NCERT Textbook: Jewellery (Living Craft Traditions of India) Notes | Study Old & New NCERTs for IAS Preparation (Must Read) - UPSC

 Page 1


All of us enjoy decorating our bodies.
In ancient times it was believed that
besides enhancing its beauty,
decorating the body gave it
additional strength and power. Even
today many tribal societies use
flowers, wild berries, leaves and
feathers for this purpose. Flowers
and fruits celebrate nature and
growth while feathers are valued for
their colour and for the power of
flight. Seeds, even wings of insects such as
colourful beetle wings are used as embellishment
and decoration.
One of the oldest forms used in jewellery was
that of a sphere, representing the seed, the bija.
Later a range of beads were made from clay, glass,
metals and precious stones. This symbolised
fertility, growth and the origin of life.
Many jewellery forms made in metal
reproduce forms of flowers and fruits.
Champakali is a necklace made of jasmine bud
motifs and is worn throughout India.  Karanphul
jhumka is a combination of the form of an open
lotus at the ear lobe and a suspended half open
bud.  Mangai mala is a rich necklace from Tamil
Nadu, with stylised mango forms studded with
rubies. Precious metals such as gold and silver
were for the rich while the less affluent used
even brass and white metal.  Gold was
associated with the sun, and silver, chandi, with
chandrama ó the moon.
In the past when there was discrimination on
the basis of caste, only the upper castes were allowed
to wear gold. This is now changing and those
who can afford it, wear gold and precious jewels.
5
JEWELLERY
Strings made of different
types of seeds
Page 2


All of us enjoy decorating our bodies.
In ancient times it was believed that
besides enhancing its beauty,
decorating the body gave it
additional strength and power. Even
today many tribal societies use
flowers, wild berries, leaves and
feathers for this purpose. Flowers
and fruits celebrate nature and
growth while feathers are valued for
their colour and for the power of
flight. Seeds, even wings of insects such as
colourful beetle wings are used as embellishment
and decoration.
One of the oldest forms used in jewellery was
that of a sphere, representing the seed, the bija.
Later a range of beads were made from clay, glass,
metals and precious stones. This symbolised
fertility, growth and the origin of life.
Many jewellery forms made in metal
reproduce forms of flowers and fruits.
Champakali is a necklace made of jasmine bud
motifs and is worn throughout India.  Karanphul
jhumka is a combination of the form of an open
lotus at the ear lobe and a suspended half open
bud.  Mangai mala is a rich necklace from Tamil
Nadu, with stylised mango forms studded with
rubies. Precious metals such as gold and silver
were for the rich while the less affluent used
even brass and white metal.  Gold was
associated with the sun, and silver, chandi, with
chandrama ó the moon.
In the past when there was discrimination on
the basis of caste, only the upper castes were allowed
to wear gold. This is now changing and those
who can afford it, wear gold and precious jewels.
5
JEWELLERY
Strings made of different
types of seeds
50 LIVING CRAFT TRADITIONS OF INDIA
Meaning and Significance of Jewellery
In some tribal societies, each ornament was a symbol of
the rank and status of the wearer, and it was also believed
to have certain magical powers. Thus, the purpose of
ornamentation was not only to satisfy an instinctive desire
to decorate the body, it was also invested with symbolic
significance. This aspect is clearly expressed in the form of
amulets which carry inscribed prayers to protect the wearer
from evil influences. All communities and faiths use this
form of jewellery as protection against harm or to activate
certain positive qualities.
It was with the establishment of a settled agrarian society
that jewellery became a form of saving and a symbol of
status.  A variety of designs in folk jewellery evolved over
the years, and the important position of the jeweller in
village society also points to the fact that jewellery was
considered as the only form of investment which could be
encashed during an emergency.
It was mandatory for married women to wear  jewellery.
Necklace, earrings, head ornaments and bangles were
essential for every married woman. It was only widows
who were deprived of jewellery.
Jewellery for Every Part of the Body
Each region in India has a particular style of jewellery
that is quite distinct. Differences occur even as one goes
from one village to another.
Despite the variety in jewellery patterns in
different parts of the country, the designs in each
region are also at times strikingly similar.
Head and Forehead: Women wear the bore resting
upon the parting of the hair in Rajasthan and parts
of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, whereas the tikka,
a rounded pendant at the end of a long chain which
falls on the forehead, is used throughout India. The
shringar patti which frames the face and often
connects with the tikka on the top and the earrings
are also used widely. In earlier times men wore the
kalgi, a plumed jewel, on top of the turban.
