Ornaments For women

ORNAMENTS

Indian woman are very fond of ornaments. Indian ornaments, have a variety of design and style, both traditional and modern. Each area in India has a particular style of design which is quite distinct from the others. Some of them are traditional symbols. Small and simple ornaments are used as casual wear. Heavy ornaments are used for occasions.

NOSE RING

It is a traditional custom for Hindu married women to wear a stud or a nose ring. Women pierce their nose either on one side or on both sides. Gold or silver studs embedded with stones of different sizes and shapes are worn. Small rings instead of studs are also used. The nose ring is considered as a symbol of marriage. Nowadays it is also worn by unmarried girls.

Ear ring
It is a common custom among Indians, to pierce the ears of a baby girl few months after her birth. Women wear different types of studs and hangings. These days women pierce their ears on the lobe and ornament themselves very attractively. On the occasion of marriage, very big hangings are used by brides. Ear rings of various metals like gold, silver, white and black metal are used. A thin chain attached to the ear studs with the other end pinned to the hair is called 'Maatty'.

There are few other ornaments used by women occasionally. On the wedding day, apart from the usual jewels, a big golden waist chain (Odyanam) is worn. It is worn around the waist and at times only on the left waist. It keeps the sari intact besides being an ornament. A thin chain worn on the center part of the head with a drop in front is called 'Chutti'. An ornament called 'Vangi' is worn on both hands above the elbow. These ornaments are also used by dancers during performances.

BANGLES

India has a large range of arm ornaments. Bangles are popular among women. It is made of gold, silver, glass and many other materials. In some parts of India, women wear glass bangles of different colours which match their dress. Jaipur, in Rajasthan is a big centre for lac bangles. They are worn on auspicious occasions as a sign of good omen. A pair of shell and red coral bangles are worn by Bengali women as a symbol of marriage.

ANKLET (PAAYAL)

Anklet is worn on the ankle of both legs. There are few clinging beads attached to it. As the woman walk the clinging sound of the anklet is heard. It is generally made of silver. Nowadays gold is also used.

TOE RING

Toe rings are small rings worn on the toes. Wearing toe rings is a custom among some Hindu communities. It is usually made of silver. During the wedding ceremony the bridegroom put the toe ring on the brides toes. In North India toe rings are as important as a 'thali' (symbol of marriage). But nowadays it has become a fashion and is worn even by women of other communities.

