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EveryParampara

Dress and adornment

Clothes, jewellery, henna, tattoo and hair.

Dress and adornment traditions cover the clothes, jewellery, hairstyles, tattoos and henna that people wear to mark who they are and what the day is. A sari, a kilt, a kente cloth, a hanbok or a poncho is a statement of belonging, and the way it is worn tells of age, marriage, rank or region. Some garments are worn every day, others only on festivals, and many are made by hand by craftspeople whose skills are handed down. EveryParampara describes them with respect and notes how they are changing.

Cloth and meaning

Colour, pattern and fibre carry meaning: red for luck in China and India, white for mourning in some places and for brides in others, kente patterns that name proverbs, tartans that name clans. The making of cloth, whether by weaving, dyeing, printing or embroidery, is itself a tradition, and master weavers are honoured. A garment given at a wedding or handed down in a family holds the memory of the people who wore it.

Skin, hair and ornament

Body decoration is as old as cloth. Henna on the hands of a bride, a bindi on the forehead, the tattoos of Samoa and the Maori, the plaited hair of West Africa, the lip plates and neck rings of some peoples, each is a language. Many are rites of passage, done at a coming of age or a wedding. They are best described by those who wear them, and EveryParampara aims to give their meaning, not to treat them as curiosities.

About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Dress and adornment (kind of tradition). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
MealBreakfastLunchDinnerSupperTea-time and snacking customsTea, coffee and drinking ceremoniesSweets given and sharedFeasts and festival mealsFasting and breaking the fast
🇱🇸 LesothoMokorotlo A conical straw hat that serves as the national symbol of Lesotho and a key element of Basotho traditional dress.Dress 🇳🇴 Norway and 3 moreGákti A traditional coat worn by the Sámi people across northern Scandinavia and Russia, signaling origin and status through cDress 🇳🇿 Auckland, New ZealandTā moko The traditional permanent tattooing of the Māori people of New Zealand, marking identity and status.Rite of passage 🇲🇱 San, Mali and 1 moreBògòlanfinibɔgɔlanfini A handmade Malian cotton textile dyed with iron-rich mud, worn for protection and identity.Dress 🇳🇪 Agadez, NigerAgadez Crosstanaghilt A silver pendant cast by Tuareg blacksmiths in Niger, worn as jewelry and a symbol of protection.Dress 🇮🇳 Paithan, IndiaPaithani A handwoven silk sari from Maharashtra, with a squared border and a peacock palluDress 🇵🇦 Panama City, PanamaMola Layered cloth panels hand-sewn by Guna women using reverse appliquéCraft 🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreNazarnazar boncuğu A blue glass eye amulet worn and displayed to deflect the evil eye.Folklore 🇵🇾 Asunción, ParaguayÑandutí Paraguayan needle lace named for a spider's web, worked in thread and cut freeCraft 🇸🇦 Mecca, Saudi ArabiaIhramإِحْرَام A sacred state and simple dress that Muslims enter for Hajj and UmrahSpiritual 🇲🇽 Mexico and 1 moreCharro traditionCharro The equestrian skills, formal attire and rodeo arts of the Mexican horseman.Game 🇺🇦 Ukraine and 2 moreRushnykрушник A sacred embroidered cloth used in East Slavic rituals, weddings and daily life.Dress 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the CongoKuba textiles Elaborate raffia cloths from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known for their complex geometric embroidery and velvCraft 🇹🇱 Dili, Timor-Leste and 1 moreTais Traditional hand-woven cloth of East Timor, worn as dress or used in ceremonies and exchange.Dress 🇼🇸 Samoa and 1 moreʻIe tōga Precious woven mats exchanged in Samoan ceremonies to honor family ties and chiefly status.Dress 🇮🇱 IsraelTallitטלית A four-cornered Jewish prayer shawl with ritual fringes worn during worshipSpiritual 🇵🇱 Kraków, PolandKrakowiak A lively Polish folk dance from Kraków that became a popular ballroom style across Europe.Performance 🇺🇸 New York, United