Nose: The ornament worn all over India has
variations from the simple lavang, clove, to phuli,
the elaborately worked stud, or nath, the nose-ring
worn in the right nostril, and the bulli, the nose
ring worn in the centre just over the lips.
Streedhan: From Vedic
times onwards, jewellery
was counted as a womanís
wealth and comprised a part
of her inheritance from her
father, as well as a gift from
her husband.
Ornaments worn by a
Bhartanatyam dancer
Page 3


All of us enjoy decorating our bodies.
In ancient times it was believed that
besides enhancing its beauty,
decorating the body gave it
additional strength and power. Even
today many tribal societies use
flowers, wild berries, leaves and
feathers for this purpose. Flowers
and fruits celebrate nature and
growth while feathers are valued for
their colour and for the power of
flight. Seeds, even wings of insects such as
colourful beetle wings are used as embellishment
and decoration.
One of the oldest forms used in jewellery was
that of a sphere, representing the seed, the bija.
Later a range of beads were made from clay, glass,
metals and precious stones. This symbolised
fertility, growth and the origin of life.
Many jewellery forms made in metal
reproduce forms of flowers and fruits.
Champakali is a necklace made of jasmine bud
motifs and is worn throughout India.  Karanphul
jhumka is a combination of the form of an open
lotus at the ear lobe and a suspended half open
bud.  Mangai mala is a rich necklace from Tamil
Nadu, with stylised mango forms studded with
rubies. Precious metals such as gold and silver
were for the rich while the less affluent used
even brass and white metal.  Gold was
associated with the sun, and silver, chandi, with
chandrama ó the moon.
In the past when there was discrimination on
the basis of caste, only the upper castes were allowed
to wear gold. This is now changing and those
who can afford it, wear gold and precious jewels.
5
JEWELLERY
Strings made of different
types of seeds
50 LIVING CRAFT TRADITIONS OF INDIA
Meaning and Significance of Jewellery
In some tribal societies, each ornament was a symbol of
the rank and status of the wearer, and it was also believed
to have certain magical powers. Thus, the purpose of
ornamentation was not only to satisfy an instinctive desire
to decorate the body, it was also invested with symbolic
significance. This aspect is clearly expressed in the form of
amulets which carry inscribed prayers to protect the wearer
from evil influences. All communities and faiths use this
form of jewellery as protection against harm or to activate
certain positive qualities.
It was with the establishment of a settled agrarian society
that jewellery became a form of saving and a symbol of
status.  A variety of designs in folk jewellery evolved over
the years, and the important position of the jeweller in
village society also points to the fact that jewellery was
considered as the only form of investment which could be
encashed during an emergency.
It was mandatory for married women to wear  jewellery.
Necklace, earrings, head ornaments and bangles were
essential for every married woman. It was only widows
who were deprived of jewellery.
Jewellery for Every Part of the Body
Each region in India has a particular style of jewellery
that is quite distinct. Differences occur even as one goes
from one village to another.
Despite the variety in jewellery patterns in
different parts of the country, the designs in each
region are also at times strikingly similar.
Head and Forehead: Women wear the bore resting
upon the parting of the hair in Rajasthan and parts
of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, whereas the tikka,
a rounded pendant at the end of a long chain which
falls on the forehead, is used throughout India. The
shringar patti which frames the face and often
connects with the tikka on the top and the earrings
are also used widely. In earlier times men wore the
kalgi, a plumed jewel, on top of the turban.
Nose: The ornament worn all over India has
variations from the simple lavang, clove, to phuli,
the elaborately worked stud, or nath, the nose-ring
worn in the right nostril, and the bulli, the nose
ring worn in the centre just over the lips.
Streedhan: From Vedic
times onwards, jewellery
was counted as a womanís
wealth and comprised a part
of her inheritance from her
father, as well as a gift from
her husband.
Ornaments worn by a
Bhartanatyam dancer
51 JEWELLERY
Neck: One of the ornaments is the guluband,
which is made up of either beads or rectangular
pieces of metal, strung together with the help of
threads. A ribbon is attached at the back to
protect the neck of the wearer. Then there is
the longer kanthi or the bajaithi.  Below this is
worn either a silver chain or a necklace of beads.
The men would wear a charm or a tawiz at the
neck and a kantha, a long necklace.
Fingers: For the hands there are a number of
rings.  On festive occasions women wear the
hathphool or ratthan-chowk to decorate the back of the hand.
Wrists: For the wrists there is the kada, the paunchi, the
gajra and the chuda, which quite often extends six inches
above the wrist.
Arms: The bazoo, the joshan, and the bank are worn above
the elbow. Men wore a heavy kada or bangle.
Hips: A series of silver chains formed into a belt are worn
at the hips and are generally known as kandora or kardhani,
while the men would wear a silver or gold belt.
