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The lungi is a clothing similar to the sarong that originated in the Indian subcontinent. The lungi, which usually multicoloured, [1] is a men's skirt usually tied around the lower waist below the navel. It can be worn as casual wear and night wear.[ citation needed ] It is favoured in hot and humid climates where the airflow it allows makes it more comfortable than alternatives. [2]
They are especially worn in hot regions. There are also cheaper "open" lungis, in identical dimensions but not sewn into a tube shape. The standard adult lungi is 115 centimetres (45 in) in height and 200 cm (79 in) in length, when open. Children's lungis are approximately two-thirds of this size. They are normally woven from cotton and come in a variety of designs and colors. Silk lungis are used for ceremonial purposes such as weddings. The most common styles are solid-colored and plaid, reflecting the relative ease and cost-effectiveness of producing these patterns on a power loom. Blue is particularly popular, since it fades to pleasant tones in contrast to other colors. Regardless of the design or color, lungis are often lined at the top and bottom with a black/white stripe containing reinforced weaving to prevent fraying.
Depending on local tradition, lungis can be worn by men or, more rarely, women. They are tied or fastened in various ways and can be used in different cultural activities, ranging from normal daily life to elaborate wedding ceremonies. For daily purposes, a simple "double twist" knot is most popular, where two points in the upper edge of lungi are brought together and twisted around twice, with the ends tucked in at the waist. However, it is also common for wearers to simply tie a double "pretzel knot" from 2 points on the upper border, [3] which produces a more secure knot. The lungi's length can also be adjusted, for example, by tucking in the lungi at the waist to make it resemble a short skirt. This is mostly used for labourers who have to work for a long time under a hot sun.
The lungi (Bengali : লুঙ্গি), is the most commonly seen dress of Bangladeshi men, although it is not normally worn for formal occasions. In Bangladesh, lungis are worn by men, almost universally indoors, but commonly outdoors as well. Elaborately designed tartan cotton, batik, or silk lungis are often presented as wedding gifts to the groom in a Bangladeshi wedding. The typical Bangladeshi lungi is a seamless tubular shape, as opposed to the single sheet worn in other parts of South and Southeast Asia. In Bangladesh, the lungi industry is concentrated in Sirajganj, Kushtia, Pabna, and Khulna. Bangladeshi women do not wear lungis, although non-Bengali tribal women do wear similar garments in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The lungi tradition of Bangladesh can be traced back to Bengal Sultanate when Men used to wear lungis or sarongs of cotton fabrics of various colors along with turbans, dhutis, leather shoes, and belts to wrap their robes on the waist. The word Lungi is a Burmese influenced word in the Bengali vocabulary, came from the word Longyi . Lungi is also believed to be a variation of Dhoti, the word Dhoti came from the Bengali word "Dhowa" which means "Wash".
In April 2013, the Baridhara Housing Society—a housing society in Dhaka—banned the lungi and began refusing entry to those who wore them. Many opposed the ban, however, taking to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to criticize the decision. A march took place on 13 April to oppose the ban. U.S Ambassador Dan Mozena has been seen wearing a lungi in front of his house. [4]
In India, the customs of wearing lungis vary by state. It can be worn with or without the traditional unsewn kaupinam or modern sewn langot, both of which are types of traditional loincloth undergarments.
In Kerala, the lungi is generally colourful and available in various designs, and is worn by both men and women. It is also called 'kaili (കൈലി)'. Labourers typically wear it while working. A mundu/dhoti is a variation of the lungi and is mostly plain white. It often bears golden embroidery (kasavu), especially at the border. It is worn as formal attire and on ceremonial occasions like weddings, festivals, etc. Saffron-coloured lungis are known as kaavi mundu. Men sometimes tuck up their mundus or lungis with the bottom of the garment being pulled up and tied back on to the waist. In this case, the mundu or lungi only covers the body from the waist to the knees.
In Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, only men wear this garment. It is also known as kaili or sāram/chāram in South Tamil Nadu.
In Tamil Nadu, the veshti or dhoti is a traditional wear. People wear veshtis for formal occasions whereas lungis are worn as informal or casual wear by some. Lungis with checked pattern are more popular.
It is common on the Konkan side of the state of Karnataka, mostly worn by the Nawayath people from Bhatkal. Most of them wear it as their daily attire. It is as a mark of tradition in Bhatkal. They are mostly sewn in a cylindrical shape.
