udai ”repr esent sf abric
s
andt ext i
l
eswhi char eusedt odr apear oundt hebody .
Thes et exti
leswer emadeoutofpl antbas ed fibr es,
filament sf rom i nsectsand ani malbas ed f ur.W hen
someoft hef abri
c swer ewoven i nland,s omewer e
i
mpor t
edf r
om f oreignlandsvi at rade( E.g.Kal i
ngam ,4

Kaazhagam ,and Kaus

6
egam )10
.Cot ton ( E.g.Kur ai9
,
I
rat u)
t11
and Si lk(E.g.Thugil,Madi and Pat
3 7
tudai)
8

wer ebeenus edpr edominant l

y ,wher eass omepl ant
bas edf abricmadeoutoft reebar ks( E.
g.Naar udai2
,
Sithar)andpet
5
i
olesofflower s( E.g.Thaal udai)wer
1
e
alsobeenut il
ized.

AnI
ll
ust
rat
ionf
rom Kal
ki
’sPonni
yinSel
vanrepr
esent
ingThalai
udai(t
he
wr
apofthewomen),Naarudai(I
ntheast
rol
ogerbehi
nd),
Thugiland
patt
udai(i
ntheyoungman).
 GARMENTS:
The wor d Aadaiwasus ed t o denot e gar ment s,the lower
garmentwas c alled s itradaiand t he uppergar mentwas
call
edmel adai.Peopl ei nthel andofSangam di dn’twearan
uppergar mentt i
lltheyhadt radewi t hforeigner s .Theupper
garmentwor nbyRoyal andar i
stoc ratmenc oul dbeal l
udedt o
by t he t erm Ut thar i
yam , Pat
16
ta, Var abana, Mei pai,14

Meimar ai and Kanac

14
uka .15
Kac chai i
12
st he bel tf astening
usedbybot hmenandwomen. Maj or i
t yofwomendi dn’twear
anyuppergar mentbutt her ear eevi denc esofwomenwear i
ng
breastbandswi thouts houl ders tr
aps( Kac chu )
13
.Womenal so
woreVangac hs athar .
20
Pudavai i 19
sauni sexdr apedgar ment
wor n by bot h men and women.Peopl ei n Sangam l and
dressedac cordingt ot heirt opogr aphy .It
ss aidt hatwomenof
Neithal( Coas talr egion)wor e gar ment ss ewn outoft hin
l
eavesandpunnaiflower sf ors pec ialoc casionsandf es t
ival s.
W hereaspeopl ei n Kur i
nji( Mount ainr egion)had t he bes t
Porvai madeoutoff
17
urandwool . Erngkat t
u andKavas
18
am 22

waswor n by s oldierst o pr otectt hems elvesf rom adver se

weat her.Nethiram andThal
21
apakkai wer
23
ewor nas head
gear.Ther ewasnos pec ialgar mentf orchi l
dr en,Theywer e
usuallyleftnakedorwi thmi ni mal c l
ot hesl i
kel oinc l
oth.
AnI
ll
ustr
ati
onf
rom Su.
Venkat
esan’
sVelparir
epr
es ent
ingTheki
ngParihi
ms el
ffr
om
Parambumalai
wearingaPorvai,
Erngkatt
u(furgar mentwr
appedaroundthe
waist
),
Kacchaiandvarabana.
 Ail
l
us t
rat
ionfrom Su.
Venkatesan’
sVelparir
epres
enti
nga Apaint
ingf
rom Tanj
oreBri
hadeshwaratemplerepres
entingthe Asculptur
efrom Chi
dambaram Natar
ajat
empledepic
tinga
pr
incesswearingaKac chuandat hugil
adaiwrapedaround.
She KingRajaRajaCholawithhi
steacher.
Theyarewear i
ngno Danc i
ngwomenwear ingnouppergarment
,Kacchaiand
isals
owear ingornamentss uchasValai
,
Kundalam and uppergarments,
Kacchai
andor namentsl
ikeKundalam and or
nament sli
keSil
ambam,Val
ai,
Megalai
andkundalam.
chi
ntamani . Magudam.
ORNAMENTS:
Ornament smadeoutofpr eciousmet als
,gems ,pear l
s
andI vor ywer ebeenus edext ensivel y.ThePandi anf or t,
Korkaiwasf amousf ori tspear l
s;TheCher af ort,Muzi ri
wasf amousf ori t
sc or alsand i vor i
es ;TheChol af ort
Pugarwasf amousf ori tsgem enc rus tedjewel s. Thefive
greatepi cs(Ai mperumkappi yam)ofTami lisat tri
buted
asor nament alador nmentt oTami lThai( Mot herTami l
)
andeac hoft hisepicr epres entsanor nament .Thefive
greatepi c s are Silapat higaram ( Silambu – ankl
27
et ),
Mani megal ai( Megal ai –gi
28
r
dle),Seevaga c hint amani
(Chint hamani – The or
25
namentwor n on f orehead) ,
Kundal akesi(Kundal am –Ear
26
ring)and Val aiyapat hi
(Valai – Bangl
29
e)
.Ot her or nament s obs erved wi th
ref
er enc et o l i
teratur e and t empl es culptur es ar e
mot hiram, makudam , 24
par i
yagam, noopur am,
ari
yagam, padagam, s athangai , vadam, kanc hi28
,
kalabam , par
28
umam , vi
28
rici
gai, Kuzhal and
28 24