Indian Bangles Bangles, the decorative ornaments have over the centuries acquired a cultural, social and religious significance. Literature through the ages has glorified this ornament and made it the epitome of feminine grace. The word bangle, which the dictionary defines as a ring for arm or leg, originated from the Hindi bangri or bangali. In Sanskrit there is almost lyrical description of the bangle: that cylindrical ornament which adorns the arm. This adornment or ornament was undoubtedly a purely decorative accessory in the pre-Vedic era and even in the post-Vedic times until the medieval period. Medieval India gave Hinduism a chauvinistic twist distorting Vedic concepts and introduced ritualistic beliefs. It was at this stage that the bangle was transformed from a mere decoration to a symbol of marriage. The bangle thus began to gain social significance and ritualistic relevance. Hindu married girls always wear some bangles round both their wrists as it is considered inauspicious to be bare armed. Bare hands are symbolically associated with widows who have been denied the right to wear bangles or any kind of adornment. Gold bangles per se have no significance. Almost any woman, regardless of caste, culture or community, age or marital status can wear gold bangles if she can afford them. Gold bangles form a part of the bride's dowry and are more an investment or a statement of wealth. Bangles in Different Regions In Bengal, the iron kada (bangle) commonly termed loha is worn by the married woman as a symbol of her marriage. The bride is also given a beautifully crafted white conch bangle and a red lac bangle. But the conch and lac bangles are not as important as the loha. These days the loha is skillfully encased in gold. Ivory bangles, like the glass ones, are an important item for brides of some communities. A bride from Punjab is traditionally given slender ivory choodas (bangles) in white and red. These bangles are given only in multiples of four. Over the years, the expensive ivory has been replaced by lac and plastic but the custom continues. The bride wears these bangles for a period of three to six months and as long as the bangles are on she is generally pampered as the new bride and not given and kitchen duties to perform. The day she enters the kitchen to work, she takes off her chooda and gifts them to a priest or to the local shrine. Even the Gujarati and Rajasthani brides are gifted one ivory bangle by the mother's family. Ivory here has not been replaced by the cheaper lac or plastic. The couple cannot perform the Saptapati (the seven rounds around the holy fire without which no Hindu marriage is completed) without the ivory bangle. After a few weeks of her marriage, the bride takes off the bangles. When the Gujarati bride conceives, her sister-in-law gifts her a silver chain bracelet. In the seventh month she is also asked to wear a bracelet made of black thread and five kowdis (a kind of shell). This bracelet is untied only when the woman goes into labor pains to symbolically help in an easy delivery. In the South, a similar ceremony called valaikapu is practiced, when the woman is in her seventh month of pregnancy and comes to stay at her mother's home. The glass bangles of all varieties and colors are literally stacked on her hands with 21 valay (bangles) on one hand and 22 on the other. She is also given a silver kapu, a thin silver bangle with clasps. This is unclasped only when the labor pains begin. The glass bangles are also taken off then. The Maharashtrians give a woman green glass bangles when she is pregnant. Green is considered auspicious color for a married woman in Maharashtra. The women wear green bangles on all-important occasions. Even the Devi (Goddess) is offered glass bangles. In the south, she is offered black ones, in Maharashtra green and in Calcutta red. In the northern India red glass bangles are considered auspicious for the married woman. In fact, every Hindu girl in India possesses dozens of colored glass bangles to match her clothes. Girls buy bangles for every festival or occasion-Teej, Navratri, a wedding or a birthday. Today, the profession of glass bangle making and selling is mostly dominated by Muslims. Ferozabad, a town in Uttar Pradesh dominated by Muslims is renowned for its glass bangle manufacturing. Bangles Worn by Tribes Besides glass, ivory, silver conch, loha and lac there are variety of other bangles worn by various tribes and communities. The Ahirs of Rajasthan and Rabaris of Gujarat cover their entire hand with broad plain bangles made of bone. The unmarried wear them only from the wrist to the elbow whereas the married wear them from the elbow upwards as far up as the underarm. Since these tribes are nomadic and they cannot keep their assets under safekeeping, they wear their savings in the form of jewelery. The Lambadis of Andhra Pradesh wear the graded bone bangles only up to their elbows. The Bastar tribe of Madhya Pradesh wears bangles made of coconut shell. Intricate patterns designed on white metal are screwed firmly onto the coconut shell. The Gonds and Bhils wear bangles made out of brass or beads. The Kashmiris have the most exquisitely painted papier-mâché bangles. Each area crafts bangles using the materials available locally like wood in Kashmir, the rhino horn in Assam and lac in Rajasthan. Ornaments on the arms and wrists were worn in India from the days of the Indus Valley Civilization (2300-1000 B.C.) as is evident from the bronze figurine found in Mohenjodaro. Bangles cover the entire arm of this figurine. The Yakshini idol of the Sunga dynasty (321-72 BC) too wears bangles with intricate designs on it. In Sanchi, the female figures display bangles, as do the cave paintings in the Ajanta and Ellora. The armlet is rarely worn today. In the early era, both men and women wore armlets designed to look like a coiled snake. All serpentine armlets were called angada. The armlets had forms like creepers, crocodiles, and faces of animals like lions, elephants and peacocks at both ends. In Banabhatt's Kadambari there is a mention of Goddess Saraswati wearing kangan (bangle) made of conch. Many odes have been written in praise of the bangle with many folk songs woven round it. Kangan, Valaya, Kada, Gajulu, Chooda, Choodi, Bangri are just the different names for bangles.