Ankles: Solid, heavy metal anklets combine with the
delicately worked paizebs ending in tinkling, silver, hollow
bells, while men would wear a heavy silver anklet. Only
royalty wore gold on their feet.
Toes: The bichhua, scorpion ring, for the toe is put on by
women at the time of their marriage.
Jewellery for various
parts of the body
Page 4


All of us enjoy decorating our bodies.
In ancient times it was believed that
besides enhancing its beauty,
decorating the body gave it
additional strength and power. Even
today many tribal societies use
flowers, wild berries, leaves and
feathers for this purpose. Flowers
and fruits celebrate nature and
growth while feathers are valued for
their colour and for the power of
flight. Seeds, even wings of insects such as
colourful beetle wings are used as embellishment
and decoration.
One of the oldest forms used in jewellery was
that of a sphere, representing the seed, the bija.
Later a range of beads were made from clay, glass,
metals and precious stones. This symbolised
fertility, growth and the origin of life.
Many jewellery forms made in metal
reproduce forms of flowers and fruits.
Champakali is a necklace made of jasmine bud
motifs and is worn throughout India.  Karanphul
jhumka is a combination of the form of an open
lotus at the ear lobe and a suspended half open
bud.  Mangai mala is a rich necklace from Tamil
Nadu, with stylised mango forms studded with
rubies. Precious metals such as gold and silver
were for the rich while the less affluent used
even brass and white metal.  Gold was
associated with the sun, and silver, chandi, with
chandrama ó the moon.
In the past when there was discrimination on
the basis of caste, only the upper castes were allowed
to wear gold. This is now changing and those
who can afford it, wear gold and precious jewels.
5
JEWELLERY
Strings made of different
types of seeds
50 LIVING CRAFT TRADITIONS OF INDIA
Meaning and Significance of Jewellery
In some tribal societies, each ornament was a symbol of
the rank and status of the wearer, and it was also believed
to have certain magical powers. Thus, the purpose of
ornamentation was not only to satisfy an instinctive desire
to decorate the body, it was also invested with symbolic
significance. This aspect is clearly expressed in the form of
amulets which carry inscribed prayers to protect the wearer
from evil influences. All communities and faiths use this
form of jewellery as protection against harm or to activate
certain positive qualities.
It was with the establishment of a settled agrarian society
that jewellery became a form of saving and a symbol of
status.  A variety of designs in folk jewellery evolved over
the years, and the important position of the jeweller in
village society also points to the fact that jewellery was
considered as the only form of investment which could be
encashed during an emergency.
It was mandatory for married women to wear  jewellery.
Necklace, earrings, head ornaments and bangles were
essential for every married woman. It was only widows
who were deprived of jewellery.
Jewellery for Every Part of the Body
Each region in India has a particular style of jewellery
that is quite distinct. Differences occur even as one goes
from one village to another.
Despite the variety in jewellery patterns in
different parts of the country, the designs in each
region are also at times strikingly similar.
Head and Forehead: Women wear the bore resting
upon the parting of the hair in Rajasthan and parts
of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, whereas the tikka,
a rounded pendant at the end of a long chain which
falls on the forehead, is used throughout India. The
shringar patti which frames the face and often
connects with the tikka on the top and the earrings
are also used widely. In earlier times men wore the
kalgi, a plumed jewel, on top of the turban.
Nose: The ornament worn all over India has
variations from the simple lavang, clove, to phuli,
the elaborately worked stud, or nath, the nose-ring
worn in the right nostril, and the bulli, the nose
ring worn in the centre just over the lips.
Streedhan: From Vedic
times onwards, jewellery
was counted as a womanís
wealth and comprised a part
of her inheritance from her
father, as well as a gift from
her husband.
Ornaments worn by a
Bhartanatyam dancer
51 JEWELLERY
Neck: One of the ornaments is the guluband,
which is made up of either beads or rectangular
pieces of metal, strung together with the help of
threads. A ribbon is attached at the back to
protect the neck of the wearer. Then there is
the longer kanthi or the bajaithi.  Below this is
worn either a silver chain or a necklace of beads.
The men would wear a charm or a tawiz at the
neck and a kantha, a long necklace.
Fingers: For the hands there are a number of
rings.  On festive occasions women wear the
hathphool or ratthan-chowk to decorate the back of the hand.
Wrists: For the wrists there is the kada, the paunchi, the
gajra and the chuda, which quite often extends six inches
above the wrist.
Arms: The bazoo, the joshan, and the bank are worn above
the elbow. Men wore a heavy kada or bangle.