panic hai.
24

Apaint
ingfr
om Tanj
oreBri
hadeshwaratempl
erepres
ent
ingt
heornamentsof
Kundal
am,Chint
amaniandValai
.
Sheisbarebreas
tedwit
haThaludaiwr
aped
around.
 Afres
corepres
entingt hef
uiousKannagi(prot
ogonis
tof AIll
ust
rat
ionf
rom Kal
ki
’sPonni
yinSel
vanrepr
esent
ingthe As
c ul
ptur
efr
om Chi
dambaram Nat
ar aj
atempledepi
cti
nga
Si
lapathi
garam)breakingherSilambuinthec our
tofPandiyan pr
inces
sweari
ngKundalam,Val
ai,
Megalai
andChintamani
. Royalwomenweari
ngnouppergar mentandapearl
Ki
ngdom toprovethatt heankl
ethadcoralstonesins
ideitand embeddedkundalam.
thekingwaswr ongwhi legivi
ngouthisjudgement.
CONCLUSI
ON:
Thes etexti
l
es ,garmentsandor namentati
ongot
embeddeddeepl yinlif
eofpeopl eandhavebeen
pas s
ed on as a c ul
turalidentit
y.W hil
es ome
servedthepur poseofut il
i
ty,somewer ewornf or
adornment .A oldt amils ayi
ng goes“W i thout
cl
othest ocoverhim, amani sbuthalfofhims el
f”
soitwasamat t
erofnec essi
tyf oronetoc over
hims el
fforprotect
ionandador nment.
Tr
adeMapf
rom Per
ipl
ousoft
heEr
ythr
aeanSea
ANNEXURE:
1.
Thalai
udai–Akindoffabri
cmadeoutofplantbasedcel
l
ulosefibresext
ract
edfrom pet
iol
e.
Thenameoft
heplantsfr
om whi
chthe fibreswereextrac
ted
tomaket hi
sfabri
cisNeit
hal(Nymphaeanouchal
i),
Gnaazhal(Sennasopher
a),Aambal(Nymphaeapubescens-Pinkwaterli
l
y),Kuvalai(Nymphaea
odar
ata-Pi nkwaterl
i
ly),Seyal
aiand Nochi(Vi
texal
ti
ssi
ma).Thekindoff
abri
cdiff
ersaccor
dingt
othet
opographyoft
heland.Itwaswornbyt eenage
womenasl oungewear.

(
Ref.Nat
ri
nai
96,
359,
kur
unt
hogai
125,
Pat
hit
hrupat
hu27,
Pur
ananoor
u110,
271,
248,
Agananoor
u7,
156,
348,
210,
267,
Ainkur
unoor
u211)

2.Naar
udai-Thisfabri
cismadeupoffibr esextrac
tedfrom t
heBark(Naar)oftheAs
hokatr
ee.
Thi
sfabr
ici
ssai
dt owornbysaint
s,poets
,Kuravar(Et
hic
groupnati
vetomountai
nr egi
on)andhunt
ers.It
salsoknownasSeerai,Seer
am,orMar
avur
i.I
thasbeent
hefabr
icofapersonwhofoll
owsas c
eticl
i
feand
thi
sfabri
cdrapestheenti
r ebodyoftheperson.Theterm Sel
aiwhic
hi susedt
odenotesar
eeissai
dtohavebeenevolvedfr
om Seeraiversi
onofthis
Naarudai
.

