 |
THE PEOPLE
|
 |
ORNAMENTS
Ornaments have a place in every home and women have an added attraction for them. They have a natural inclination to present a fascinating appearance with beauty-aids and ornaments made of gold, silver, diamonds and jewellery. In rural areas, ornaments are considered more as a store of value rather than for decorative use or their use as beauty-aids and as such rural folk are rather reluctant to spend on the goldsmith's labour or skill and the result is that their ornaments are specimens of clumsy form and workmanship.
Ornaments used by women and girls differ from those used by men and boys. The pattern of ornaments also differs from community to community and caste to caste. Hindus consider gold as a sacred metal and as such they do not wear gold ornaments below the waist to maintain the dignity of the sacred metal. A golden bead is used in the mangalsutra that is worn by Hindu women of Maharashtra. Generally Brahman and Maratha women will not have any ornaments for head and arms of any material other than gold. Gold and silver in ornaments is considered to have a protective magical effect that is attributed to charms and amulets. Ayurveda considers gold to have a medicinal value also. Due to constantly rising prices of gold, silver and precious stones, the tendency is witnessed to substitute these articles by alloys, cultured pearls and synthetic stones. Till recently, the use of ornaments was very common and customary among men. They were bhikbali, a gold ring set with pearls and a pendant-emerald hanging by the upper lobe, gold salkadi or a pochi on the wrist, a goph or chain worn with a locket round the neck, silver girdle and a gold armlet, pearl necklace, etc. The ornaments commonly used by men are a ring, and a silver chain girdle called kargota round the waist.
Fashions and modes of female ornaments have undergone considerable changes during the last few decades. Women from rich and aristocratic families used to wear a variety of ornaments. The head ornaments were mud, agraful, rakhadi, ketki-kevda, gulabache-phul, bindi-bijora, chandrasurya, gonde-phul, etc. The group of neck ornaments consisted of chandrahar, chaplahar, bakulihar, pushpahar, mohanmal, putalyanchi mal, bormal, kolhapuri saj, ekdani, sari, vajratik, thushi, petya, tanmani, all made of gold. Ornaments of pearls, diamonds and precious stones are to be found in the families of the very rich. Gold bangles, patlya, gotha, bajuband, and tode of various patterns are more common among the well-to-do. The peasantry and the class of labourers wear ornaments of silver. Tode made of silver are very common among the womenfolk in the rural areas of the district.
However, most of these ornaments are either uncommon or they have undergone a thorough change in their form. Heavy gold ornaments are becoming unpopular. Head ornaments have almost gone out of fashion. The ear ornaments at present are kudya, ear-rings, and karnaphul. Among the neck ornaments mangalsutra is the most important which is encumbent on every suvasini. Formerly it was made of black glass beads with gold half beads in the centre. Now-a-days the beads are woven in gold strings and are fashioned on different patterns. The chandrahar, chaplahar, mohanmal, ekdani, tanmani, laffa are more in vogue among Hindus. Nose ornaments are rarely used, barring nath and chamki. A pair of jodvi (silver rings in the toes) and virolya are generally prepared for the bride at the time of the marriage.
Child ornaments falling under the group of wristlets comprise bindlya, mangatya and kaditode. Necklaces put on by children are mainly goph, hansli, sakhli, paiti and chain lockets. Sakhli and sarpoli are used on the waist and ghungurvale are worn on the ankles. These ornaments are made of either gold or silver.
|