Hips: A series of silver chains formed into a belt are worn
at the hips and are generally known as kandora or kardhani,
while the men would wear a silver or gold belt.
Ankles: Solid, heavy metal anklets combine with the
delicately worked paizebs ending in tinkling, silver, hollow
bells, while men would wear a heavy silver anklet. Only
royalty wore gold on their feet.
Toes: The bichhua, scorpion ring, for the toe is put on by
women at the time of their marriage.
Jewellery for various
parts of the body
52 LIVING CRAFT TRADITIONS OF INDIA
Jewellery through the Ages
3000ñ1500 BCE Harappan Period
India has an unbroken tradition of over
five thousand years of jewellery making.
The excavations at the Harappan site
have uncovered beads and shell bangles.
The shell bangles are exactly similar to
the ones worn by married women in
Ladakh. Gold sheets shaped into head
bands were also found.
300 BCEñ300 CE The richest collection of jewellery was
discovered in Taxila, an important
Buddhist centre of learning. It was on the
trade route, as well as the road for
migration of people entering India.  Here
the jewellery exhibits Greek influence and
the introduction of new technology such
as filigree and granulation.
It is interesting to observe, however,
that there are marked similarities
between our present-day jewellery
designs and the jewellery of the
Sumerians and the early Greeks.
A necklace excavated at Ur, which is
made up of finely designed pendants of
lion-heads with granulated work, and
supposed to have belonged to Queen
Bathsheba, has a remarkable likeness to
the garuda necklace prepared in Kerala.
Early Greek jewellery has a close
similarity with some of the traditional
jewellery of Kutch and Saurashtra. The
patterns of some Egyptian jewellery,
especially armlets with snakeheads, are
found in India, as well.
400 CE There is a close similarity in the
jewellery design of today with those of
early times. This we know from
descriptions in literature, and in the
depiction of jewellery in sculpture and
painting.
Page 5


All of us enjoy decorating our bodies.
In ancient times it was believed that
besides enhancing its beauty,
decorating the body gave it
additional strength and power. Even
today many tribal societies use
flowers, wild berries, leaves and
feathers for this purpose. Flowers
and fruits celebrate nature and
growth while feathers are valued for
their colour and for the power of
flight. Seeds, even wings of insects such as
colourful beetle wings are used as embellishment
and decoration.
One of the oldest forms used in jewellery was
that of a sphere, representing the seed, the bija.
Later a range of beads were made from clay, glass,
metals and precious stones. This symbolised
fertility, growth and the origin of life.
Many jewellery forms made in metal
reproduce forms of flowers and fruits.
Champakali is a necklace made of jasmine bud
motifs and is worn throughout India.  Karanphul
jhumka is a combination of the form of an open
lotus at the ear lobe and a suspended half open
bud.  Mangai mala is a rich necklace from Tamil
Nadu, with stylised mango forms studded with
rubies. Precious metals such as gold and silver
were for the rich while the less affluent used
even brass and white metal.  Gold was
associated with the sun, and silver, chandi, with
chandrama ó the moon.
In the past when there was discrimination on
the basis of caste, only the upper castes were allowed
to wear gold. This is now changing and those
who can afford it, wear gold and precious jewels.
5
JEWELLERY
Strings made of different
types of seeds
50 LIVING CRAFT TRADITIONS OF INDIA
Meaning and Significance of Jewellery
In some tribal societies, each ornament was a symbol of
the rank and status of the wearer, and it was also believed
to have certain magical powers. Thus, the purpose of
ornamentation was not only to satisfy an instinctive desire
to decorate the body, it was also invested with symbolic
significance. This aspect is clearly expressed in the form of
amulets which carry inscribed prayers to protect the wearer
from evil influences. All communities and faiths use this
form of jewellery as protection against harm or to activate
certain positive qualities.
It was with the establishment of a settled agrarian society
that jewellery became a form of saving and a symbol of
status.  A variety of designs in folk jewellery evolved over
the years, and the important position of the jeweller in
village society also points to the fact that jewellery was
considered as the only form of investment which could be
encashed during an emergency.
It was mandatory for married women to wear  jewellery.
Necklace, earrings, head ornaments and bangles were
essential for every married woman. It was only widows
who were deprived of jewellery.
Jewellery for Every Part of the Body
Each region in India has a particular style of jewellery
that is quite distinct. Differences occur even as one goes
from one village to another.
Despite the variety in jewellery patterns in
different parts of the country, the designs in each
region are also at times strikingly similar.
Head and Forehead: Women wear the bore resting
upon the parting of the hair in Rajasthan and parts
of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, whereas the tikka,
a rounded pendant at the end of a long chain which
falls on the forehead, is used throughout India. The
shringar patti which frames the face and often
connects with the tikka on the top and the earrings
are also used widely. In earlier times men wore the
kalgi, a plumed jewel, on top of the turban.