In Punjab, lungis are worn by both men and women. The male lungi is also called a tehmat, [5] [6] while the female lungi is called a laacha. They are part of traditional dance attire in Bhangra dance groups, but are also popular in rural areas as home wear. They are generally tied in a different way than in other parts of India and are, as a rule, unstitched and very colourful. Wearing the lungi has declined in the Punjab region in recent years. [7] [ when? ]
In Odisha and West Bengal, the lungi is primarily worn at home by men of all societal classes. Hindu men generally avoid wearing lungis on the street. In Odisha, Sambalpuri with the Sambalpuri pattern and mule based lungis from Khordha are available in addition to normal cotton fabric lungis.
In Bihar and Haryana, the lungi is considered a night garment for men. They are not worn outside the homes
In Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh the lungi is often worn by tribal people. Previously, they used to wear a small cloth around their waist.
In Maldives, it is known as mundu. In modern times, it is worn by elderly men exclusively.
In Myanmar, it is spelt longyi. For men, the longyi is known as a paso (Burmese: ပုဆိုး), and for women, it is known as a htamein (Burmese: ထဘီ). Longyis of different fabrics, including cotton and silk, are worn for both informal and formal occasions.
In Thailand, it is known as a pa kao mah (Thai: ผ้าขาวม้า) for men and a pa toong (Thai: ผ้าถุง) for women.
A loincloth is a one-piece garment, either wrapped around itself or kept in place by a belt. It covers the genitals and sometimes the buttocks. Loincloths which are held up by belts or strings are specifically known as breechcloth or breechclout. Often, the flaps hang down in front and back.
A sari is a women's garment from the Indian subcontinent. It consists of an un-stitched stretch of woven fabric arranged over the body as a robe, with one end attached to the waist, while the other end rests over one shoulder as a stole, sometimes baring a part of the midriff. It may vary from 4.1 to 8.2 metres in length, and 60 to 120 centimetres in breadth, and is a form of ethnic wear in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. There are various names and styles of sari manufacture and draping, the most common being the Nivi style. The sari is worn with a fitted bodice also called a choli and a petticoat called ghagra, parkar, or ul-pavadai. It remains fashionable in the Indian subcontinent today.
A kurta is a loose collarless shirt or tunic worn in many regions of South Asia, and now also worn around the world. Tracing its roots to Central Asian nomadic tunics, or upper body garments, of the late-ancient- or early-medieval era, the kurta has evolved stylistically over the centuries, especially in South Asia, as a garment for everyday wear as well as for formal occasions.
The dhoti, also known as mardani, jaiñboh, or panche, is a piece of cloth arranged around the waist and the legs, in resemblance to the shape of trousers. The dhoti is a lower garment forming part of ethnic wear for men in the Indian subcontinent. The dhoti is fashioned out of a rectangular piece of unstitched cloth, usually around 5 ft to 4.5 metres (15 ft) long.
A sarong or a sarung is a large tube or length of fabric, often wrapped around the waist, worn in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, Northern Africa, East Africa, West Africa, and on many Pacific islands. The fabric often employs woven plaid or checkered patterns or may be brightly colored by means of batik or ikat dyeing. Many modern sarongs have printed designs, often depicting animals or plants. Different types of sarongs are worn in different places in the world, notably the lungi in the Indian subcontinent and the izaar in the Arabian Peninsula.
Clothing in India varies with the different ethnicities, geography, climate, and cultural traditions of the people of each region of India. Historically, clothing has evolved from simple garments like kaupina, langota, achkan, lungi, sari, to perform rituals and dances. In urban areas, western clothing is common and uniformly worn by people of all social levels. India also has a great diversity in terms of weaves, fibers, colors, and the material of clothing. Sometimes, color codes are followed in clothing based on the religion and ritual concerned. The clothing in India also encompasses a wide variety of Indian embroidery, prints, handwork, embellishments, and styles of wearing clothes. A wide mix of Indian traditional clothing and western styles can be seen in India.
The mundu is a garment worn around the waist in the Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, the Lakshadweep archipelago, and the Indian Ocean island nation of Maldives. It is closely related to sarongs like dhotis and lungis. It is normally woven in cotton and coloured white or cream. The colour is dependent on whether the cotton is bleached or unbleached. A khadaṟ muṇṭŭ is made using handlooms. When unbleached, the mundu is called nēriyatu. In modern times, two types of mundu are prevalent—the single and the double. A single mundu is wrapped only once around the waist, while the double one is folded in half before wearing. A mundu is usually starched before use.
The malong is a traditional Filipino-Bangsamoro rectangular or tube-like wraparound skirt bearing a variety of geometric or okir designs. The malong is traditionally used as a garment by both men and women of the numerous ethnic groups in the mainland Mindanao and parts of the Sulu Archipelago. They are wrapped around at waist or chest-height and secured by tucked ends, with belts of braided material or other pieces of cloth, or are knotted over one shoulder. They were traditionally hand-woven, with the patterns usually distinctive to a particular ethnic group. However, modern malong are usually machine-made or even imported, with patterns that mimic the traditional local designs.