StatesNavajo weavingdiyogí Handwoven wool textiles and rugs made on continuous warps by Navajo artisansCraft 🇻🇦 Vatican City and 1 morePontifical Swiss GuardPontificia Cohors Helvetica The Swiss military corps charged with guarding the Pope and the Apostolic PalaceCeremony 🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreTraditional tattooing The ancient custom of marking the skin for protection, healing, status and sacred ritesDress 🇵🇭 Cebu, PhilippinesBatok Indigenous Filipino tattooing, once worn as dress, rank and a rite of passageCraft 🇮🇳 India and 1 morePhulkariਫੁਲਕਾਰੀ Geometric and floral threadwork embroidered by Punjabi women on handwoven cotton.Craft 🇮🇩 Bali, Indonesia and 5 moreIkat A resist-dyeing craft from Southeast Asia, where yarns are tied and dyed before weavingCraft 🇼🇸 Samoa and 1 morePeʻa The traditional Samoan rite of full-body tattooing for men, tapped by master artistsRite of passage 🇻🇳 Huế, VietnamNón lá𥶄蘿 A pointed leaf and bamboo hat worn across Vietnam for shelter, work and celebrationDress 🇮🇳 Kolhapur, IndiaKolhapuri chappal Handcrafted braided leather slip-on sandals from western IndiaCraft 🇰🇭 CambodiaApsara Danceរបាំទេពអប្សរា A classical Cambodian court dance inspired by the stone carvings of AngkorPerformance 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanYūzen友禅 A Japanese resist-dyeing craft that creates painterly patterns on fine kimonoCraft 🇺🇬 Uganda and 4 moreBarkcloth Cloth beaten from tree bark across Africa, Asia and the PacificCraft 🇮🇩 North Sumatra, IndonesiaUlosᯥᯞᯘᯬ᯲ A hand-woven textile of the Batak people in Indonesia, worn for warmth and ceremony.Dress 🇬🇭 Ntɔnso, Ghana and 1 moreAdinkra symbols Symbols of the Akan people, stamped on cloth, each one carrying a proverbCraft 🇯🇵 JapanMiko巫女 A woman who serves at a Shinto shrine, dancing, cleansing and helping with ritesSpiritual 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreTzitzitצִיצִית Knotted ritual fringes worn on a four-cornered garment, a reminder of the commandmentsDress 🇺🇦 Chernivtsi, Ukraine and 5 moreVyshyvanka DayДень вишиванки An annual day for wearing traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirts across the worldDress 🇦🇹 Austria and 4 moreDirndl A fitted dress with apron from the German-speaking Alps, worn for festivals and weddings.Dress 🇮🇹 Venice, ItalyCarnival of VeniceCarnevale di Venezia A historic festival in Italy famous for elaborate masks and anonymous social gatherings.Festival 🇰🇷 South KoreaNorigae노리개 A Korean pendant of knots and tassels, worn with hanbok and kept for luckDress 🇨🇦 Canada and 5 moreTartan DayLà an Tartain An annual celebration of Scottish culture, clan tartans, and diaspora heritageFestival 🇸🇩 SudanJirtigالجَرْتِقْ A Sudanese wedding ritual of regal adornment, protection, and blessings of fertilityRite of passage 🇺🇸 New York, United States and 1 moreEaster parade A festive Easter Sunday stroll featuring stylish clothes and elaborate bonnetsFestival 🇰🇷 South Korea and 2 moreHanbok한복 Korea's customary dress: a short jacket, a skirt or trousers, and a bow-tied ribbonDress 🇨🇳 Shanghai, China and 1 moreCheongsam旗袍 (qípáo), 長衫 (chángshān) A fitted one-piece Chinese dress with a high collar and side slits, worn since the 1920sDress 🇲🇬 MadagascarLamba A rectangular cloth wrapped around the body, worn across Madagascar and at burialsDress 🇲🇦 Tangier, MoroccoNegafaنڭافة (Arabic); ⵏⴳⴰⴼⴰ (Tamazight) The woman who dresses a bride and guards the customs of a Moroccan weddingRite of passage 🇹🇴 Tonga and 1 moreTaʻovala A waist mat worn in Tonga for weddings, funerals and formal daysDress 🇧🇸 Bahamas and 3 moreJunkanoo A Caribbean masquerade festival of masked dancing, goatskin drumming, and cowbellsFestival 🇲🇽 Guadalajara, MexicoMexican hat danceJarabe tapatío Mexico's national courtship dance, in which a dancer's steps circle the brim of a hatPerformance 🇳🇬 Kano, NigeriaKofar Mata Dye Pits Hand-dyed indigo cloth from centuries-old earthen pits in the heart of KanoCraft
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Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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