(
Ref
.Mani
megal
ai17:
28,
Pur
ananoor
u–194,
Sindamani
1231)

3.Thugi
l–I
tsafinel
ywovenCott
on,wool
,Si
lkorCott
ons i
l
kbl endf
abr
ic.
I
tsasoftfabr
icwhi
chwasbeenwor
nbytheRoyalFami
l
yandric
hmer
chant
s.Thi
s
fabri
chasbeencommonal
loverI
ndi
aandinArthas
as t
raithasbeenmenti
onedthatthi
spi
eceoff
abr
ici
smadeoutofc
ott
onandsi
lk.

(Ref
.Seevagac
hint
amani
1715,
719,
2213,
Naal
adi
yaar264,
Pat
ti
napakkam 107,
Sil
apat
higar
am 6:
88)

4.Kal
ingam –InSangam perioditwasacustom t
onamet hingsaccordi
ngt o6c l
as s
ificat
ions*
.Andthisfabr
icisnamedwi thref
erencetoKal
i
ngam (Present
dayOr i
s s
a)wher eit
sbeenmadeandexpor ted.
Itss ai
dthattheNagaTr ibec ommuni t
yofKali
ngawer esofamousint heartofweavingandhencethewor d
Kali
ngam i nTamilcametosigni
fythecl
oth.
Thefibr esourc
eoft hefabri
cisn’tcer
tain.Kal
ingam al
soreferst
othes t
it
chedupper garmentwor
nbypeopl e.
*namely,Livi
ng/Nonlivi
ngtendancy(Por
utpeyar),Locati
on(I dappeyar )
,Time( Kaalapeyar)
,Part(Sinaipeyar)
,Multi
sensori
alcuesandquanti
ty(Guna
peyar),Uti
li
ty(Thozhi
lpeyar
)

(
Ref
.Madur
aikanc
hi513,
Sindhamani8638,
Kur
unt
hogai
167,
Pur
ananoor
u136,
Nedunal
vadai
134-
5)

5.
Sit
har–Alow quali
tyf
abri
cwhic
hhasbeeni
dent
ifiedt
obemadeoutofbar
koft
reesi
scal
ledSi
thar
.It
ssai
dtobewor
nbyt
heunder
pri
vil
egedandpeopl
e
wholivei
npovert
y.I
tsal
soknownasCi
thar
vai
,Cit
ar,Ci
tar
val
andKandai
.
ThewordSit
hatmeansRugged.

(
Ref
.Pur
ananoor
u400,
138,
Per
umpadal
thi
rat
tu467,
Nal
adi
yar141,
Mani
megal
i11:
109)

6.Kaazhagam –Kazhagam i
sassumedtobeBurma(Myanmar)bysomes c
hol
ars
,whereassomesc
hol
arsas
sumei
ttobeapor
tfr
om Kadar
am (
I
ndonesi
a).
Thi
sisanexport
edfabr
icwhi
chi
sdyedbl
uei
ncol
our
.Andit
ssaidt
obethefabr
icwornbyc
ommonman.

(
Ref
.Kal
i
thogai
73,
92,
Thi
rumur
gat
rupadai
176,
Sevagas
indamani1230)
7.
Madi
–Af
abr
icmadeupofc
oar
ses
il
kcot
tonandi
tswor
nbyBr
ahmi
nsandot
herhi
gherc
ast
epeopl
edur
ingmeal
soranyc
eremony
.

(
Ref
.Agananoor
u13,
Pur
ananoor
u390,
393,
Nedunel
vadai
135,
Madur
aikanc
hi520)

8.Patt
u–Thistermi susedt
orefert
hes hi
nygli
tt
eryfinefabri
cmadeoutofs i
lkandothershi
nyfibresandfurs.
Thedif
fer
enttypesofpattuf
abricmenti
oned
i
nSangam l i
ter
atureare:Arat
hapattu (fines
tli
ghtwei
ghtreddyeds il
k),
Pinarmuri
patt
u,Pacchi
l
aipat
tu(Raw leafs
il
k),Venpatt
u(Unbleachedundyedsil
k
fabr
ic)
,Vannapattu(dyedsi
lk)
,Panchavanapatt
u(mult
icol
ourfabr
ic)
,Uromapat t
u(Fabri
cmadeoutoff urofani
malsli
kerabbit
,ratandhare).

