Kerala Jewelery

Submitted by UMAMAHESWARI on Thu, 2006-12-07 06:47.
JEWELLER’S AND GOLDSMITH’S ART IN INDIA IS OF THE HIGHEST ANTIQUITY. EVEN IN THE VILLAGES, REMOTE FROM THE GREAT CENTRES OF TRADE, THE MAKERS OF ORNAMENTS IN THE PRECIOUS AND THE BASE METAL WERE REVERED.
KERALA TOO HAS ITS OWN PATTERNS OF JEWELRY KNOWN FOR ITS Elegant FINISH SIMPLICITY AND VARIETY.

Jewelry and Epics
Richly designed jewelry existed during the Vedic Age. Sita it is said had jeweled butterflies and other ornaments in the raven black hair. Her eyes resplendent with gems... bracelets and armlets on her arms and wrists... a golden zone binding her slender waist.. golden anklets on her ankles jeweled rings on her fingers and golden bells on her toes that tinkled as she walked with naked feet to accept Rama as her consort,” It must have been a glorious picture dazzling the assembly by her natural beauty enhanced by the adornment.
King Janaka had received the CHUDAMANI for the head from Kubera. Described as “studded with pearls and gems” he gave it to her daughter Sita. Rama is said to have been delighted with the lovely ornament as it dazzled in the luxurious locks of Sita. She sent it as her identity to Hanuman. The story of Ramayana reaches its climax as it were when Hanuman delivers to Sita in her captivity in the Asoka vana of Ravana the signet ring of Rama’s identification.

In Mahabharata too the first loss suffered by Yudhishtira at the gambling match in Hastinapur was a Pearl!

Jewelry & man

Before the discovery of any hard durable material, man used Nature’s bounty for personal adornment. Flowers, seeds, weeds, grass adorned his body. These being ephemeral in character he was in search of more enduring decoration for his women folk. He needed a material that would last for long and would retain its beauty, charm and luster permanently. With the discovery of metals especially gold he created revolution in ornamentation.

Kerala Jewelry

It is said that the aesthetic and the artistic sensibilities of a society manifests in the sculptures and ornaments. Kerala jewelry reflects ingenuity and the individual skill of the goldsmiths who forms an important segment in the cast hierarchy. In an age when jewelry showrooms were unheard of, royal house holds and prestigious tharawads had their own goldsmiths who decided the trend in the jewelry.

The earliest ornaments had a ritualistic element. They were worn around the neck, the ear, the wrist, and in the case of children round the waist and ankles. Traditional Kerala jewelry show traces of animal worship –(naagapadamala), nature worship (elanjikurumala, maangamala, maampoothali) and image worship (dasavarathamala, pavanamala, with the head of the king carved on the locket).
There was time when each community had its won specific type of ornaments forbidden by law and custom to be worn by others. Today naagabadamala or the paalakamala which were once worn only by the women of certain communities, are now worn by all. Now it is impossible to distinguish women of one community from the other from the ornaments they wear.

Ear ornaments are indispensable to the completeness of the apparel of a woman. The evolution can be traced to the kaathila the thakka, and the toda to the now vogue ear studs and drops. The ear was pierced in the usual place a heavy gold ring or weight is inserted so as to draw the ear lobe down to the shoulder. The takka /toda were worn on the extended earlobe. Studs fastened with little pins and gold rings adorned the nose.

Kumadla thali, kandasaram, pathakam were the earliest neck ornaments. The weight depends on the social status. Naagapadathali, maangamala, and pavan mala were the ornaments popular in Travancore. The naagabadamala has a green stone locket with the shape of the hood of the snake set on a strand of gold. Maanagamala as the name implies has mango shaped green stones on a gold chain. The long mullamottu mala that came down to waist has a single row of buds of jasmine on a gold chain.
Thali the marriage badge has one or more gold lockets strung on a twisted thread and were never removed except in case of widowhood. Different communities have different patterns. Among the chain collections were the paalakkamala(the lockets resemble the seeds of bitter gourd), avil maala , poothali-resplendent with innumerable little leaf like appendages that glittered at the slightest movement of the neck. The thaalikootam consist of several strands of gold chain fastened together. Kasu mala has several coins-like discs in a long string.

In those days most of then heavy pieces were hollow or had lac or copper inside them.

Another popular embellishment is the odiyanam. Tholkappu or the armulet was yet another old jewelry piece.
Nampoothiri women wore kaagali, mani , poothali, and ketturumbu. On auspicious days these women wore mani while cheruthali was worn ordinary days. The bangle variety included kadagam, pirivala, ottavala, kaappu, kurivala, and the hollow murutha that tinkled when the hands were moved.
The Muslim women were the most bejeweled. The upper part of the ear was pierced at several places (13 to be precise) to wear small rings of gold called chittu. It was never touched even in times of dire need. The ornate nettipattam was a popular ornament among them. Anjupathakkavum kallum, mullamala, pavizha mala, pachakallumala, adorned the neck.

The Christian women wore the ela and the thandu. THE UPPER PART OF THE EAR WAS PIERCED THROUGH WHICH THE THANDU WAS PASSED, TOUCHING THE EARLOBE on which was worn the ela set.
Except for some traditional families who possess these ornaments, their patterns cannot be traced. The paintings of Ravi Varma are an eloquent testimony to the earliest Kerala jewelry.
» add new comment | 1646 reads