Traditional Ornaments
The significance of Punjabi jewelry lies in variety and aesthetics. It is in fact a part of the Indian culture, a facet of its social pattern with deep religious overtones. It is not surprising that jewelry was used as much by men as by women though more sparingly by the former.
An endless variety of ornaments are used in local parlance, often only locally understood and each little change in the size or pattern of an ornament merits a different name. For instance, an ornament called sagi is a central head stud that supports the phulkari or dupatta or other headgear. It is a hemispherical with raised work all over with floral patterns carved out in horizontal circles, encased in lines and dots, and a star in the center. There are half-a-dozen varieties of sagi. When at the top-center a colored stone is fixed in it, it becomes sagi uchhi. Where several round beads are hung at the edge with silver chains, it becomes motianwali sagi. When two additional sagis are linked to the upper side they are known as sagi phul. A slight variation in its shape turns it into sagi chandiari. In addition to it there are more ornaments used for the head, followed by ornaments used for the ears, the neck, the arms, the fingers, the anklets and the feet. Thus the names of traditional ornaments used in Punjab run well into hundreds.
HEAD ORNAMENTS
Men’s
1. Sarpesh – the jeweled aigrette worn in front of the turban
2. Kutbiladar – an oval pendant worn over the forehead
3. Kalgi – Plume in jeweled setting
4. Mukat or Mutakh – a head dress worn by Hindus at weddings
5. Turah-I-marwarid – tassels of pearls worn on the turban
Women’s
1. Sisphul, chaunk or choti phul – a round boss worn on the hair over the forehead
2. Mauli – a long chain made of rows of pearls separated by jeweled studs
3. Sir mang – a pendant worn on the head by Hindus
ORNAMENTS WORN ON THE FOREHEAD
By Women only
1. Damni or dauni – a fringe hanging over the forehead on either side of the face
2. Tika or kashka – small ornament on the forehead which hangs with a chain
3. Chand bina – a moonshaped pendant
4. Tawit – small amulets worn on the head
5. Jhumar – a tassel shaped ornament or pendant
6. Guchhi marwarid – a cluster of pearls
7. Bindi – small tinsel forehead ornament
8. Barwata – tinsel stars worn over the eyebrows
EAR ORNAMENTS
Men’s
1. Bala – very large ring worn by Khatris, Sikhs and Dogras
2. Murki - smaller earrings of the same shape
3. Dur – a small earring with three studs
4. Birbali – a broad earring with three studs
5. Durichah – an ear-ring with pendant tassel
Women’s
1. Bali or Goshwara – a set of rings worn on the edge of the ear
2. Bali Bahaduri – it has a large pointed stud in the center
3. Karnphul, Dhedu and Jhumka – all forms of tassel like ornaments
4. Pipal Pata – like a murki, but has a pendant ending in a fringe of little gold pipal leaves
5. Kantala – A similar ornament like pipal-patta but this has a stud besides the pendant
6. Bala Khungri – a heavy fringed earring
7. Bala Katoriwalla – an earring with a bowl-like pendant
8. Khalli – small earring
9. Jalil – A small earring with a small jeweled central stud
10. Phumni – silk and tinsel tassels
11. Machh Machlian – a small gold figure of a fish worn as an earring
12. Tid-patang – a crescent shaped jeweled pendant with hanging row of gold pipal leaves
13. Tandaura, Dedi – a huge star-shaped jeweled stud
14. Mor Phunwar – pendant of jewels being an imitation of the figure of a peacock
NOSE ORNAMENTS
Women’s
1. Nath – a large nose ring with one side ornamented with a belt of jewels or a few pearls
2. Bulak – a small pendant either worn hung to the cartilage of nose, or strung to a nath
3. Latkan – a sort of pendants put on to the thin gold ring called nath and hanging from it
4. Morni – a small pendant for the above, shaped like the spread out tail of a peacock
5. Laung – a small stud let into the flesh of the nostril on one side with a pearl on it
6. Phuli – a small ring with a single emerald, or other stone of an oval shape, as a pendant
7. Bohr – a dangling pendant of gold pipal-leaves
NECKLACES AND NECK ORNAMENTS
Men’s
1. Mala – a necklace of large beads handing down long and loose
2. Kaintha – this fits rather close to the neck, the pendant may be omitted
3. Nam – an amulet, round or star shaped, suspender from a twist of colored silk thread
4. Tawiz - a square amulet, jeweled or otherwise
5. Takhti – a flat square plate engraved with figures etc
6. Zanjiri – a set of chains
7. Chandarmah – a large gold flat medal suspended by a single ring on a silk chair or cord
Women’s
1. Chandanhar – a collar or necklace of a great number of chains
2. Mala – a plain necklace of pearls or gold bead, hanging down long
3. Champakali – a necklace like a collar with pendants of plain metal or set with stones.
4. Jugni – single jeweled pendant, hanging from a necklace of silk and elongated in shape
5. Mohran – a gold mohur or coin hung by a silk necklace
6. Haul Dil – a sort of amulet of jade cut in curves round the edge
7. Hassi or Hass – like a torque, a ring of silver, thick in the middle and thin at either end
8. Guluband – a jeweled collar
9. Mohnmala – gold beads necklace with an interval of twisted thread between each bead
10. Atradan – a square jeweled or plain gold pendant attached to a silk chain
11. Kandi – a chain of silk carrying amulet cases
12. Silwatta – an amulet case shaped like a small gold pillow with two suspended rings
ARM ORNAMENTS
1. Bazuband – a broad belt-like ornament mounted on silk and tied on the upper arm
2. Nauratan – like bazuband, consisting of a band of nine gems set side by side by silk ties
3. Taviz – an amulet worn on the upper arm
4. Anant – meaning endless, a large thin but solid ring of gold or silver
5. Bhawatta – a square gold ornament, worn on the upper arm
BRACELETS
Men’s
1. Ponchi – a series of strings of shells or small gold elongated beads worn on the wrist
2. Kangan or Kara or Gokru – a bracelet of stiff metal
Women’s
1. Ponchian – worn on wrist with several categories called kutbi, chuhadandi, iliachdana etc.
2. Kangan - worn on the wrist are generally of gold
3. Banka – thick gold bracelets, mostly used by Hindus
4. Gajra – a flexible bracelet made of square gold studs mounted on a silk band
5. Churi – of several varieties generally made of a flat ribbon of gold or silver, bent round
6. Bain – long silver sleeveworn on both arms, like a lot of churis fastened together
7. Band – an armlet, broad and heavy
8. Jhankangan – small hollow karas with grains introduced into the hollow to rattle
FINGER RINGS
1. Anguthi – a ring set with stones also called mundri
2. Challa – a plain hoop or whole hoop ring, with or without stones, being of gold or silver
3. Angutha – a big ring with a broad face worn on the toe
4. Khari Panjangla – a set of finger rings of ordinary shape
5. Shahelmi or Khari – a ring of long oval shape
6. Birhamgand – a broad ring
ANKLETS
1. Pahzeb – various ankle ornaments made with chains and pendants of silver
2. Jhanjar – a large hollow ring which rattles when the wearer walks
3. Kharian-apir or khalkhal – like karas worn on the ankles
4. Khungru – a ring or ankle of long ornamental beads of silver worn on the feet
5. Zanjiri – a set of chains with broad clasp, also known as tora
|
