Ancient Indian History/Indus Valley Civilization (Fashion Clothing History)

                          Introduction 

• Indian fashion is as ancient as the human civilization with a mix of regional, cultural and historical influences. What we are seeing now is a collection of decades of knowledge passed on from generation to generation of different fashion trends that have evolved.It is said history repeats itself and it is no different for fashion! 

• The fashion in India or anywhere else in the world always repeats itself in a decade or two bringing neoteric twists to the current fashion. The history of Indian fashion encompasses historical, technological, and social developments. Indian fashion is characterized by intricate embroidery, glistening jewels, and bold colours. 

• What all led to this evolution of Indian fashion? 

• What have been the major influences? 

• How does current fashion differ from ancient Indian fashion?

•  What is the history of fashion in India? 

• To gain some insight into our rich Indian fashion heritage, let’s go an exploration of Indian fashion across several time periods and understand how fashion has evolved through the decades 

• Different Eras time period 

• The Indus Valley Civilization 3300 BCE to 1300 BCEThe 
• Vedic Era 1500 BCE-1100 BCEPost-Vedic era 1100-500BCE
• The Mughal Era 1526 CE - 1857 Indian History:• IndusValleyCivilization

• The Origin:-The Era of Minimalistic Fashion – Indus Valley Civilisation:-3300 BCE to 1300 BCE

• The history of fashion in India can be traced back to the Indus Valley Civilization (AKA the Bronze Age of Civilization).We know very little about this civilization, but what we know is fascinating! 

• Over 4,000 years ago, in the Indus Valley, people built huge, planned cities, with straight streets, and brick homes with private baths! Kids played with toys and women wore lipstick! How do we know this?

•  In 1922, archaeologists found something exciting! They found the remains of an ancient city called Harappa. They found another city, located 400 miles southwest of Harappa, called Mohenjo-Daro. Other ancient cities from the same period, arranged in the same way, have been found since. Collectively, this civilization is referred to as the Indus Valley Civilization (sometimes, the Harappan civilization). This civilization existed from about 3000-2,500 BC to about 1500 BC, which means it existed at about the same time as the Egyptian and Sumerian civilizations. What was life like, over 4,000 years ago, in Harappa and in Mohenjo-Daro, two busy cities of about 35,000 people each?

•  Figurines and seals excavated from this world show us that minimalism or even nudity defined the mode of fashion at that time. Nudity or minimal use of clothing is often associated with the primitive or undeveloped cultures. A plain, unstitched piece of cloth was all that the people of Harappa put on their body. In fact, one can say that the role of clothing was nowhere confined to the ideals of modesty. Instead, it was to adorn and accentuate attractive attributes.

The native tradition was centered on the fertility cults and the worship of the mothergoddess, whom the figurine of the dancing girl is said to represent. It is associated with the early fertility cults involving the worship of male and female deities of procreation, whose powers were called upon to induce creativity in all things and stimulate the varying pulse of life itself. This celebration of life has and still has a direct bearing on the evolution of clothing styles. 

 Female figure, possibly a fertility goddess, Indus Valley Tradition,Harappan Phase - Royal Ontario Museum

This ancient civilization must have had marvellous craftsmen, skilled in pottery, weaving, and metalworking. The pottery that has been found is of very high quality, with unusually beautiful designs. Several small figures of animals, such as monkeys, have been found. These small figures could be objects of art or toys. There are also small statues of what they think are female gods. So far, scientists have found no large statues. They have found bowls made of bronze and silver, and many beads and ornaments. The metals used to make these things are not found in the Indus Valley. So, either the people who lived in this ancient civilization had to import all of these items from some other place, or more probably, had to import the metals they used to make these beautiful things from somewhere else. 

   Clothing used by men

The limited depictions found show men wearing a cloth around their waist. It is passed between the legs and tucked behind at the back, resembling the modern dhoti.Turbans were also a part of their daily wear to protect themselves from the heat.Some men also draped a shawl over their left shoulder.Because of the meditative expression on its face, the above statue is presumed to be that of a priest. Thus, it can also be assumed that men with privilege often covered their upper body. 

 Clothing use by women 

The earliest representations of women’s fashion show them in a knee-length skirt with the upper body left bare. it seems from available evidence that women in this civilization, , wore only loin cloths, leaving the upper part of the body bare, except in winter when animal skins or woollen, shawl-like garments were used for protection from harshweather.Women wore long pieces of cotton material which could best be described as loin cloths. These lengths of fabric were worn in the kachcha style, meaning that after draping it around the waist, the wearer passed one end of the cloth or the centre pleat between the legs and tucked it up behind to facilitate freer movement of the lower body and the legs. Early history records that this style of clothing was not only limited to Mesopotamia or the Indus Valley but was common to Egypt, Sumer, and Assyria. The relics of all these civilisations, now available in seals and figurines, prove this fact.

