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MAHOMMEDAN WOMEN

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Originally appearing in Volume V14, Page 419 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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MAHOMMEDAN See also:WOMEN . See also:Head-See also:dress.—The rupatta (also called dopatta), or See also:veil, is of various See also:colours and materials. Its length is about 3 yds., its width about i 2. It is worn over the head and thrown over the See also:left See also:shoulder. It is considered essential to modesty to See also:cover the head. This head-dress is also known as orhna, orhni, pochan, pochni (See also:Baluchistan and western See also:India) chundri, reo (See also:Sind), sipatta, takrai or chadar (See also:Pathan). Among the poorer classes it is called pacholi. Farther See also:south in India when of thicker material it is called chadar or chaddar. It is called pachedi, potra or malaya by Meman, See also:Bora .and Khoja women. As a See also:rule married women See also:wear brighter colours than The kassawa is a handkerchief See also:bound over the head and tied at the back, and is worn by Mahommedan women indoors to keep the See also:hair tidy; Mahommedan women See also:plait their hair and let it hang down behind (See also:Plate I. fig. 6). Clothing.—A See also:short jacket fastened at the back and with short sleeves is worn.

It may be of any material. In Sind, See also:

Gujarat and other parts of western India it is called a choli. It is also very generally known as angiyd. Other See also:common names are mahram and sindband (See also:breast-cover). The kurtd is a sort of sleeveless See also:shirt, open in front and reaching to the See also:waist. It may be of any material. When this is worn with the angiya it is worn over it. This See also:combination of dress is worn only by See also:young married women. In See also:Kashmir and See also:northern India generally the angiya is not worn, and the kurtd is worn instead. This is like the kamis: of the See also:man, already described; it has full sleeves, is open at the front, which is embroidered, and reaches to the See also:knee or See also:lower. Among Pathans there are two kinds of kurta (kamis or khat); one worn by married women called girddand khat is dark red or See also:blue, embroidered with See also:silk in front; the jaldnd khat worn by unmarried women is less conspicuous for See also:colour and See also:ornament. A large See also:pocket '(jeb) is often sewn on in front like the Highlander's See also:sporran.

The Pa'ejdmds, also called izdr, are cut like those of men, and known by the same names. They differ only in being of silk or other See also:

fine material and being coloured (Plate I. fig. 6). Among Pathans they are called ' partog or partek (pardek), and those of unmarried girls are of See also:white, while married women wear them of susi, a See also:kind of coloured silk or See also:cotton. As a See also:general rule the wearing of paijamas is the See also:chief distinction between Mussulman and See also:Hindu women. In the See also:Shahpur and other districts, however, where Mahommedans have followed Hindu customs, 'Moslem women wear the majla, a See also:cloth about 3 yds. See also:long by 11 wide tied tightly See also:round the waist so as to fall in folds over the legs. Even Mahommedan men sometimes wear the majla in these districts This See also:form of dress is known among Moslems as tahband [lower binding] (Plate I. fig. 6). In See also:Rajputana, Gujarat and the See also:southern See also:Punjab, Mahommedan women sometimes wear a lhenga or ghagra skirt without See also:trousers; in the See also:Sirsa See also:district and parts of Gujarat the ghagra is worn over the trousers. The sadari or waistcoat is worn by women as well as men. The tillak or peshwaz. is a dress or robe the skirt and bodice of which are made in one piece, usually of red or other coloured material; it is common in Gujarat, Rajputana and the Sirsa district, and is the See also:style usually adopted by See also:nautch girls when dancing. Meman women wear also the See also:aba, or overcoat, which differs from that worn by men, in that it has loose See also:half sleeves, and fastens with two buttons at each See also:side of the See also:neck over the shoulders; it is embroidered on the breast, and adorned with See also:gold See also:lace on the skirts.

In See also:

Delhi, See also:Lucknow, See also:Agra and other towns in the Punjab and the See also:United Provinces a See also:special See also:wedding dress is worn by the See also:bride, called rit-kajora, the " dress of See also:custom." It is worn on the wedding See also:night only; and it is a rule that no See also:scissors are employed in making it. The trouser See also:string of this dress is not the. usual kamarband, but is made of untwisted cotton See also:thread called kalawa. Out of doors Mahommedan women wear the burkd, a long loose white garment entirely covering the head and See also:body. It has two holes for the eyes. Mahommedan women penpll the eyes with See also:kohl or See also:surma, use missi for the teeth_ and Eololur the palms and nails of the See also:hand with See also:henna. A See also:nose-See also:ring is a sign of See also:marriage.

End of Article: MAHOMMEDAN WOMEN

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MAHONY, FRANCIS SYLVESTER (18o4-1866)

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