(
Ref
.Pat
ti
napakkam 155,
Sil
apat
hikar
am 20:
14,
SeevagaSi
ndhamani
173,
541,
923,
2090,
2358)

9.
Kur
ai–Kur
ail
it
eral
l
ymeansc lot
horapieceofcoveri
nginTamil
.
Thi
sfabr
ici
smadeoutofc
ott
onandi
swor
nbyt
heBr
idedur
ingherweddi
ng(
event
oday)
.
TheKor
anadsar
eeoftoday i
sac or
rupt
ionofKurainadu,apl
acewheret
hisf
abr
ici
smade.

(
Ref
.Chol
aper
iodI
nsc
ript
ion)

10.
Kaus
egam –Thi
sisanot
herexpor
tedf
abr
icf
rom nor
th,
itsmadeupofs
il
kobt
ainedf
rom t
hec
ocoonss
punbyt
hes
il
kwor
mfeedi
ngonmul
ber
ryl
eaves
.

(
Ref
.Seevagas
indamani
1650,
1673,
Thol
kappi
yam 33)

11.
I
rat
tu–I
rat
tur
efer
stot
heDoubl
ewar
pwovenf
abr
icmadeoutofs
il
korc
ott
on.
I
tsamedi
um t
oheavywei
ghtfinel
ywovenf
abr
ic.

(
Ref
.Si
l
apat
higar
am –Adi
yar
kunal
l
ar14:
108)

12.Kac
chai
–Kac
chai
ref
erst
oar
opeorbel
torapi
eceofc
lot
hwor
nint
hegi
rdl
e.Andi
thel
psi
nkeepi
ngt
hel
owergar
ments
tandi
ntac
tint
hebody
.

(
Ref
.Kur
inj
i
pat
tu125,
Per
unt
hogai
–1.
41,
98,
Sir
upanar
rupat
ai239)

13.
Kac
chu–Kac
cui
saki
ndofc
ors
etwor
nbywoment
oconfinet
hebr
eas
tinSangam per
iod.

(
Ref
.Agananoor
u361,
Nedunt
hogai
149-
50,
Seevagac
hint
amani
–633,
2116,
Nedunal
vadai
–149-
50)

14.
Maippai–Thi
scanbei
nfer
redast
hepr
imi
ti
vever
sionoft
oday’
sshi
rtort
uni
c.
Iti
ssai
dtobewor
nbymen.I
tisal
soknownasMei
yappu,
Mei
mar
ai(
Mei
-
Body,
Mar ai
-Tohide)
.

(
Ref
.Mani
megal
ai3:
165,
Mul
l
ai66,
Par
ipaadal
thi
rat
tu-
2.19,
Sil
apat
higar
am -
26:
137-
8)

15.Kanchugam,Kuppayam -Theter
m Kanchugam andKuppayam wer
et ermedlaterwhenpeopleinSangam l
andstartedtr
adi
ngwi thpeopleabovet
he
Vindhya Range.
Thi
sgarmentatoneplaceissai
dtobemadeoutofs pott
edf abri
candatanot herpl
acefr
om cl
othoflapisl
azul
ishade.Kanuc
hugam was
somethi
nglikel
ikec
oatreac
hingdownt otheankl
esandwass i
mil
artotunicwith¾t hsl
eeves
.

(
Ref
.Seevagac
hindamani678,
Sool
amani
1796)
16.
Utt
har
iyam –I
tsanupperout
ergar
mentwor
nbyr
ichar
ist
ocr
atsandRoyal
fami
l
y,t
hisgar
mentwasal
sobeenadopt
edbyment
hrought
radepr
act
ices
.

(
Ref
.Madur
aikanc
hi435,
Nedunal
vadai181,
seevagac
hindamani1302,
Thi
rukur
al1087)

17.Por
vai–I
tsthet
erm us
edt
odesc
ribet
hepr
otec
tivec
lot
hingwhi
chpr
otec
tst
hewear
erf
rom ext
remec
old.I
tsus
ual
l
yaheavywei
ghtdr
apemadeoutof
furorwool
.I
tsal
socal
l
edasKambal
aandpadaam.

(
Ref
.Seevagac
hint
amani
182,
617,
2686,
Thi
rukur
al1087,
65,
Pur
ananoor
u387,
399,
Pazhamozhi
nanoor
u74,
Kal
i
thogai
kur
inj
i65)

18.Erngkat
tu–Er
ngat
tuisagar
mentwhi
chi
ssai
dtobewor
nbys
oldi
ersdur
ingRai
nyandW i
nters
eas
on.
Itsabodyhuggi
nggar
mentwi
thheavywei
ght
fabr
icmadeupofwoolorfur
.