Picture Gallery

Ornaments of Hindus Population Census data of 1971, 1981, 1991 Languages Religious Communities Hindus Jains Christians Christian Organizations Muslims Religion Rituals and Ceremonies Hindus Muslim Christians Marriage and Morals Hindus Christians Feasts and Festivals Hindus Muslims Houses and Housing Dress Ornaments Diet Stimulants and Narcotics Amusements Games Ornaments are widely regarded particularly in the rural parts, more as means for the safe-keeping of money than for decoration or aids to beauty. People do not like to spend much on the goldsmith's labour or skill which fetches no value on the reconversion of the ornaments into cash. As a result we find that except for the patronage of a few princes of old or rich persons ornaments are but specimens of clumsy form and workmanship. Gold ornaments are simply hammered or punched into shape or rudely engraved and are practically never cast or moulded. They are often made hollow from thin plate or leaf, the interior being filled with lac. So also is the case with silver which is also rarely cast. Ornaments differ in type as used by men and women and by boys and girls. They are worn on the head, in the ears, in the nose, on the neck, across the shoulders, on the arms, wrists and fingers, round the waist, on the legs and on the toes. They differ according to the caste and community and also as used by males, females, boys and girls. With Hindus gold is very sacred metal; and gold ornaments must not on this account be worn below the waist, as to do so would be considered an indignity to the holy material. Brahman, and Maratha woman will not have ornaments for the head and arms of any baser metal than gold. Other castes should, if they can afford it, wear only gold on the head. Gold and silver in ornaments is also considered to have a protective magical effect, like that attribute to charms and amulets. In the making of ornaments the recent tendency is to substitute gold, silver and precious stones by alloys, culture peals and synthetic stones. Men now rarely use any ornaments. However, a savakar may display a bhikbali, a gold ring set with pearls and pendantemerald, hanging by the upper lone of his ear. He may also use gold salakadis or a poci on the wrist, and a goph or chainwork, with a locket round the neck. If fairly off, a baniya's everyday ornaments may be a silver girdle and a gold armlet worn above the elbow, a pearl ear-ring, a gold or pearl necklace, and finger rings. Well-to-do cultivators have gold ring in the ear, kadas of solid silver on the wrists, or a dandkade of silver wornabove the elbow. A silver chain work girdle known as kargota is used round the waist be many. Fashions in the ornaments of ladies have considerably changed during the last fifty years, the general tendency being to avoid gold ornaments of heavy weight. Head ornaments of any kind as used by ladies are not much in evidence. However, some hair ornaments such as mud, agraphul ketki-kevada, veni, rakhadi, candra-surya, nag-gonde, and gonde phule all made of gold are still to be found in old rich families. Birdi-bijora and bhang-tila, a decorative ornament for the whole head is to be found among Rajputs and Marvadis. Flower-shaped ornaments such as gulabace-phul, caphe-kali, etc., as braid-ornaments are current. Ear ornaments such as caukadi kudi preferably of pearls and of precious stones are in vogue, bugadya, balya, kap are in the use of old women. Ear-rings of various types are now getting into fashion. Nose ornaments: nose-rings such as nath and besar as cremonial ornaments worn by married ladies in the left nostril are current. Nath of the rich is studded with pearls and gems, that of the poor is made of gold; besar is smaller in size. Other types of nose-rings are murni, mugval, phuli, kanta, camki and bulak. Neckless such as mangalsutras of various types, the black beads being stringed together by different pattern of gold symbolically by married ladies are now-a-days worn by them as an ornament. Other types of necklaces in current use are; bakulihara, bormal, candrahar, capalahar,ekdani, joudhalipora, kolhapuri-saj, mohanmal, putalyaci-mail, and pohe-har; sari, thusi, vajratik are getting rare; petya, pota, laphpha, tanmani, and pende are made of pearls and to be found current among the rich. Hand ornaments such as kankane (bangles) of patterns known as