Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1907-09-27
Garb of the East Indian.


In America, in China, and in most
countries of the world, with the ex-
ception of India, the clothing used
Is woven in wholesale lengths, AMI
the tailor does the rest.
In India the cloth is woven into
the required shapes and sizes, and
but rarely cut to ut the body
Dhooties, sarrie5 and chadars, the
three great Indian cloths, are used
as they are woven, and are not
touched by needle or scissors,
The Mohammedans usually wear
garments requiring the use of a
tailor, but the great bulk of the Hin
doc population, either from motives
of economy or from aversion to de-
part from established custom, pre-
fer simple loom-made garments, and
to many orthodox Hindoos made-up
clothes are an abomination. The
majority of the population, there
fore, still wear the dhootie and the
sarrie, though the upper classes are
day by day gradually asslmilating
the customs of the Mohammedan
and European races, and around the
large cities this is very noticeable.
An instance of this is the fact that
for a certain class the costume is
Indian to the waist, and European
upward; that is, bare legs and
loin cloth, finished off with a Euro
pean coat.
In India there is more variety and
intermixture of styles than is to be
found anywhere else on earth, and
to a stranger Il seems that the ma
tive wears just as little or Just as
much clothing as he chooses, and
Of whatever style or pattern that
suits his individual fancy.
AS a matter of fact, however, Gus
tom, which Is stronger in India than
in China even, has set certain styles
and patterns for certain classes and
sects, and these are as rule rigidly
adhered to. One who has been long
In India can tell from natlves's
clothing and style of dress his reli-
glon, the section from whence he
halls, and other characteristics.
The Hindoo usually wears the tur-
ban, the Mohammedan the fez. In
Bombay the Marathas seldom wear
printed cottons, the Gujarats almost
invariably do so. In Bengal the ma
tives prefer a dhootie with n narrow
red or black border. In the central
provinces they prefer fancy col
ored stripe. etc.
Almost every race and caste has
its favorlte color and style of cloth
ing. Moslem ceremonial law forbids
the use OF pure silk by men, except
In war, or used as narrow borders,
so mixed silk and cotton fabrics are
largely worn by the better classes,
especially in the Mohammedan sec
tion OF the country. which is the
northwest.
There are three cloths that are
typical of the inhabitants OF India
and OF India alone, and have been
their distinctive garments for thou
sands of years, or at least from
times anterior to their contact with
the first European adventurers.
These typical cloths are dhooties,
sarries and chadars. which with the
pagris or turban are all loom-made
garments only. To these might be
added the "choli," which Is the lit
tie bodice now largely worn by Hin
doc women below the sarrie; the
"susi." which is the striped cloths
used In the trousers worn by Mo-
hammedan women; and the "fard" "
or "razi." a large shoulder sheet,
often quilted. The "palanposh. "
similar to the razi, and also often
quilted. used as a bed cover; the
floor cloth, or "satranjis." and the
rug or "dari," sums up the list OF the
chief textile articles of native dress
and household use.
The medium fine dhooties, sarries
and chadars are all imported, but
there is very large native manu-
facture OF the coarser grades, AMI
also of the finest grades, the hand