Nose: The ornament worn all over India has
variations from the simple lavang, clove, to phuli,
the elaborately worked stud, or nath, the nose-ring
worn in the right nostril, and the bulli, the nose
ring worn in the centre just over the lips.
Streedhan: From Vedic
times onwards, jewellery
was counted as a womanís
wealth and comprised a part
of her inheritance from her
father, as well as a gift from
her husband.
Ornaments worn by a
Bhartanatyam dancer
51 JEWELLERY
Neck: One of the ornaments is the guluband,
which is made up of either beads or rectangular
pieces of metal, strung together with the help of
threads. A ribbon is attached at the back to
protect the neck of the wearer. Then there is
the longer kanthi or the bajaithi.  Below this is
worn either a silver chain or a necklace of beads.
The men would wear a charm or a tawiz at the
neck and a kantha, a long necklace.
Fingers: For the hands there are a number of
rings.  On festive occasions women wear the
hathphool or ratthan-chowk to decorate the back of the hand.
Wrists: For the wrists there is the kada, the paunchi, the
gajra and the chuda, which quite often extends six inches
above the wrist.
Arms: The bazoo, the joshan, and the bank are worn above
the elbow. Men wore a heavy kada or bangle.
Hips: A series of silver chains formed into a belt are worn
at the hips and are generally known as kandora or kardhani,
while the men would wear a silver or gold belt.
Ankles: Solid, heavy metal anklets combine with the
delicately worked paizebs ending in tinkling, silver, hollow
bells, while men would wear a heavy silver anklet. Only
royalty wore gold on their feet.
Toes: The bichhua, scorpion ring, for the toe is put on by
women at the time of their marriage.
Jewellery for various
parts of the body
52 LIVING CRAFT TRADITIONS OF INDIA
Jewellery through the Ages
3000ñ1500 BCE Harappan Period
India has an unbroken tradition of over
five thousand years of jewellery making.
The excavations at the Harappan site
have uncovered beads and shell bangles.
The shell bangles are exactly similar to
the ones worn by married women in
Ladakh. Gold sheets shaped into head
bands were also found.
300 BCEñ300 CE The richest collection of jewellery was
discovered in Taxila, an important
Buddhist centre of learning. It was on the
trade route, as well as the road for
migration of people entering India.  Here
the jewellery exhibits Greek influence and
the introduction of new technology such
as filigree and granulation.
It is interesting to observe, however,
that there are marked similarities
between our present-day jewellery
designs and the jewellery of the
Sumerians and the early Greeks.
A necklace excavated at Ur, which is
made up of finely designed pendants of
lion-heads with granulated work, and
supposed to have belonged to Queen
Bathsheba, has a remarkable likeness to
the garuda necklace prepared in Kerala.
Early Greek jewellery has a close
similarity with some of the traditional
jewellery of Kutch and Saurashtra. The
patterns of some Egyptian jewellery,
especially armlets with snakeheads, are
found in India, as well.
400 CE There is a close similarity in the
jewellery design of today with those of
early times. This we know from
descriptions in literature, and in the
depiction of jewellery in sculpture and
painting.
53 JEWELLERY
The kanthi, a necklace worn close to
the neck and the phalakhara, a long
necklace comprising a number of
tablets strung with a series of beads,
is seen in the early Gupta period
and is found in use even today in
most parts of North India. The
chudamani, shaped like a full-blown
lotus with many petals, was worn
at the parting of the hair and is
similar to the present day bore of
Rajasthan.
In the Ramayana, there is mention
of Sita wearing a nishka necklace.
Nishka, a gold coin, is also referred
to in the Jataka stories. The
tradition of wearing of coin
necklaces continues.
900 CE The use of the nose ornament was
introduced into India quite late, as
the early sculptures and murals do
not show nose ornaments.  It
appears to have been introduced by
the Arabs  after the tenth century
and, over the years, it became
common all over India and became
associated with marriage.
1500ñ1900 The Mughals had fine jewellery and
used large precious stones. Jahangirís
treasury, described by Sir Thomas
Roe, an English traveller, had 37.5
kilograms of diamonds and 3000
kilograms of pearls and rich jewellery,
often colourful enamel jewellery
embedded with precious stones.
1900 onwards With body piercing becoming
popular in the West, young Indian
men and women have begun
piercing not just the nose and ear,
but their tongue, the navel and
other parts of the body to wear
jewellery.
About 26 per cent
of Indiaís exports
comprise gems
and jewels.