Dress code of Indian plantation labours
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Transcript of Dress code of Indian plantation labours
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Dress Code Of Indian
Plantation Labours In
South Asia
Ramesha Jayneththi
Department of History
University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
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IntroductionDiasporic culture in South Asia
• Diasporic culture survives as a result of the spreading of communities in South Asian region with causing of many economic and other dynamic social factors.
• Diaspora communities symbolize and preserve a cultural difference from their locating countries and often maintaining strong ties with their mother country and the origin of that culture.
• India as the leading main land in South Asian region, the cultural value of the Indian society remained as a collective cultural identities of many South Indian Diasporas.
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• Diasporic culture of Indian Tamil plantation labours specially their dress code also remained some Indian cultural background and that was unique from other native Tamils like in Sri Lanka.
• Indian plantation labours are wide spread Diaspora in many South Asian countries, especially in Sri Lanka. Indian plantation labours have been considered as a minority group in ethnic hierarchy of these countries.
• The social structure of the plantation sector resembles the South Indian rural social structure. The community is generally bound by the caste system.
• In a plantation field, the tea or rubber factory is the center of activities and it stands in the central part of the plantation. Especially they were identified as a subaltern group with subaltern cultural values and rituals in their own estates.
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• After emerging the post colonial historical discourse, the
value of historical and cultural aspects of many diasporas
has been advanced.
• The discussion about the uniqueness of Tamil plantation
labours' culture as a subaltern and migrant community, is
valuable. As the dress code is unwritten rules in the society
or community with regards to clothing, it reflects strong
cultural value of this community .
• In this research, there is an attempt to find about the
uniqueness of dress code of Indian Tamil plantation
labours with comparing with other native dress patterns.
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Methodology• Identifying and analyzing data in primary sources
according to the current historical discourse.
• Privet records and publications of British administrators,
planters and travelers.
• Mary E. Steuart - Everyday Life on a Ceylon Cocoa Estate
• Arnold Wright - Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon:
its History, People, Commerce, Industries and Resources
• H.W. Cave - Picturesque Ceylon
• Discussions with Tamil Plantation labours in Sri Lanka
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Discussion
• The dress code was a reflection of the cultural and social background of Tamil plantation labours.
• In the beginning they were very isolated community with practicing there own agamic believes and rituals
• Though they were migrant community, the social hierarchy which practiced in there mother land was kept continually.
• There is an evolution of dress code of them in colonial era and post colonial era with combined of social, religious and cultural changes.
• The differences of dress patterns which they used in factories, fields, weddings and ritual ceremonies, funeral were less.
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Common practices of this dress code
• In the British period
• Since the economic and social level of this rural
community, they used sarees without jackets.
• Some ladies of high families in caste hierarchy like
Kanganis used to wore saree with appropriate jackets.
• In weddings also they practiced that simple dress pattern
but the remarkable thing was ladies always used heavy
head dress design by flowers.
• In funerals men used to stay as topless. They played
thappu or traditional drum until it’s over.
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Common features of Dress code among
the Plantation Labours Attires
Saree and Sarong– Selei and Wetti (Census of Ceylon 1921)
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Saree PatternsMaterial Type
• Rough and raw materials
• Mostly hard cotton and Indian hand loomed
• Dark or light plain colours (Red)
• Simple or less designs and borders
• Low-grade materials
• Marital and other goods were provided by Estate stores once or twice a week according to their ration books
Sari Pattern
• Used simple and un-tidy pattern
• The pattern was suitable for hard field workings
• But also same used for other daily activities
• Commonly with showing social level,used this pattern without saree jackets
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• Some women used saree jackets according to their social
level (Some Kangani families)
• Rich material saree with border
• Without slippers or sankals
• Heavy jewelries
• In weddings women used rich
saree called Pattu Selei
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Women in the plantation field
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Upcountry Tamil lady in Modern era
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• Ornaments
• Earrings – Thandatti Simple Earrings
Attiyal Heavy Earrings
Thea Karambu Used to enlarge the hole of ears
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• Ornaments for Nose
• On the nose - Muukuththi
• Using in Nostril - Pillakaal
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• Bangles – Walayal - Normal bangles
Kaippatti – Used between shoulders & elbow
• Necklaces - Normally simple & cheap one used for fields
Thali - Traditional necklace for Brides
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• Anklets were used in normal life – Heavy anklets- Kolusa
• Normal rings for fingers and Minji for toes
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• Mail dress
• Kanganis- Used Western Coat and Wetti
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• Normal dress – Weiii / Sarong
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• Indian Tamil man belongs to Baber caste in Ceylon
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• Head dress –Talappa – Turban
Mundasi
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• Tamil boys with thalappa
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Compare with other natives - Jaffna Tamils
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• Jaffna Tamil ladies
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High caste Tamil girl in Jaffna
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Some Brahmans in Ceylon
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Traditional Kandyan dress
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Kandyan girl in British era
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Low country Sinhalese - Showing mix pattern of
Eastern and Western traditions
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Low country Sinhala girls
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Malay women in Ceylon
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Madras women in South India
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Madras woman
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Tamil ladies in rural South India
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Conclusion
• There is an obvious relationship between social status of this rural plantation labours and their simple dress pattern.
• There rituals, agamic believes and the caste hierarchy directly affected to design and maintain their attires and costumes.
• Also the historical and social practice of their mother land in India was obviously influenced to create of their unique cultural value of dress.
• They kept some differences of attires from other native Tamils in Sri Lanka and India.
• The simple life style with hard field works cause to maintain the simple dress code from British era to modern day.
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Thank You