(
Ref
.Kar
nar
pat
hu22)

19.Pudavai–Pudavaii
ssaidtobeaunisexdraped gar
ment
.It
sadrapedlowergarmentwhi
chget
scar
ri
edt
il
lthes
houl
derf
rom behi
ndandi
slef
ttof
all
fr
eeinthefront
.Thi
sterm hasevol
vedi
ntotoday’
spudavameanings
ari(
wornonlybywomen).

(
Ref
.Per
iyapur
anam 61,
Pur
ananoor
u136,
kal
i
ngat
hupar
ani
513,
Sil
apat
higar
am 11:
45)

20.Vangachsathar–It
salongpieceofl
oinclot
hwithoneendpassi
ngbetweenthel
egsandi
stuckedbac
ktot
hewai s
tbehind.
Thi
sreachesbel
ow theknees
,
anotherfinerc
lothiswornabovethisanditkeepsgoi
ngalmostbel
ow t
heankle.
Event
odayNairwomenofMalabarregi
onadoptthi
sinthei
rli
fes
tyle.

(
Ref
.Si
l
apat
higar
am 14:
108)

21.
Net
hir
am –I
tsas
oftgar
mentt
hati
swor
nasaheadgear
.

(
ref
.Per
i.
Thi
ru.
3:4:
8)

22.
Kavas
am –Thebodyar
mourmadeoutofmet
als
.I
tswor
nbys
oldi
ers

(
Ref
.Pur
ananoor
u13,
seevagac
hint
amani
2236,
2217,
2235,
Madur
aikanc
hi436,
pat
hit
rupat
hu14:
12)

23.
Thal
apakkai
–At
urbanwor
nonheadbyc
ommonmen.

24.Makut
am –Headgearwor
nbydi
gni
tar
ies
.It
sus
ual
l
ydec
orat
edwi
thpear
lsandr
ubi
es.
Kuzhal
andPani
chai
areot
hers
impl
evar
iat
ionsoft
hismakut
am.

(
Ref
.Si
l
apat
higar
am 25,
46)

25.
Chint
hamani–Itsadisc
-li
ke,
ci
rcul
ars
hapedor
naments us
pendi
ngfrom thepar
tingofthehai
rint
hehead.
I
twaswor
nbypr
inc
ess
,femal
eat
tendent
s,
amorousladi
esanditwasalsowornbyalmos
tal
lcl
assofwomenduri
ngs peci
aloc
casions
.
26.
Kundalam –
The earornamenti
sc al
l
edkundal
am.Theywereofdif
fer
entdesignsofthi
skundal
am li
ke,t
hec
ircul
armetalr
ing,
l
argemet
all
i
cdi
sc,bi
g
gem,s
pir
al l
i
kemet
al r
ingandmetalr
ingwit
hpearl
s.
Themakara(fish)f
orm ofearornamentwaspopul
aramongcholapr
inc
ess.

(
Ref
.Per
iyal
vart
hir
umol
i1:
6:10,
Kal
i
ngat
hupar
ani
499)

27.
Sil
ambu–Theankl
etwor
ninl
egswi
ths
mal
lpi
ecesofpr
eci
ousgemsi
nsi
dei
t.

(
ref
.Si
l
apat
hikar
am)

28.
Megal
ai–I
tsagi
rdl
eador
nedwi
thgems
.Theot
hervar
iet
iesofmegal
aii
sknownasKanc
hi,
Kal
abam,
Par
umam,
Vis
iri
gai
.

(
Ref
.Mani
megal
ai)

29.
Val
ai–Val
aii
sal
soknownasval
aiyal
andi
tisanor
namentwor
nonhandss
imi
l
art
obangl
es.

(
Ref
.Val
aiyapat
hi)

BI
BLI
OGRAPHY:
1.
Thami
l
araadai
gal
-Pr
of.
M.Bhagavat
hi

2.
Soc
ial
his
tor
yofTami
lVol
1,Soc
ial
his
tor
yofKer
alaVol
2 -Kr
ishnaNai
r.
L.K.

3.
Soc
ial
li
feofTami
l
s-Thec
las
sic
alper
iod-Si
ngar
avel
u.S.

4.
Googl
ear
tsandc
ult
ure(
fori
mages
)

5.
Ponni
yinSel
van-Kal
ki(
fori
mages
)

6.
Vel
par
i-Su.
Venkat
esan(
fori
mages
)