A longyi is a sheet of cloth widely worn in Myanmar (Burma). It is approximately 2 metres (6.6 ft) long and 80 centimetres (2.6 ft) wide. The cloth is often sewn into a cylindrical shape. It is worn around the waist, running to the feet, and held in place by folding fabric over without a knot. In ancient times, Lethwei fighters would hitch it up to compete. This folding technique is still being used in modern days when people play chinlone.
Mundum neriyatum is the traditional clothing of women in Kerala, a state in southwestern India. It is the oldest remnant of the ancient form of the sari which covered only the lower part of the body. In the mundum neriyatum, the most basic traditional piece is the mundu or lower garment which is the ancient form of the sari denoted in Malayalam as tuṇi, while the nēriyatu forms the upper garment the mundu. The mundum neriyatum consists of two pieces of cloth, and could be worn in either the traditional style with the nēriyatu tucked inside the blouse, or in the modern style with the nēriyatu worn over the left shoulder.
The áo tứ thân, is a traditional Vietnamese dress commonly worn in the Northern part of Vietnam. The dress is related to the Áo ngũ thân which translates as "5-part dress".
A sampot, a long, rectangular cloth worn around the lower body, is a traditional dress in Cambodia. It can be draped and folded in several different ways. The traditional dress is similar to the dhoti of Southern Asia. It is also worn in the neighboring countries of Laos and Thailand where it is known as pha nung.
Outside Western cultures, men's clothing commonly includes skirts and skirt-like garments; however, in the Americas and much of Europe, skirts are usually seen as feminine clothing and socially stigmatized for men and boys to wear, despite having done so for centuries. While there are exceptions, most notably the cassock and the kilt, these are not generally considered skirts in the typical sense of fashion wear; rather they are worn as cultural and vocational garments. People have variously attempted to promote the fashionable wearing of skirts by men in Western culture and to do away with this gender distinction.
Khmer traditional clothing refers to the traditional styles of dress worn by the Khmer people throughout history. Tracing their origins back to the early Common Era, the customary styles of dress worn by Khmer people predate the indianization of Southeast Asia. The evolution of these clothing customs can be traced through archaeological artifacts from the 6th century to the post-Angkorian period, evolving from the simple pre-Angkorian Sampot to vibrant and intricately embroidered silk garments.
The kaupinam, koavanam, kaupina, langot, or lungooty is a loincloth worn by men in the Indian subcontinent as underclothing. It is still commonly worn in South Asia by pehlwans (wrestlers) while exercising or sparring in a dangal. It is basically a rectangular strip of cloth used to cover the genitals, with strings connected to the four ends of the cloth, for binding it around the waist and between the legs.
In the context of clothing, a wrap is
History of clothing in the Indian subcontinent can be traced to the Indus Valley civilization or earlier. Indians have mainly worn clothing made up of locally grown cotton. India was one of the first places where cotton was cultivated and used even as early as 2500 BCE during the Harappan era. The remnants of the ancient Indian clothing can be found in the figurines discovered from the sites near the Indus Valley civilisation, the rock-cut sculptures, the cave paintings, and human art forms found in temples and monuments. These scriptures view the figures of human wearing clothes which can be wrapped around the body. Taking the instances of the sari to that of turban and the dhoti, the traditional Indian wears were mostly tied around the body in various ways.
Clothing in Myanmar varies depending on the ethnicity, geography, climate and cultural traditions of the people of each region of Myanmar (Burma). The most widely recognized Burmese national costume is the longyi, which is worn by both males and females nationwide. Burmese clothing also features great diversity in terms of textiles, weaves, fibers, colours and materials, including velvet, silk, lace, muslin, and cotton.
An angavastra is a shoulder cloth or stole worn by men in India, especially in Maharashtra and South India. It is a single, rectangular piece of fabric and may have decorated borders. An angavastra may be worn with a dhoti and kurta. An angavastra may be offered as a mark of respect to guests, elders and gurus.
A veshti, also known as vēṭṭi, is a white unstitched cloth wrap for the lower body in Tamil Nadu and in the North and East of Sri Lanka. Vēṭṭi is a part of the traditional attire consisting of Kurta and Angvastra. The garment is a single piece of cloth and similar to the dhoti, one of the earliest draped garments of India. A vēṭṭi is often layered with horizontal stripes or borders across its length.
For men in hot and humid cities such as Delhi, [the lungi] is said to be a most appropriate way to ventilate the legs.