bilor, diamond, double-diamond, hodighat, parica-pailu, tin-pailu and calcutta pattern, Delhi pattern and Madras pattern are current : Patlya (wristless) known as jalicya, minyacya, pailucya, punacya, and todicya all made of gold are current. Costlier bangles studded with pearls, diamonds and precious stones are in the use of rich. Armlets such as bajubands or vakis of the types known as hatricya, modavakya, rudragath, tulabandi made of gold or silver are still in wear. Foot or leg ornaments areusually made of silver and as worn by lower classes thy are tode, tordya, sakhalya and vale. Masolya, jodvi, phirvi, salle, are silver toe rings and are used by ladies on marriage day, and continue to be used by lower classes. Child ornaments such as bindalya, mangatya, kaditode which are wristlets, and goph, hasli, sakhali taiti which are necklaces are made either of gold or silver. Sakhali and sarpoli are used round the waist and ghungur-vale and vale are worn on the ankles. (Copyright © Nagpur Online, March 1999, 2000 Under the U.S. & India Copyright act ). The complete "People" and "History" Sections on "nagpuronline.com" web site are Copyrighted materials. You are allowed for personal use but not for publishing, distributing, copying or web page hosting.) You may provide link to this page. Back Christmas ornament From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia • Learn more about citing Wikipedia • Jump to: navigation, search Christmas bauble (called a Christmas ball in American English) Christmas ornaments are decorations (usually made of glass, metal, wood or ceramics) that are used to festoon a Christmas tree. Ornaments take many different forms, from a simple round ball to highly artistic designs. Ornaments are almost always reused year after year, rather than purchased annually, and family collections often contain a combination of commercially produced ornaments and decorations created by family members. Such collections are often passed on and augmented from generation to generation. Santa Claus is a commonly used figure. Candy canes, fruit, animals and snowflake imagery are also popular choices Lucretia P. Hale's story "The Peterkins' Christmas-Tree"[1] offers a short catalog of the sorts of ornaments used in the 1870s: "There was every kind of gilt hanging-thing, from gilt pea-pods to butterflies on springs. There were shining flags and lanterns, and bird-cages, and nests with birds sitting on them, baskets of fruit, gilt apples, and bunches of grapes." The modern-day Christmas ornament was originally invented in the small German town of Lauscha in the late 16th century.[2] Common Ornament. Contents [hide] 1 Bauble 1.1 Invention 1.2 Export 1.3 Mass production 1.4 Post World War II 1.5 The modern bauble 1.6 Handcrafted christmas ornaments 2 Christmas Pickle 3 The star 4 See also 5 External links 6 Notes [edit] Bauble A bauble is a spherical decoration that is commonly used to adorn Christmas trees. It is one of the most popular Christmas ornament designs, and you can find at least one bauble on virtually any Christmas tree. Baubles can have various designs on them, from "baby's first Christmas," to a favorite sports team. Baubles have been in production since 1847. [edit] Invention Glass baubles were first made in Lauscha, Germany by Hans Greiner who according to legend, began hand blowing glass into Christmas decorations because he was unable to afford usual ornaments such as nuts, apples and candy. Greiner originally started by blowing glass into the shape of fruit and nuts. The inside of his decorations were made to look silvery, at first with mercury or lead, then later using a special compound of silver nitrate and sugar water. As demand for Greiner's ornaments grew, he began blowing the glass into new shapes including the sphere which is now the most popular. [edit] Export Other glassblowers in Lauscha recognised the growing popularity of Christmas baubles and began producing them in a wide range of designs. Soon, the whole of Germany began buying Christmas glassware from Lauscha and after Queen Victoria's Christmas tree was pictured in a London newspaper decorated with glass ornaments and baubles from Prince Albert's native Germany, Lauscha began exporting its products throughout Europe. In the 1880s, American F. W. Woolworth discovered Lauscha's baubles during a visit to Germany. He made a fortune by importing the German glass ornaments to