  Textiles in Indus Valley Civilization 

• CivilisationFrom the tiny fragments of clothing found, it can be said that woven cotton fabrics and silk were used in this Bronze Age.

•  Dyeing of cotton also began here.

•  Clothes were mainly made from locally grown cotton during the Indus Valley Civilization.

•  There is some evidence of Indus Valley Civilization or Harappa civilization indicating the use of woven cotton fabric.

•  Flax plant was grown to obtain the fibers of plants and silkworms were cultivated for silk. They say cotton and the art of weaving it into fabric came to India from the Mesopotamian civilisation. 

• The men and women of the contemporary Indus Valley Civilisation were therefore familiar with cotton fabrics and wore long pieces of material which could best be described as loin cloths.

• While there’s no mention of wools, Harappa’s trade with Mesopotamia may have brought in supplies of Mesopotamian wool. Cold weather may have also called for the use of animal skins.

Ancient Indus OrnamentsJewels and accessories, including necklaces, earrings, bangles, anklets, armlets and belts were worn by both men and women. Elaborate headdresses were quite a fad, adding to overall sensuality.Unstitched garments wrapped or draped in ways teamed with jewellery and fancy headgears were the society’s style statement. 

FigurineFemale figurine with three sets of chokers and necklaces. This is one of the largest female figurines found at Harappa and it has the common fan shaped headdress with cups on either side of the head. 

Ornaments in Indus Valley Civilization 

         Types of Jewellery 

 

By 1,500 BC the population of the Indus Valley was creating moulds for metal and terracotta ornaments. Gold jewellery from these civilizations also consisted of bracelets, necklaces, bangles, ear ornaments, rings, head ornaments, brooches, girdles etc. Here, the bead trade was in a full swing and they were made using simple techniques. Although women wore jewellery the most, some men in the Indus Valley wore beads. Small beads were often crafted to be placed in men and women's hair. The beads were so small they usually measured in at only 1 mm long.Both men and women adorned themselves with ornaments. While necklaces, fillets, armlets and finger-rings were common to both genders; females wore jewellery in the Indus Valley predominantly, since they wore numerous clay or shell bracelets on their wrists. They were often shaped like doughnuts and painted black. Over the time, clay bangles were discarded for more durable ones. Women wore girdles, earrings and anklets.Ornaments were made of gold, silver, copper, ivory, precious and semi-precious stones, bones and shells etc. Other pieces that women frequently wore were thin bands of gold that would be worn on the forehead, earrings, primitive brooches, chokers and gold rings. Even the necklaces were soon adorned with gems and green stone.

Different types of beads

The ancient Harappans went to great efforts to obtain exotic-coloured stones for making beads of different shapes and sizes. 

This collection of gold and agate ornaments includes objects found at Harappa. At the top are fillets of hammered gold that would have been worn around the forehead.The other ornaments include bangles, chokers, long pendant necklaces, rings, earrings, conical hair ornaments, and broaches. Such ornaments were never buried with the dead, but were passed on from one generation to the next. These ornaments were hidden under the floors in the homes of wealthy merchants or goldsmiths.

 UPDATE ON THE INDUS VALLEY

Thanks to modern technology and international rivalry, nearly 1,400 Indus sites (towns!) have now been discovered. That is a very big civilization, large enough to be called an empire, only there is no evidence that these people were governed by emperors who lived in palaces or large estates. Rather, the opposite has been discovered. Some homes are a bit larger than others, but that might be due to a larger family unit. So far, scientists have found no wall carvings or tomb paintings to tell us about their life. We do know they had a written language, but only a few sentences, on pottery and 11 | P a g eamulets, have been found. We don’t know what it says. Scholars have quite a few mysteries to solve about the ancient Indus civilization. For one thing, the people wholived in these marvellous cities disappeared around 1500 BC. Perhaps they ran out of wood to hold back flooding, or perhaps their soil gave out and no longer would grow crops. No one knows what happened these people, or where they went. Historians are very curious. It will be interesting to see what archaeologists "dig up" next! 

Key words :- 

• Civilisation :- a society which has its own highly developed culture and way of life.

• Figurines : -A figurine is a small carved or molded statue, especially one in the shape of a person.

• Seal: A seal is a small portable artefact mostly made of stone but also found in other materials, such as bone/ivory, metal, and various artificial pastes. It displays engraved motifs.

• Loin-cloth: a single piece of cloth wrapped round the hips, typically worn by men in some hot countries as their only garmen