the U.S.A. [edit] Mass production A handcrafted Christmas ornament. By the 1920s, traditional handblown methods gave way to mass production and before long there was competition from other regions of Germany and from abroad as well. The demand for the decorative items grew steadily, especially as new colours regularly became fashionable. [edit] Post World War II After World War II, the East German government turned most of Lauscha's glassworks into state-owned entities, and production of baubles in Lauscha ceased. After the Berlin Wall came down, most of the firms were reestablished as private companies. Today there are still about 20 small glass-blowing firms active in Lauscha that produce baubles. [edit] The modern bauble Although glass baubles are still produced, baubles are now mainly made from plastic and available worldwide in a huge variety of shapes, colours and designs. [edit] Handcrafted christmas ornaments Besides mass-produced ornaments, there is a thriving market in handcrafted Christmas ornaments[1] of every sort. These are typically sold at craft fairs, in craft shops and on the Internet. [edit] Christmas Pickle A Christmas pickle ornament The Christmas pickle is a pickle-shaped ornament hidden in the tree. The child who finds it first on Christmas morning receives an extra present. While the Christmas pickle is believed to be a German custom, it is fairly unknown in Germany but widely spread across the USA.[2] [edit] The star It is common to place a large star or other large bright ornament at the top of the Christmas tree. Hans Christian Andersen's story of The Fir-Tree describes the decoration of a Danish Christmas tree: On one branch there hung little nets cut out of colored paper, and each net was filled with sugarplums; and among the other boughs gilded apples and walnuts were suspended, looking as though they had grown there, and little blue and white tapers were placed among the leaves. Dolls that looked for all the world like men—the Tree had never beheld such before—were seen among the foliage, and at the very top a large star of gold tinsel was fixed.[3] In American English this is called a "tree-topper". The star is used to represent the Star of Bethlehem that the Magi used to find the baby Jesus.[citation needed] assorted ornaments [edit] See also Christmas tree Snow baby [edit] External links The Christmas Pickle About The Christmas Pickle German Myth 11: The German Christmas Pickle History & Traditions of Christmas Ornaments The Legendary Pickle Oranament The Pickle Ornament available as made by Inge-glas of Germany, a glass blowing tradition since 1596 How to make a Digital Photo Ornament Your source for Digital Photo Christmas Ornaments [edit] Notes ^ Canadian Living : Crafts : Other Crafts : A collection of Christmas ornament crafts ^ Flippo, Hyde. About.com:"German Myth 11: The German Christmas Pickle". Accessed 19 December 2007. ^ Andersen's Fairy Tales, Project Gutenberg text ^ Lucretia P. Hale, The Peterkin Papers. 1960; Houghton Mifflin ^ German Christmas Ornaments [hide] v • d • e Christmas Main History · The Nativity · Bringers of gifts · Decorations · Economics · Customs · Controversy Christianity Nativity of Jesus · Nativity of Jesus in art · Nativity scene · Nativity of Jesus in later culture · Jesus · Mary · Joseph · Angel Gabriel · Adoration of the Shepherds · Three Wise Men · Star of Bethlehem · King Herod · Massacre of the Innocents · Saint Nicholas · Twelfth Night · Epiphany (Christian) · Advent · Christmastide Folklore Father Christmas · Saint Nicholas · Santa Claus · Mrs. Claus · Santa Claus's reindeer · Elves · North Pole · Other characters Traditions Twelve Days of Christmas · Christmas tree · Wassailing · Yule log · Stockings · Ornaments · Lights · Christmas cards · NORAD Tracks Santa · Santa's Grotto · Christmas markets · Plants · Food · Feasts · Events · Parades — Worldwide: Philippine, Polish Media Fiction · Films · Plays — TV: Episodes, Specials — Music: Albums, Hit singles and tracks, Carols, Other Christmas music and songs Society Christmas club · Christmas controversy · Christmas creep · Christmas truce · Language · Black Friday · Cyber Monday · White Christmas · Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004 · Related holidays · List of winter festivals Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_ornament" Categories: Christmas traditions | Christmas trees